Although base metals are not used as a store of value or in jewellery production, they are valuable as important raw materials in major industries around the world, such as construction, automobiles and shipping.   As such, suppliers need to hedge their products against future price movements.  Likewise, investors in base metals trade to take advantage of price movements.

Aluminium has wide applications in various industries throughout the world, from transportation, packaging, electrical application, medicine to construction.  The automotive and packaging industries depend heavily on aluminium as a raw material.

Aluminium has hundreds of alloys, making it useful for a very wide variety of applications from aircraft, aerospace, automotive, and shipbuilding to household products.  Aluminium alloys are also used in newer applications, such as drive shafts, radiators, cylinder heads, and suspension systems where durability, cost and light weight are important considerations.

Copper is highly resilient to corrosion and is a good electricity conductor.  It is a valuable raw material as it is malleable and hence can be fashioned into utensils, tools and weapons.  Copper is currently the world's third most widely used metal, after iron and aluminium.

Iron ore is the basic raw material for steel making.  Besides being a major component in modern building structures, it is used extensively in car manufacturing and ship building around the world.  Iron ore is the world’s most widely used metal.  Currently iron ore is mainly supplied from Australia and Brazil and highly demanded in China.

Lead is integral to our modern lifestyle.  Lead acid batteries are the mainstay of storage technologies for renewable energy sources, such as solar cell and wind turbines.  Leads high density provides unrivalled protection from radiation and is essential to hospitals and nuclear installations.  Throughout the world, lead is mainly mined and utilised in China due to its heavy industrialisation in the recent years.

Nickel is most commonly used as an anti-corrosion agent; hence it is essential in the production of stainless steel which is an important industrial material.  Nickel is mainly produced in Russia, Canada, New Caledonia, Cuba and Australia.

Tin occurs in nature mainly as tin dioxide. This silvery, malleable poor metal is not easily oxidized in air and is used to coat other metals to prevent corrosion.  Because of its low toxicity, tin-plated metal is also used for food packaging.  Globally, China is the largest producer of tin, followed by Indonesia.

Zinc is crucial in maintaining steel goods and structure as it is highly resistant to non-acidic atmospheric corrosion.  Zinc is produced extensively in North and South America, Asia, Australia and in Europe.