Metal Trade Research Articles

Throwing their weights around? Anthropological perspectives on commodity and gift exchange at the dawn of the Early Bronze Age in western Anatolia

The growing body of literature concerning cultural transformations associated with longdistance trade networks between western Anatolia, the Aegean, and Cilicia in the third millennium BC still lacks synthesis regarding social processes and types of exchange involved between trading groups. This paper addresses the issue of longdistance transactions of metals in western Anatolia during the Early Bronze Age. The argument seeks to demonstrate that contact between a predominantly decentralized non-state and an early state society does not necessarily lead to immediate political centralization of the former but rather to a new spectrum of co-existing transactions and socio-political forms. The following contribution derives from empirical evidence of Near Eastern balance weights from the Early Bronze Age 1 (2950–2750 calBC) settlement of Çukuriçi Höyük, a coastal site in western Anatolia. This article is based on previously published archaeological material and addresses wider social implications that weighing and metrology may trigger in a nonscriptural society. The paper draws extensively on ethnographic records of metal trading societies and economic anthropology, in which assiduous attention is given to exchanges conducted outside of the ‘cultural sphere’.

Impact of strategic and critical metals trade network characteristics on the upgrading of industrial structures

Impact of strategic and critical metals trade network characteristics on the upgrading of industrial structures

Old Assyrian Metal Trade, its Volume and Interactions

The subject of this study consists of some consequences of a research project which was supported by The Scientifi c and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK). In the scope of this project, all metals that attested in Kultepe texts have been evaluated. The main target of this research is to fi nd answers to some questions related to the metals and metal trade, which are recorded in a wide range of Kultepe texts. The attestations of gold, silver, tin, iron, copper, lead, antimony and bronze alloy have been searched in a database which includes more than 12 thousand Kultepe texts most of which are unpublished. Each of the information related to these metals, such as their volumes, origins, fi nal destinations, kinds, qualities, and prices against mostly silver has been gathered and evaluated. For example, the following results about the gold have been gained by the research in Kultepe text: The total weight of gold in all available texts is about 480 kg. Out of this sum, only about 92 kg of gold was shipped from Anatolia to Assur. Assyrian traders gained the gold mainly from the Anatolian cities of Wahšušana, Purušhattum and Šalatuwar respectively. The price of gold against silver ranges from 1:3 1/3 to 1:15. The most precious kind of gold attested in the texts is liqtum and the cheapest one is HU.SÁ (red) gold. On the other hand, the most demanded or common kinds of gold were pašallum and kupuršinnum.

Influence of the Production Factors and Export–Import Metal Trading Operations on the State of the Art of the World Steel Market

The influence of export–import operations on the steelmaking production and the consumption of steel products in the world after the 2009 global financial crisis is estimated. Export is shown to prevail over import in terms of the rolled products in CIS, Asia and the world market, and export operations with first-stage cast steel products are most popular on the CIS market. The European market is characterized by a lower concentration of contractors participating in international export–import operations in comparison with the world steel market and its regional segments. The possibilities of expansion and intensification of metal trading on the world market are analyzed using the concept of bifurcation points for the distribution of a product on a market and information about this product.

Metal procurement, artefact manufacture and the use of imported tin bronze in Middle Bronze Age Cyprus

Four hundred and fifteen Middle Bronze Age metal artefacts from Lapithos in Cyprus were examined using a portable ED-XRF analyser (pXRF). The results show a higher than expected presence of non-local tin and a small number of leaded bronzes and copper-zinc alloys. A more detailed analysis suggests the use of particular alloys for some artefact types, most notably high-arsenic and high-tin bronze for plain pins and toggle pins, as well as recycling and mixing practices not previously considered for this period on Cyprus. It would appear that Lapithos was engaged in the production of metal artefacts and that imported tin bronze and high arsenic copper ores from the Limassol Forest region, on the other side of the island, were available to local metalsmiths in significant quantities. Lapithos' location on the north coast, the sheer quantity of metal found at this site and the presence of imports also suggest that it was involved in the maritime metals trade which linked southeast Anatolia to the Aegean and the Cyclades in the first half of the 2nd Millennium BC.

ТОВАРНА БІРЖА ЯК ІННОВАЦІЙНО-ІНСТИТУЦІЙНИЙ ЕЛЕМЕНТ РОЗВИТКУ МІЖНАРОДНИХ ТОВАРНИХ РИНКІВ

The article examines the role of the commodity exchange as an innovative and institutional element in the development of international commodity markets. The current trends in the development of the international commodity stock market have been determined, compared to the volumes of world futures and options for 2018-2019, the number of outstanding contracts and their changes have been investigated. The transformation processes inherent in the international commodity exchange are considered and characterized. The structure of the international stock market by geographical regions is reflected. Trading volumes in different regions of 2019 are compared to 2018. Analysis of futures, options index of the capital index, interest rate trading, energy futures, options trading and precious metals trade have been done. The results of the world's largest stock exchanges by volume of trading in 2018-2019 are presented. One of the criteria examined is the volume of trading on the Intercontinental Exchange, which is due to the lower level of activity on all its subsidiaries in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. The current state of stock exchange trade in Ukraine is analysed, examples of obstacles for the effective functioning of stock exchanges of Ukraine are given. The development of commodity exchanges in Ukraine over recent years is considered, with an indication of the tendency of their development. Examples of commodities are indicated that will be used for the development of the commodity stock market of Ukraine. The statistical information on the number and structure of exchanges by specialization, their characteristics and role are investigated. The conclusions on the stock role market in an economy have been formed. The international experience of trading on the exchanges is generalized. The evolution of the stock market from the fair to the modern electronic stock market with its advantages and convenience is noted. The conclusions of the development of stock exchange trade in Ukraine are summarized: namely obstacles to its development and misunderstanding of advantages. Suggestions for successful development of stock exchange trading are given in accordance with world experience and national peculiarities. Key words: commodity exchange, futures, option, stock trading, international commodity exchanges, agricultural products, market infrastructure, stock exchange.

Characteristics and community evolution patterns of the international scrap metal trade

Abstract To reduce the excessive consumption of metal minerals and boost the development of the circular economy, scrap metals are increasingly recycled across the world. Due to the geographically uneven distribution of scrap metals, most countries are actively participating in the international scrap metal trade. This study collects international trade records on scrap metals from 1988 to 2017 and constructs the annual global scrap metals trade network (GSMTN) to analyze the characteristics and dynamic evolution of the scrap metal trade. The results reveal a globalization trend of the scrap metal trade, the scale-free characteristics of the trade network, and the increasing monopolization of the export market. The international scrap metal trade has experienced a dynamic evolution in the past 30 years and has developed into a complex system with a hierarchical structure that is led by a few core countries. Three relatively stable groups are the main players in the international scrap metal trade: East Asia-America-Oceania, Europe, and South Asia-Middle East. A review of the split and merger process of these communities clearly shows that geopolitics and economic turbulence are important elements in the fragmentation and integration of trade communities. The findings will enable governments to understand the complex trade relationships involved in scrap metals, which can help policy-makers propose effective import-export policies and ensure national resource security.

Merchants against the bankers: the financialization of a commodity market

Global commodity and capital markets have undergone dramatic structural changes associated with financialization. But, in spite of this, the literature on financialization neglects questions about market structure: What happens when exchanges cease to be non-profit trade-enabling utilities and instead become for-profit firms? How have automation, derivatives, and competition between exchange platforms affected transacting in markets? Who mandated the market-structural revolution? This article breaks new ground by examining the political economy of market-structural financialization through an evaluation of the 150-year-old London Metal Exchange (LME). The findings challenge theories that present financialization as a deterministic and undifferentiated process. The LME, a commodity market once designed by merchants to support the global metals trade, has been reinvented for the benefit of algorithmic traders and speculators. However, far from reflecting teleological market progress or technological determinism, the LME’s evolving market structure can only be understood through its particular historical-institutional heritage and a continuing distributional struggle between traditional metal merchants and financial institutions. Thinking about financialization through fine-grained analyses of market-structural change, and of the ways in which financial engineering is driven by ground-level politics, can explain why the process of financialization varies even between markets that are situated in common national and ideational contexts.

An isotopic perspective on the socio-economic significance of livestock in Bronze Age West-Frisia, the Netherlands (2000–800 BCE)

The Bronze Age is increasingly characterised as a period in which the search for and trade in metals dominates mobility and exchange in Europe. Chiefs travelled the lands and seas and dominated the acquisition and possession of critical resources. Most research focuses on the provenance and distribution of metals and on the mobility of people. Yet, the mobility of one the most obvious sources of social and economic wealth in the Bronze Age has got little attention: livestock. This study explores the possible social role of livestock of cattle and sheep, both in the household sphere and in the sphere of exchange as a means of ‘connecting people’. Here, strontium isotope data are presented from 58 cattle and sheep from settlement contexts from Bronze Age West-Frisia (2000–800 BCE), the Netherlands, with the aim to gain an isotopic perspective on the socio-economic significance of livestock. The data provide evidence for long-distance trade or exchange of livestock. Besides their monetary value, we suggest that livestock, and in particular cattle, may have been perceived as equal to people in terms of labour and production and as members of the household. Their mobility and exchange therefore signal more than just economic trade, it signals a social practice. By changing our perspective towards the social ideology of farming life, we will move closer to understanding Bronze Age societies in more diverse and inclusive ways. Research into livestock mobility is therefore considered fundamental for a more diverse understanding of Bronze Age farming life.

Moving metals IV: Swords, metal sources and trade networks in Bronze Age Europe

European Bronze Age swords had high functional and symbolic value, and therefore they are an interesting case for approaching questions of provenance and trade in Bronze Age Europe. It is often assumed that there is a strong affinity between metal supplies and artefact type. However, this study demonstrates that metal supply and sword types are mostly unrelated. In this paper we present a comparative provenance study of 118 Bronze Age swords, which includes lead isotope and trace elemental data for swords from Scandinavia, Germany and Italy dated between 1600 and 1100 BCE. About 70% of the swords have been analysed and published before while about 30% have been sampled and analysed for this study. The chronology and geography of the deposited swords indicate that the different regions relied on different metal trade routes which changed during the course of the Bronze Age. The analytical data indicates that the largest variation of the origin of copper is in the period of 1600–1500 BCE, when copper ores from Wales, Austria and Slovakia constituted the major copper sources for the swords. There is a visible change around 1500 BCE, when copper mines in the Italian Alps become the main suppliers for Scandinavian and Italian swords, while swords from Germany were foremost based on copper from Slovakia and Austria. Further, in the period 1300–1100 BCE the sources in the Italian Alps became the dominant supplier of copper for the swords in all regions discussed here.

DEPOSITS OF BRONZE SMALL TWIGS IN MIDDLE ROS BASIN

In the article the noticeable role of bronzocasting production is considered on the settler monuments of scythian time in the Tarashchanskiy district of the Kyiv area.
 Among the numerous testimonies of bronze casting production and trade in metals the two most interesting items are bronze treasures, recently discovered in the villages of Lisovichi and Dibrovka in Kyiv region. Each contained about 300 bars with a length of 40.5 and 22 cm (Lisovichi), 41 cm (Dibrovka), total weight about 30 kg. We can assume a different purpose of bronze bars: blanks for specific products, raw materials for smelting, the equivalent of money. Spectral analysis of the products showed that they are made of high-quality tin bronze with a high admixture of iron (2.58 %, Lisovichi). Titanium content (4.39 %, Lisovichi) remains unclear (is it a natural impurity in raw materials?) According to the place of discovery (on settlements), treasures of bars can be dated to Scythian time (the end of 6th—5th century BC?), although more late dates are not excluded.

Bond Flotation with Exotic Commodity Collateral

Exotic high tech metals such as rare earth oxides, titanium and nickel wire are increasingly important to semi-conductor, aerospace and high end defence technology R & D and production. As a result – while not market traded and therefore sporadic order dependent and highly volatile – prices of these commodities have been rising on average over the past decade. The metals trading subsidiary of an international group acquired over 6 M metres of nickel wire which at the current market price of about 300 EUR per metre is worth over 1.6 B EUR. The firm wished to raise from 300 M to 1B EUR in the capital markets in order to purchase a variety of these high tech metals to take advantage over the medium term (5 to 10 years) of generally rising prices. After a brief description of the current state of the exotic high tech metalss markets, this paper treats the technical pricing and default risk analysis of an example 350 M EUR 7 year amortized corporate bond issue backed by a nickel wire inventory and subsequent high tech metal trading as collateral. Topics covered include security modelling with high tech metal collateral, the design of 100% risk free securities with third party derivatives and security pricing and trading methodology. The complex stochastic analysis and Monte Carlo simulation analysis presented is based in part on specially developed modelling of the nickel wire catalogue price and third party price projections for rare earth oxides and titanium. The analysis is based on 10 year (2008-2017) daily market data and supports an optimistic view in that after accounting for all ongoing costs we find a zero default probability for the bond issue – a situation seldom seen to accompany its stipulated 12% internal rate of return.

Physical and Monetary Methods for Estimating the Hidden Trade of Materials

The hidden trade of a material (e.g., aluminum) refers to the trade of that material embedded in final products (e.g., automobiles). There are two methods for estimating the hidden trade amount of materials: (1) the physical method relies on the physical trade data (measured by physical units) in which products are categorized according to the standard international trade classification codes or the harmonized system codes; and (2) the monetary method relies on the monetary trade data (measured by monetary units) in which products are categorized in accordance to the sectors of an input–output (IO) table. Information on material concentrations in products can be relatively quickly estimated by an IO-based model in the monetary method, but will have to be collected from various sources with intensive time cost in the physical method. Exemplified by the U.S. hidden trade of aluminum, iron, and copper in 2007, this study attempts to compare the two methods. We find that, despite the unavoidable but reasonable differences in the amounts of three metals trade, the results generated by the two methods are consistent with each other pretty well for final products at the level of end-use product groups (e.g., total transportation facilities). However, the comparison for specific products (e.g., automobiles) is challenging or does not generate consistent enough results. We suggest that similar estimations be done for more materials, more countries/territories, and different years, to gain experience, reduce estimation time and costs, and increase the knowledge base on metal flows in society.

Developing the Criterion of Exchange Quotation Prediction Quality for Metal Trader Decision Support

The main purpose of this article is to present a criterion for assessing the quality of forecasting nickel exchange prices to support the decision-making of a metal trader, taking into account the specifics of their commercial activities. We consider the commercial operation of a metal trading company, which consists in purchasing a metal with a view to its resale in 14 days. Most of these operations occur in nickel-rich alloys, which suggests that their prices are largely determined by nickel quotes on the LME (London Metal Exchange). Therefore, metal traders need forecasting models with a long lead time series with a high degree of volatility. One of the first assumptions suggests that in order to ensure profitable trading, it is necessary, first of all, to correctly predict the direction of price change. On the other hand, it is intuitively clear that the better the model, the more likely it will be to guess the further trend. However, it remains an open question as to what accuracy of the forecast will provide the so-called break-even point to the metal trader. This work is devoted to the search for this facet. Another assumption that the quality of any model depends on the degree of volatility of the predicted time series helps to find the exact point from which we can talk about the possibility of successful trading. Taking into account these provisions, a criterion has been developed for assessing the quality of forecasting models, which makes it possible to state with high probability that the use of a forecast that meets it will ensure commercial success for the metal trader. It is also important to note that the quality of the model can be judged only after comparing its accuracy with the characteristics of the considered time series. The prediction error itself does not give an exhaustive picture of the quality of the applied model.

Probing the provenance of archaeological glaze colorants: Polychrome faunal reliefs of the Ishtar Gate and the Processional Way of Babylon

The polychrome glazes from the Processional Way and the Ishtar Gate of Babylon are among the best preserved from antiquity. Yet, little is known about the logistical choices involved in their production. Variations in isotope ratios can be useful for complementing an archaeological investigation of potential geological sources of raw materials. Consistent with archaeological evidence and ancient texts on trade in metals, Turkish ore deposits are thus tentatively proposed as possible sources of the metal oxide colorants used for the investigated polychrome glazes of three Neo‐Babylonian faunal reliefs that are now part of the collection of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen.

Testigos de piedra: estelas armadas entre el Tajo Internacional y el Duero, península ibérica

Few places in Europe concentrate as many stone steles as the area between the Tagus and the Douro. Archaeology has shown the ample possibilities for mining metal ores, with a clear nerve centre in the modern region of Castelo Branco. From the first discoveries of such unique objects as the Sâo Martinho steles to the current record, the variety and diachronicity of stone steles and menhirs is exceptional on Iberian and European scales. The traditional interpretation that differentiated between the old menhirs and Late Bronze Age steles has been nuanced by the evidence of similar themes and techniques. Another argument presented here is the use of the old stones as the basic material for the production of the Late Bronze Age steles. The human images carved on these memories in stone express elaborate social narratives. The graphic sequences described here demonstrate the political role of these stones and material justification of ancestral pasts. They were undoubtedly imbued with oral tales about old ancestors and new leaders, to justify the order of the economic systems associated with mining and trade in metals.

The dating of French gilt bronzes with ED-XRF analysis and machine learning

ABSTRACTThis study presents a method for estimating the date of production of Parisian cast gilt bronze artifacts from the late seventeenth to the early twenty-first centuries based on their elemental composition as measured by energy dispersive X-ray florescence spectroscopy (ED-XRF). Gilt bronzes are notoriously difficult to date; however, during this time period in France, both metallurgy and trade in metals were in a state of continual transformation. These technological and commercial transformations drove changes in the elemental composition of gilt bronzes produced by Parisian craftsmen over time. These changes in turn allow estimation of the manufacture date of gilt bronzes of unknown provenance based on their elemental composition. The composition of undated French gilt bronzes can be compared to a database of compositions derived from well-dated examples. In this paper, a database of 466 such observations collected using ED-XRF is presented as a basis for comparison. The use of an ED-XRF calibration protocol designed to deliver accurate and reproducible quantitative results (CHARMed PyMca) allows for data collected on multiple instruments to be aggregated in the database and for data collected by similarly calibrated instruments to be evaluated. A method for estimating the date of manufacture for unknown samples is presented using two machine learning techniques, support vector regression (SVR) and random forest regression (RFR). By using a simple combination of both models, an estimate of the time of manufacture may be made within ±37 years with a confidence of approximately 90%. This level of precision can be useful for distinguishing eighteenth century castings from nineteenth century copies as well as from castings made in the twentieth century.

(Re)sources: Origins of metals in Late Period Egypt

Metal trade and access to raw materials during the Late Bronze Age—roughly covering the New Kingdom in Egypt—have received substantial attention from past and present scholarship. Despite copper and lead remaining essential commodities afterwards, our knowledge about their supply during the Iron Age and later periods, in contrast, remains limited, even if it has improved recently. This paper presents the results of a pilot project investigating the possible sources of lead and copper available to Egypt during the Late Period (664–332 BCE), a period of intense contact and exchange between Egypt and the Mediterranean world.In the context of this research, a wide range of artefacts from Naukratis, a major cosmopolitan trading hub in the Western Nile Delta founded in the late 7th century BC, were analysed to determine their chemical composition and lead isotope ratios. They mostly consist of metal finds—including a crucible slag—but also some locally produced faience objects which used lead and copper to colour the glaze. Additional samples include metal objects and lead ores from Tell Dafana, a Late Period settlement in the Eastern Delta, and contemporary Egyptian or Egyptianizing bronzes from Cyprus.A total of 39 objects were analysed with a combination of lead isotope and elemental analysis, yielding surprising results for the likely origins of the copper. While Cyprus, an expected source for copper, is identified for one object, the copper deposits from Faynan or from northwestern Anatolia offer the best match for most finds, including those found in Cyprus.The lead analysed seems to originate from a variety of mines, particularly from Laurion in Attica, and mines in the northern Aegean and/or northwestern Anatolia, with one example possibly from a lead‑silver mine located in central Iran. The multiplicity of lead sources reflects the complexity of international trade in the Eastern Mediterranean at the time.The study offers a valuable insight into the trade networks of Egypt and, by extension, the whole of the ancient Mediterranean. A larger-scale project investigating objects from a wider range of sites in the Eastern Mediterranean world could revolutionize our understanding of metal trade and concomitant economic, political and social developments in the first millennium BC.

Copper ingots from a probable Bronze Age shipwreck off the coast of Salcombe, Devon: Composition and microstructure

The seabed site of a probable Bronze Age shipwreck off the coast of Salcombe in south-west England was explored between 1977 and 1982 and from 2004 onwards. Nearly 400 objects including copper and tin ingots, bronze artefacts/fragments and gold ornaments were found, typologically dating either to c. 1300–1150 BC or 1000–800 BC. The 280 copper and 40 tin plano-convex ingots and ingot fragments represent the largest discovery, measured by total weight as well as by quantity, of plano-convex or bun ingots in northwest Europe. The Salcombe copper ingots provided a wonderful opportunity for the technical study of copper ingots in a probable shipwreck context, as opposed to terrestrial contexts of deliberate deposition. The chemical composition of 25 plano-convex copper ingots was determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). Two artefacts from the site were also analysed for comparison with the ingots. Following the compositional analysis, a microstructural study was carried out on ten Salcombe copper ingots selected to cover those with different sizes, shapes and variable impurity levels using metallography and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS).All the analysed copper ingots are of unalloyed copper with low levels of impurities. Sulphide inclusions are present in all samples and bulk sulphur contents are of 0.32–0.79% in the ingots but lower in the artefacts. The Salcombe ingots were found to have a quite similar impurity pattern to the Hertford Heath (England) ingots (except for iron content). They are distinctly different from the Uluburun ingots, and, to a lesser degree, from Sardinian ingots. The results are inconclusive as to how the Salcombe ingots were made. On the one hand, the very low concentration of iron and the absence of cuprite inclusions suggest that the ingots were primary smelting products of the primitive smelting process rather than produced from re-melting or refining of primary smelting lumps. On the other hand, the dense metal with very low porosity suggests the product of refining and re-casting operations under reducing conditions. However, the small ingots are not likely to have resulted from breaking of large ingots. The chemical compositions of the Salcombe ingots point to British or Western European sources although the connection with other regions cannot be excluded for some of the ingots. Further studies including lead isotope analysis are needed to address the question of provenance of the copper ingots, which would contribute to the re-emerging debates surrounding the European Bronze Age metal trade.

Simon Fletcher, Emma Purshouse and Dave Reeves (eds), The Poetry of the Black Country.

The Poetry of the Black Country is a recent anthology of Black Country poetry edited by Simon Fletcher, Emma Purshouse, and Dave Reeves, three well-known poets from the Black Country. The Black Country is a former industrial area situated to the north-west of Birmingham and which used to specialise in the metal trades, iron and steel and coal mining as well. Other areas of activity included chain-making, lock-making and nail-making. In the Victorian era, the Black Country was well-known for i...