The North European Hot-Rolled Coil (HRC) Forward Curve Witnessed a Soften Trend

Europe: On the back of weaker physical sentiment and the strengthening euro, the north European hot-rolled coil (HRC) forward curve softened significantly today. Sources claimed that one physical seller was in charge of the majority of the volume. In light of aggressive Asian offers, traders in the futures market believed the rear end of the curve to be expensive. With recent transactions negotiated into Italy for June shipment, India has been the lowest import source, and several bigger German customers have claimed they have access to comparable costs.

However, if major end-users uphold their contractual obligations in the coming months, supply from European mills is undeniably tighter. Approximately eight weeks of downtime are predicted for Dunkirk, according to market sources.

Sayona's managing director Brett Lynch stated in a press release that since announcing plans to restart in 2021, the project team has kept a forward-looking focus on enhancing lithium capture, achieving more dependable runtimes, and streamlining operating costs from the previous-producing operation. Piedmont CEO Keith Phillips said, "This marks an exciting milestone not only for Piedmont Lithium and Sayona Mining, but also for the North American market for which we are working to supply critical lithium resources. As the demand for lithium "continues to rapidly expand along with the electrification economies in both Canada and the US," NAL is "positioned to be a key contributor to the electric vehicle and battery supply chains."

The Sayona Quebec joint venture of the firms bought the NAL project, formerly known as the Québec lithium mine, in August 2021 after its previous owner had halted operations and then sought bankruptcy protection.

The businesses received official authorisation for the restart of mining activities in June 2022. As part of a deal with the government of Québec to create a local downstream processing capability close to the North American battery market, this also involves the building of a spodumene conversion plant at NAL to generate lithium hydroxide or carbonate. The project is close to Sayona's Authier lithium project and is located 60 km north of the city of Val d'Or. They work as a unit to make up the company's Abitibi hub in Quebec. According to Sayona, the goal is to eventually combine ore from Authier and NAL to enhance plant efficiency and profitability.