【Flash | Sierra Gorda Payable Molybdenum Output Slumps 75% Year on Year】

Antofagasta Minerals’ Centinela mine and the Minera Esperanza and Distrito Centinela unions reached new three-year collective agreements approved by their members, ending the ten-day strike that began on October 7. The two unions represent 709 employees, or 22% of the mine’s directly employed workforce. The company said operational continuity and performance were maintained throughout the stoppage. No shutdown of the molybdenum recovery circuit or loss of contained-molybdenum output has been disclosed. The settlement removes the immediate escalation risk, and there is no current basis for a retrospective molybdenum-output deduction. Centinela’s 2026 contained-molybdenum guidance remains 3,000–3,500 tonnes.

Metinvest CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov urged the EU to scrap import restrictions on Ukrainian steel, saying Ukraine was 'bundled together' into measures targeting cheap Chinese and Turkish imports. The EU caps duty-free steel imports at 18.3 million tonnes a year, 47% below 2024 levels, with some country quotas. Ukrainian industry estimates exports to the EU could eventually fall 50-60%. The European Commission said it considered Ukraine's situation and offered compensation to major suppliers, though its quota is below past years. Before the 2022 invasion, metallurgy and mining were about 10% of national income and a third of exports. Ryzhenkov said strikes have intensified; in September Ukraine produced no steel for the first time in 150 years. Nearly 800 Metinvest workers have been killed.

PT Krakatau Steel (Persero) Tbk (KRAS) has signed a Long Term Supply Agreement (LTSA) with Australian Steel Traders Pty Ltd (ASTRADERS) to supply 30,000 tonnes per year of hot-rolled coil (HRC) and/or hot-rolled sheet (HRS). The agreement was signed on October 14, 2026, at Trade Expo Indonesia 2026 in Tangerang. Vice President of Sales III Muhammad Nur Mulianto Putra said the deal opens opportunities to supply Krakatau Steel products to Australia and New Zealand through ASTRADERS' trading network, subject to product fit, pricing, certification, and market conditions. The agreement also covers potential sales of HRPO, CRC, and other products agreed by both parties. ASTRADERS will also support Krakatau Steel in obtaining the certifications required in both markets, including the Australasian Certification Authority for Reinforcing and Structural Steels (ACRS) and Steel Sustainability Australia (SSA).