The blaze may complicate the London-based company’s plan to sell its assets that mine the steelmaking fuel, after it rebuffed a $49 billion takeover by BHP Group.
Workers at the Port Talbot and Llanwern sites in Wales, represented by the Unite union, are locked in a dispute with India-owned Tata Steel over its decision to close the blast furnaces and cut up to 2,800 jobs.
Cobalt futures trading has taken off on CME Group’s Comex exchange, creating a way for traders to hedge their physical positions in the newly liquid futures market.
Beijing announced regulations aimed at protecting supplies of the strategic minerals in the interest of national security, a move some in the market said could potentially tighten supply.
