Nigeria has inked a $1.2 billion deal with a Chinese firm to revitalize a gas processing facility, a move that officials say could propel the African country to a leading position in aluminium production. The deal between the Chinese state-owned CNCEC and the BFI Group, a major investor in the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria, is expected to revive the 135 million standard cubic feet gas processing facility plant at the smelter. Nigeria's minister of state for gas announced it Tuesday via a post on the social platform X. Minister of State for Gas Ekperikpe Ekpo expressed optimism about the “significant investment,” stating that it would position the smelter “back on the path to becoming a leading aluminium producer for both domestic and international markets.” Nigeria and China’s economic relationship deepened in 2016, when the...

According to Prensa Latina on November 10, Bolivian President Luis Arce confirmed on November 10 at a ceremony marking the 214th anniversary of the liberation of Potosi that Bolivia will sign a second contract for the industrialization of lithium with China. He said at the event on November 10: "We plan to sign a second contract with a Chinese company next week, so this will be the second contract we submit to the Plurinational Legislative Assembly." The first contract submitted to the Plurinational Legislative Assembly was signed in September this year by Bolivian National Lithium Corporation and Rosatom Group, a Russian company, which will use direct extraction technology to produce 14,000 tons of lithium carbonate per year in Uyuni Salt Flat in Potosi. The report said that in 2022, the government began signing agreements with foreign companies throu...

The London Metal Exchange (LME) has released data showing that the inventory of LME copper increased to a near five-year high on August 29, and then entered a downward trend. Last week, inventory changed little, with the latest inventory level at 272,400 tons, which is at a three-month relative low. The latest data released by the Shanghai Futures Exchange shows that the inventory of Shanghai copper continued to decline in the week ending November 8, with weekly inventory down 8.85% to 139,662 tons, reaching a new low of eight and a half months. International copper inventory increased by 22.32% to 17,799 tons. Last week, the inventory of New York copper changed little, with the latest inventory level at 88,802 tons, which is at a relative high of over four years....

According to foreign media reports on November 8, the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco) said on Friday that the state-owned copper giant in Chile, Codelco, produced 123,100 tons of copper in September, up 5.2% from the same period last year. The output of BHP Billiton's Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, fell 5.4% to 1,015,000 tons, while the output of another large copper mine, Collahuasi, jointly operated by Glencore and Anglo American, surged 14% to 514,000 tons....

The International Wrought Copper Council (IWCC) has completed its six-monthly review of the copper market and has finalised its forecasts for copper supply and demand. The supply side data indicates that in 2024, mine output is expected to be 22.58 million tonnes, up 1.6% compared with 2023.  For 2025, a 2.2% increase in copper mine production is forecast.  Refined copper production in 2024 is forecast to be 26.71 million tonnes, up 3.4% compared with 2023, and might be 27.27 million tonnes in 2025.  The IWCC thanks the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) for its assistance in preparing the supply forecasts. The demand side forecasts were prepared by the IWCC during October 2024.  Global reported refined copper demand for 2024 is forecast to be 26.14 million tonnes, up 2.2%.  For 2025, demand for refined copper might increase ...