Annie Lee

Some of the European Union’s top cobalt users warn that planned rules to protect workers’ health will instead threaten the bloc’s push to bolster its mineral supply chains and industries like energy and defense.

Guangzhou Futures Exchange is considering launching China’s first futures for cobalt, a metal used in batteries as well as the aerospace and defense industries, according to people familiar with the matter.

London-listed lithium developer Savannah Resources Plc is pursuing a secondary listing in Lisbon or Australia to tap growing investor appetite for battery materials.

Securing supplies of key raw materials has become a priority for the world’s largest manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries.

China has a stranglehold on refining battery minerals, and customers such as Ford Motor Co. have warned in the past that processing is a bigger constraint on the industry than mining.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. is investing in a New Zealand-headquartered company that converts forestry byproducts into graphite for use in lithium batteries.

The US Department of Defense is buying lithium for its strategic stockpiles as the nation ramps up efforts to reduce supply risks for critical minerals.

Base metals retreated after renewed hostilities between the US and Iran fueled concerns over global economic growth, clouding the outlook for industrial commodities.

Nickel climbed to a three-week high as expectations for Federal Reserve rate hikes faded, while uncertainty over mining policy in top producer Indonesia clouded the supply outlook.

Copper slipped 0.7% to $13 499 a ton on the London Metal Exchange as of 10:09 a.m. in Singapore.