Specialty and minor metals
Overview
As demand for semi-conductors, touch-screens and other highly engineered products continues to grow, manufactures rely on the Argus metals price data and reliable market intelligence to track volatility and specialty materials and manage their impact on production costs.
Argus covers electronic, light and high-temperature metals, as well as specialist alloys and rare earths, through Argus Non-Ferrous Markets, Argus Battery Materials and the Argus Rare Earths Analytics service.
Electronic metals
Argus delivers transparent price data, market news and analysis across base metals, minor metals and battery materials to allow downstream participants to achieve a sustainable supply of electronic metals and reduce their exposure to price risk, all while researching and tracking individual materials in their components.
- Arsenic prices
- Bismuth prices
- Gallium prices
- Germanium prices
- Indium prices
- Selenium prices
- Tantalum prices
- Tellurium prices
- Zirconium prices
Light metals
Argus is the leader in light metals price data and serves the most active consuming regions globally in aerospace, automotive and other highly engineered industries. Manufacturers of alloyed materials and light metals benefit from both primary and scrap material coverage in the Argus suite of products.
High-temperature metals
Some materials necessitate higher temperature and corrosion resistance beyond that offered by carbon steel, these often rely on a proprietary blend of alloyed materials. Argus worked closely with manufacturers to develop the Alloy Calculator tool, a one-stop solution for estimating the current value of raw materials in their specific composition to price even the most specific blends of alloys to be priced in primary and scrap form.
- Chromium prices
- Cobalt prices
- Hafnium prices
- Molybdenum prices
- Niobium prices
- Rhenium prices
- Tantalum prices
- Tungsten prices
- Tungsten outlooks
- Vanadium prices
Highlights of specialty metals coverage
- Independent reference prices for highly illiquid markets and niche materials
- Brings transparency to markets with few global suppliers but increasing global demand
- Exchange data with 30-minute delay standard and the option to add real-time
- Twice weekly global bulk alloys, noble alloys and steel feedstock prices
- Comprehensive global electronic metals price assessments
- High-temperature metals price assessments, including full scope of tungsten coverage with optional short and long-term forecasting
- Light metals including a suite of titanium and aerospace-grade price assessments
- Rare earths prices assessments with short and long-term forecasts
- Electronic vehicle and aerospace raw materials coverage, including highly engineered components and structural materials
- Coverage of supply chain issues, including demand, capacity, risks to responsible sourcing and supply
- Alloy Calculator tool allows easy identification of cost implications for material substitutions in any alloyed metals
- Synthetic prices can be created in the Alloy Calculator to provide material value in the absence of spot market assessments
Latest specialty and minor metals news
Browse the latest market moving news on the specialty and minor metals industry.
Oversupply and fragmentation challenge steel market
Oversupply and fragmentation challenge steel market
London, 30 April (Argus) — Participants in the Turkish and European long steel markets at a major industry event this week anticipated a difficult remainder of 2024, expecting demand to be generally supplied by local capacities. With the Chinese Metallurgical Industry Institute forecasting a 1.7pc drop in Chinese steel demand in 2024 and the country's steel output expected to remain stable, Chinese exports are likely to continue putting pressure on global rebar prices. China's overall steel exports this year so far are on course to exceed the 91.2mn t shipped in 2023. Traders were concerned over the Chinese real estate sector, which, along with infrastructure construction, drives the bulk of Chinese steel demand but has been plagued by a mismatch between housing demand and supply in recent years. Markets outside of China are also likely to be well-supplied for the rest of the year or longer, with a weak construction outlook in Europe and with steel capacity on an upward trend in India and southeast Asia. Government investment in construction projects is likely to drive Indian steel demand to at least 190mn t by 2030, said Somanath Tripathy of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). But in the near term Indian demand growth has been sluggish while output has increased, with steelmakers Tata and JSW both reaching record steel output in the financial year of 2023-2024. Meanwhile, participants had weak expectations for the European and Turkish rebar markets for the rest of the year. Expectations of a recovery in the European steel sector have largely been pinned on the likelihood the European Central Bank will reduce interest rates at some point in the second half of the year. But a German trader noted while this move would lend some support, high interest rates are far from being the only challenge for the sector. The EU construction sector faces increasingly high costs, partly caused by sustainability requirements, participants noted, slowing investment and weighing on property demand by pushing up prices. The combination of high interest rates and inflation in Turkey, as well as dwindling export options, means several Turkish steel mills are currently running at near 50pc of capacity. Turkish rebar exporters face stiff competition in most export markets from Chinese suppliers, whose fob prices are currently around $70/t lower than Turkey, as well as from north African producers. The challenge for Turkish exporters is structural, with the business model of importing scrap and exporting steel no longer as viable due to higher scrap demand from other regions as well as the significantly lower energy costs of north African and Middle Eastern producers. Some market participants noted in this context, the introduction of the European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) could favour Turkish EAF mills in the long run, who are no longer competitive in terms of price in most markets, but whose use of scrap versus direct reduced iron (DRI) makes their production less carbon-intensive than other EAF-based producers in the region. Turkish producers are working to make sure they will be compatible with EU environmental requirements, a Turkish mill source said. But government support for these efforts has been lacking, he added. Overall, protectionist measures have significantly harmed Turkey's export options, as has the outbreak of conflicts and tensions in the region over the past two years. Some Turkish mills have lost up to half of their regular export sales as a result of the halt of exports to Israel and a slowdown in sales to Yemen as a result of the conflict in Gaza and Houthi vessel attacks. Until European prices pick up significantly and north Africa is selling at capacity, Turkish long steel exports will not be competitive in the near future, a trader noted. By Brendan Kjellberg-Motton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Climate change to heavily disrupt mining: PwC
Climate change to heavily disrupt mining: PwC
London, 30 April (Argus) — More than 70pc of the world's production of copper, cobalt and lithium could face significant or high drought risks by 2050, up from less than 10pc currently and posing a significant challenge to future supply growth, according to accounting firm PwC. Under a low-emissions scenario — which imagines global carbon emissions rapidly decreasing — more than 70pc of cobalt and lithium production and around 60pc of the world's bauxite and iron production will be at risk by 2050, according to PwC's 2024 Climate Risks to Nine Key Commodities Report . More than half of the world's copper production will be disrupted by 2050 in a low-emissions scenario and over 70pc in a high-emissions scenario. PwC warns that unless commodity producers and buyers take preventive action now, their operations are likely to be increasingly disrupted. "Climate change is already fracturing the stability of the natural world, and it will increasingly fracture the stability of global supply chains unless adaptive measures are taken," said global sustainability leader Will Jackson-Moore. Some companies are responding to the growing drought risk by investing in water management systems to prevent wastage. Others are considering infrastructure adaptations, such as building elevated storage facilities in flood-prone areas. Several mining companies in Chile have invested in desalination plants, the report notes. According to PwC's 2024 Annual Global CEO Survey , 47pc of chief executives have taken proactive measures to safeguard their workforces and physical assets from climate change. To continue building resilience and adapting to climate risks, businesses must assess impacts, work with suppliers and communities, establish a climate strategy, make transparent disclosures, leverage adaptive products and services and participate in multi-stakeholder efforts, the latest report concludes. By Cristina Belda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Milei's bid to open Argentina's economy passes
Milei's bid to open Argentina's economy passes
Montevideo, 30 April (Argus) — Argentina's congress today approved the government's sweeping economic legislation that could open the door to more private-sector investment in energy and commodities. The bill passed on a 142-106 vote, with five abstentions, after a marathon 20-hour debate. Changes include privatizing some state-owned companies, controversial labor reforms and measures to promote LNG development. The omnibus legislation, which includes 279 articles, is an important victory for President Javier Milei's administration and will change the way many sectors, including energy, operate in the country. Lawmakers aligned with Milei's Liberty Advances party swiftly moved to the second stage of the process, which requires approval of individual articles. The omnibus bill was initially approved in February, but the administration withdrew it after congress failed to approve several key individual articles. That original version included 664 articles. Several of the more controversial articles were brought up immediately after the blanket approval and easily passed. They included an article allowing for privatization of state-run enterprises — national power company Enarsa is on the list — and another delegating to the administration the power to eliminate state agencies without having to consult with congress. Also approved was the article on labor reform. The country's oilseed industry and port workers' unions called a strike the previous day to pressure congress to modify the labor reform. That did not happen. It passed in a separate 136-113 vote. The strike started to fizzle with approval of the legislation. Approval of the package includes several articles the administration says will open the door to major investments in the energy sector. Chapter II specifically covers natural gas, and introduces new regulations for LNG. The chapter includes five articles that allow for 30-year contracts for LNG export projects and guarantees that gas supply cannot be interrupted for any reason. The energy secretariat has six months to design the implementing rules for LNG. The government wants to speed up monetization of the Vaca Muerta unconventional play, which has an estimated 308 trillion cf of natural gas reserves. It is pushing for Malaysia's Petronas to fully commit to a large-scale LNG facility that would start with a $10bn investment. Chapter IX of the legislation creates a new framework, known as the Rigi, for investments above $200mn. It offers tax, fiscal and customs benefits. Companies have two years from implementation of the legislation to take advantage of the Rigi. The chapter on this framework is one of the most complex in the bill, including 56 articles. It includes specific references to energy projects, from power generation to unconventional oil and gas development. The administration claims the legislation will help tame inflation and stabilize the economy. Inflation was 276pc annualized through February, but is declining, and Milei announced that monthly inflation would be in single digits when the March numbers are announced. The country recorded a 0.2pc quarterly fiscal surplus in the first quarter of this year, something not achieved since 2008. By Lucien Chauvin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
G7 countries put timeframe on 'unabated' coal phase-out
G7 countries put timeframe on 'unabated' coal phase-out
London, 30 April (Argus) — G7 countries today committed to phasing out "unabated coal power generation" by 2035 — putting a timeframe on a coal phase-out for the first time. The communique, from a meeting of G7 climate, energy and environment ministers in Turin, northern Italy, represents "an historic agreement" on coal, Canadian environment minister Steven Guilbeault said. Although most G7 nations have set a deadline for phasing out coal-fired power, the agreement marks a step forward for Japan in particular, which had previously not made the commitment, and is a "milestone moment", senior policy advisor at think-tank E3G Katrine Petersen said. The G7 countries are Italy — this year's host — Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US. The EU is a non-enumerated member. But the pledge contains a caveat in its reference to "unabated" coal-fired power — suggesting that abatement technologies such as carbon capture and storage could justify its use, while some of the wording around a deadline is less clear. The communique sets a timeframe of "the first half of [the] 2030s or in a timeline consistent with keeping a limit of 1.5°C temperature rise within reach, in line with countries' net-zero pathways". OECD countries should end coal use by 2030 and the rest of the world by 2040, in order to align with the global warming limit of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels set out in the Paris Agreement, according to research institute Climate Analytics. The countries welcomed the outcomes of the UN Cop 28 climate summit , pledging to "accelerate the phase out of unabated fossil fuels so as to achieve net zero in energy systems by 2050". It backed the Cop 28 goal to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 and added support for a global target for energy storage in the power sector of 1.5TW by 2030. The group committed to submit climate plans — known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) — with "the highest possible ambition" from late this year or in early 2025. And it also called on the IEA to "provide recommendations" next year on how to implement a transition away from fossil fuels. The G7 also reiterated its commitment to a "fully or predominantly decarbonised power sector by 2035" — first made in May 2022 and highlighted roles for carbon management, carbon markets, hydrogen and biofuels. Simon Stiell, head of UN climate body the UNFCCC, urged the G7 and G20 countries to lead on climate action, in a recent speech . The group noted in today's outcome that "further actions from all countries, especially major economies, are required". The communique broadly reaffirmed existing positions on climate finance, although any concrete steps are not likely to be taken ahead of Cop 29 in November. The group underlined its pledge to end "inefficient fossil fuel subsidies" by 2025 or earlier, but added a new promise to "promote a common definition" of the term, which is likely to increase countries' accountability. The group will report on its progress towards ending those subsidies next year, it added. Fostering energy security The communique placed a strong focus on the need for "diverse, resilient, and responsible energy technology supply chains, including manufacturing and critical minerals". It noted the important of "guarding against possible weaponisation of economic dependencies on critical minerals and critical raw materials" — many of which are mined and processed outside the G7 group. Energy security held sway on the group's take on natural gas. It reiterated its stance that gas investments "can be appropriate… if implemented in a manner consistent with our climate objectives" and noted that increased LNG deliveries could play a key role. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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