The gold price is currently causing nervousness once again. Since the start of the war involving the USA and Israel against Iran, the precious metal has recorded a daily loss of 4% for the second time.

Middle East tensions have sparked a massive steel trade "mismatch." Iran's blocked exports created a 2.3-million-ton billet vacuum in Southeast Asia, while the Red Sea crisis stalled China's flat steel shipments to the Gulf. Consequently, China and India are rapidly absorbing SEA's diverted billet orders. SMM projects that blocked flat steel returning to China's domestic market, combined with surging overseas billet demand, will accelerate the narrowing of the domestic HRC-rebar spread.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has opened its first gold refining facility, marking a significant step in the country’s effort to capture greater value from its vast mineral wealth.

Gold prices fall due to interest rate gloom and Middle East tensions. US Fed and major central banks likely to maintain current interest rates. Long-term gold outlook positive, seen as a hedge against risks.

According to the latest data from the General Administration of China Customs (GACC), China's total iron ore imports for January and February 2023 reached 211 million tonnes, with a cumulative value of approximately US$9.89 billion. The average import price across these two months was US$101.3 per tonne , a month-on-month increase of 0.3%. An analysis by month shows January imports totalled 110.35 million tonnes, representing a 7.77% decrease from the previous month but a 13.59% increase year-on-year. February imports were 99.67 million tonnes , down 9.68% month-on-month, yet showing a 5.80% increase year-on-year. The decline in import volumes is primarily attributed to frequent weather-related disruptions in key supplying nations like Australia and Brazil, which adversely affected mine-to-port rail networks and port loading operations, causing a temporary downturn in overseas shipments. Concurrently, operational activity at major domestic ports slowed during the Chinese New Year holiday, impacting the efficiency of vessel unloading, cargo warehousing, and customs clearance procedures. These combined factors contributed to the reduction in import scale during the first two months of 2023. Looking ahead to March, iron ore imports are forecast to experience a month-on-month rebound. This is anticipated due to shipping disruptions in the Middle East, caused by a partial blockade in the Strait of Hormuz , which may lead some vessels to be rerouted to China , thereby boosting import figures. Furthermore, weather-related logistical constraints are expected to ease, allowing shipments from producing countries to normalise. Finally, as March marks the end of the first quarter , some mining companies may increase their shipment volumes to meet quarterly targets, which would further support a recovery in import levels.

At the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai, Hydro Aluminum and Volvo Group announced a strategic partnership to help the global carmaker achieve its goal of manufacturing net-zero cars by 2040.

SHANGHAI, May 22 (SMM) - In China, the central bank released the first-quarter China monetary policy report last week.

According to a report from Mining.com, the Cooperative Research & Development Agreement (CRADA) between U.S. Critical Materials Corp. (USCMC) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has entered its second phase, with the goal of constructing a pilot-scale processing plant capable of producing rare earths domestically. This facility will process high-grade ore from the company's Sheep Creek deposit in Montana, which contains minerals such as strontium, niobium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, scandium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, and yttrium. Analysis of samples collected 125 feet underground at the Sheep Creek deposit by this private Utah-based company indicates a grade higher than any other rare earth mine in the US. Since early 2024, the first phase of the CRADA has confirmed the presence of high-grade gallium and rare earth elements in the Sheep Creek ore body. Gallium is one of the first minerals to be processed at the Sheep Creek deposit and is of critical importance to national security. The company states that this initiative aligns with President Trump's March executive order, which declared a national emergency due to significant reliance on hostile nations for these strategic materials. For decades, the US has relied on foreign supply chains for rare earths. Amid geopolitical instability and escalating tariff wars, the US urgently needs to establish domestic supply chains for rare earths essential for national defense and high-tech industries. INL is globally renowned for its expertise in advanced separation science and engineering and serves as the primary separation science R&D base for the US Department of Energy (DOE). USCMC states that INL scientists will contribute their expertise to ensure that the pilot plant employs environmentally friendly treatment processes, facilitating further expansion to full-scale production. Currently, the pilot plant will scale up and validate INL's unique processing methods to ensure production capacity at the scale required for US national defense. The company states that its goal is to reduce US reliance on critical minerals from hostile nations, ensure that rare earths used in defense systems are sourced from domestic supply chains, and develop mineral processing technologies vital to national security resilience. Based on validated benchmark-scale processes, the pilot plant can process 1-2 mt of ore per day. The pilot plant will also validate the latest mineral processing and separation technologies, acquire intellectual property rights for critical materials, and establish scalable domestic production capacity. "There is no more pressing national security issue than ensuring the supply of rare earths and critical minerals for the United States," said Jim Hedrick, President of USCM and a former rare earth expert at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in a statement. "These materials are the cornerstone of our military, energy, and technological dominance. The pilot plant will accelerate the development of next-generation separation and refining methods to ensure that the US no longer relies on hostile nations for critical materials for national defense."

Last Friday, LME zinc opened at $2917/mt, hitting a low and high of $2902.5/mt and $2959.5/mt respectively, and closed at $2945/mt, up $35/mt or 1.20%. Trading volume increased to 10050 lots, and open interest grew 1464 lots to 240,000 lots.

CATL: Awarded CCS "Product Inspection and Testing Organization Accreditation Certificate", to Accelerate the Process of Ship Electrification Strategy