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Australia must stay realistic in metals race: Panel
Australia must stay realistic in metals race: Panel
Singapore, 21 August (Argus) — Australia must be realistic about where it can compete in critical minerals and batteries, and shying away from collaboration with the Chinese across investment and technology is "a mistake", according to panellists at a recent Argus forum in Perth, Australia. Australia has been pulled into a strategic competition between the US and China to its disadvantage, chief executive of Australia's Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, Warren Pearce, said during a panel discussion at the forum earlier in the week. Australia should have been able to play the US and China off against each other to gain investment, but instead explorers are being pressured to align with the US from the get-go, taking Chinese investment and early-stage opportunities off the table, Pearce said. "What is in the US interest is not necessarily in our interest," Pearce said, adding that there is room for Australia to co-operate with China to bring technology and build capability in the former given that not all critical minerals are crucial to defence applications and national security. China first added gallium and germanium products to its list of export-controlled dual-use items in August 2023 and subsequently added more products, including some rare earths products and other critical minerals, to the export-controlled dual-use list in the following years. China introduced even tighter measures for exports of some products to the US and Japan this year. It imposed export controls on heavy rare earths and dual-use technologies to Japan in January, and tightened existing controls on a wide range of dual-use critical minerals to the US in July. Dual-use products are goods and technologies that can be used for civilian and military purposes. Some of the Australia's decisions could close the door on Chinese Investment, Pearce said, citing recent decisions by the country's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) ordered China-linked investors to divest from Northern Minerals' Browns Range heavy rare earth project in 2024. The board issued further sell-off orders in May . But three investors have repeatedly failed to comply with the orders . The firm previously targeted an FID for its Browns Range mine in Western Australia by 30 June. It currently aims to reach FID in the July-September quarter. Australian producers also need to think through their position on developing intermediate and downstream products, according to Australian Strategic Materials (ASM) chief financial officer Stephen Motteram, as they might be better off sitting closer to final end-users. ASM is developing the Dubbo rare earth project in New South Wales, and manufactures rare earth alloys and metals at its Korean Metals Plant in Ochang, South Korea, where some of the end-users are. US uranium producer Energy Fuels is aiming to set up the first part of a mine-to-magnet supply chain outside of China. Energy Fuels bought ASM in mid-August ASM also originally planned to produce separated rare earth oxides at the Dubbo project, but is now considering producing mixed rare earth hydroxide precipitate and shipping it directly to its parent company's White Mesa Mill in Utah for further processing. Consumers need to value non-China alternatives for projects to get built in the west and induce a demand for Western supply chains, Motteram said. China accounted for about 90pc of global rare earth refining in 2025. But that may fall to 70-73pc by 2035 if foreign projects reach production, according to the International Energy Agency's modelling. Battery industry Chinese firms also continue to dominate the global battery industry, including the low-cost lithium-iron-phosphate battery chemistry. But competing with China's battery chemistry forte that it has worked on over the last decade is "never going to win", said Ron Mitchell the chief executive officer of Australian manganese firm Firebird Metals. "The only way to do it is to look at the next generation [batteries]," he said, adding that being smarter around production pathway can be an advantage to offset higher production costs. Firebird owns the Oakover manganese project in Australia. It also built a demonstration-scale plant in Perth to produce cathode active material (CAM) via an end-to-end process — from manganese ore conversion into high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate all the way to CAM. The plant is expected to commission in October-December, the firm said. Argus Consulting expects high-manganese battery chemistries' market share to grow from 2pc in 2025 to 14pc in 2036, with automakers such as General Motors looking at commercialising lithium-manganese-rich batteries . By Daniel Gage-Brown and Joseph Ho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Canada tariff relief could pause US HRC price climb
Canada tariff relief could pause US HRC price climb
Houston, 20 August (Argus) — US hot-rolled coil (HRC) markets could face their biggest challenge in nearly 10 months in an otherwise steady march, as media reports suggest that a potential trade deal between the US and Canada could result in the halving of US import tariffs on the latter country. The latest Argus steel index US HRC price hit its highest level in more than four years, eclipsing $1,200/short ton (st) in a price cycle for just the third time in its history. The jump in the 18 August price came ahead of news reports on 19 August of a potential reduction in steel tariffs levied on Canada from 50pc to 25pc. Although details of the deal have yet to be finalized, the US market has been attempting to digest the news of potentially having its largest steel trading partner available again as a supplier. US HRC futures faced a steep selloff on the CME after fourth-quarter prices reached a fresh peak at the start of the week. The October forward contract settled at $1,175/st on 20 August, falling by $50/st from the prior day. November and December contracts were down even more, dropping by $58/st and $56/st to $1,150/st and $1,131/st, respectively. US mills have struggled to provide sufficient spot availability to meet buyers' demand needs for months because of a combination of increased annual contract commitments after the displacement of Canada and Mexico, and production outages from either planned or unplanned maintenance. Even as the forward curve dropped, the physical market continued to mull over what exactly the ramifications of lower tariffs on Canada would mean for pricing and annual contract negotiations set to begin in the next 30 days. Canada averaged 3.8mn metric tonnes (t)/yr of flat-rolled exports to the US between 2021-2024, with that total dropping to 2.5mn t in 2025 and to just 812,343t for the year to date in 2026, including preliminary license data for July and August, according to US Department of Commerce data. Market sources indicated Canadian supply would be able to return if tariffs were lowered to 25pc, but the speed of the return and the amount of supply were the biggest questions. Some sources noted returning Canadian supply could serve more as a pressure release valve than something that would cause a sharp correction to domestic prices. Service centers have reported having to turn down customer orders because of the unavailability of domestic spot supply. In addition, there has been growing interest and commitments to the import market for deliveries for the fourth quarter of 2026 and into the first quarter of 2027 to meet demand needs. Additional Canadian supply could help service centers meet demand needs while also presenting an opportunity for domestic mills to get caught up on order backlogs that have caused less consistent delivery performance throughout the year. By Jenna Baer Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Ramaco, Indium Corporation sign Ga, Ge offtake MOU
Ramaco, Indium Corporation sign Ga, Ge offtake MOU
Houston, 20 August (Argus) — US coking coal producer and rare earth developer Ramaco Resources has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) to potentially supply gallium (Ga) and germanium (Ge) to US-based metals refiner and manufacturer Indium Corporation. Ramaco's supply would come from its Brook Mine project in Wyoming, which the company broke ground on in July of last year. The project is set to begin production in 2027, followed by two years of optimization before reaching full steady-state operation, the company previously said. The deposit contains 40pc primary magnetic rare earth elements oxides — neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium — as well as three critical minerals: gallium, scandium, and germanium. Ramaco announced plans in October to establish a stockpile of rare earth elements and critical minerals at the project site. Indium Corporation refines metals and manufactures materials, including gallium and germanium-based products, for the semiconductor and electronics markets, among others. By Reagan Patrowicz Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Viridis raises $120mn for Brazil rare earth project
Viridis raises $120mn for Brazil rare earth project
Houston, 20 August (Argus) — Australian-listed developer Viridis Mining and Minerals has raised up to $120mn and completed a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for its Colossus ionic clay rare earth project in Brazil, advancing the asset closer to a final investment decision. The equity package comprises $75mn from One Investment Management (OneIM), $40mn from institutional shareholders and an accelerated $5mn tranche from existing investors ORE Investments and Regia Capital. OneIM will take a 9.9pc stake. The package provided Viridis with enough equity to meet Colossus' indicative equity requirement, the company said today. The DFS puts C1 operating costs at $9.84/kg of rare earth oxide, with a 2.7-year payback period and a 36.4pc internal rate of return over a 25-year production horizon. The project would process 5mn metric tonnes (t)/yr of ore to produce 2,967 t/yr of magnet rare earth oxides. The DFS assessed project economics using a combination of Western floor-price and spot-price scenarios, assuming floor prices of $575/kg for dysprosium and $2,050/kg for terbium, and $110/kg for neodymium and praseodymium. Viridis in June signed a non-binding agreement with Belgian chemicals firm Solvay for mixed rare earth carbonate offtake, with deliveries targeted starting in 2028. By Carol Luk Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.