The miner is withdrawing from the World Coal Association over a clash of views on how to fight climate change, with BHP saying it’ll reap little benefit from staying on as a member.
Trafigura has already increased its foothold in nickel with an exclusive offtake agreement with Finland's Terrafame, that also produces zinc and cobalt.
Mining companies saw its shares plummet along with metal prices on Wednesday as China announced additional tariffs on US products, a move experts say is likely to heighten global concerns of a tit-for-tat trade war between the world's biggest economies.
Healthy demand for molybdenum rich stainless steel, especially from the oil and gas industry, plus sluggish supply growth are expected to keep the price of this minor metal riding high.