December 2024

Welcome to the December Crucible As the year draws to a close after a busy  conference season, welcome to this year’s last issue of the Crucible, which looks back on…

View from North America Dear Members I started to write this missive just a few days before our presidential election here in the US: Donald Trump versus Kamala Harris. As…

After a dramatic spike in 2022, hafnium’s price has fallen somewhat closer to earth. By historical measures the price is still strikingly elevated but the volatility post-2021 appears to have…

Since the mass market adoption of lithium ion batteries in the early 1990s, cell prices have fallen year on year, resulting in a reduction of 73% since 2014 alone. This…

Market participants across the titanium value chain are weighing the potential for certification and penetration of Chinese titanium sponge into aerospace and defence market applications, as they consider lower Chinese…

October 1st 2024 saw a gathering at The Royal Society of Chemistry in London to celebrate an unusual birthday — the 99th year since the first isolation of rhenium. The…

Market bearish as Indonesian cobalt metal to further oversupply Europe  In this article for the Crucible, Nathan Day build on S & P Commodity Insights Critical Minerals Briefing published in…

Following the preliminary results of the US election, Project Blue examines the potential impact the Trump-Vance administration may have on critical materials and associated downstream sectors. We expect some deviation…

London-based trading company Wogen Resources has entered into an exclusive antimony concentrate offtake agreement with Larvotto Resources Ltd.  The agreement was signed together with Wogen’s sister investment and financing company, Xcelsior Capital…

AMG Chrome US LLC, an AMG Chrome facility in New Castle, Pennsylvania, US, has increased its chrome metal production capabilities with the help of investment from AMG. AMG Chrome US…

Neveah Limited is getting ready to open what is set to become West Africa’s leading recycling facility, in Shagamu, Lagos. The gas-powered plant, which is nearing completion will have the…

In September the US Trade Representative consulted on proposed additions to the USTR’s Section 301’s 25% import duties, extending this tariff level 3 subheadings of the HTS code covering certain…