[SMM Stainless Steel Market Flash] Report Says New Stainless Steel Can Operate in Seawater at up to 1700 mV

Regulation 2026/2269 of the European Parliament and of the Council, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on October 9, took effect on October 10. Its first annex covers ferro-alloys under Combined Nomenclature heading 7202 and other metal oxides under heading 2825. Qualifying Armenian-origin ferromolybdenum and molybdenum oxides and hydroxides can therefore enter the European Union free of ad valorem import duty. The measure applies until October 11, 2028, subject to origin, documentation, suspension and safeguard provisions. The move from anticipated relief to effective zero-duty access strengthens the competitiveness of Armenian molybdenum products, while any increase in trade volumes remains to be confirmed.

Mongolia’s Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority reported that the October 2026 international market reference price for exported molybdenum was $74,031.14/t, up 0.8% from September’s $73,475.58/t. The October value is based on the September 2026 average and is published under Article 47 of the Minerals Law and related government resolutions. It is an official export-mineral reference price—not an Erdenet concentrate auction result or an oxide spot quote. The page does not specify product form or grade.

Aura Minerals’ preliminary results released on Oct. 9 show that the Aranzazu mine in Mexico produced 41,000 lb, or about 18.6 tonnes, of molybdenum in Q3 2026, down 28% QoQ and 61% YoY. Nine-month output was 162,000 lb, or about 73.5 tonnes, down 1% YoY. Copper, gold and silver output all increased sequentially, indicating that the molybdenum decline was not caused by a site-wide shutdown. Aura did not separately explain the lower molybdenum output, leaving mine sequencing, molybdenum grade and recovery as key items to monitor.