【SMM Steel】US rescinds AD review on UK's cold-rolled steel flat products

South32 Limited reported payable molybdenum production of 0.2 thousand tonnes, or about 200 tonnes, from its 45% interest in the Sierra Gorda mine for the September 2026 quarter. Output fell 75% year on year and 50% from the preceding quarter. Payable molybdenum sales were also about 200 tonnes, down 67% year on year and 60% from the preceding quarter. In contrast, payable copper production rose 2% year on year and 17% from the preceding quarter to 18,700 tonnes. South32 cited higher planned copper grades and temporary wet-weather effects but did not explain the molybdenum decline. The figures represent South32’s 45% attributable share, not total mine output or molybdenum concentrate mass.

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.