Sinomine Resource Group's Zimbabwe unit, Masingo Lithium Technology, has obtained EIA approval for its 100,000 t/y lithium sulfate plant at Bikita, moving the project into full construction with contractors China Railway No. 9 Group and Shandong Dadi now on site. Completion is targeted for mid-2027. The clearance formalizes a plan first disclosed in September 2024 and reaffirmed via Sinomine's RMB 5.2 billion ($764 million) fundraising in May 2026, rather than signaling new capital commitment. Bikita becomes Zimbabwe's third Chinese-backed lithium sulfate project, joining Huayou's 50,000 t/y Arcadia plant commissioned July 2026, running near 60% of capacity as of late July and Yahua's Kamativi facility construction started February 2026, capacity undisclosed. Combined announced capacity across all three approaches 200,000+ t/y once complete, ahead of Zimbabwe's January 2027 concentrate export ban. SMM View: Arcadia's slower than nameplate ramp is the key benchmark here if Bikita follows a similar curve at double the capacity, full-rate output likely slips into 2028 despite a mid-2027 completion date. With all three plants now past groundbreaking, Zimbabwe's beneficiation push has shifted from policy to physical build out, the next signal to watch is how strictly the export ban is enforced against each plant's actual commissioning timeline, not just its announced one.

US consumer demand cooled notably in July, and retail sales data came in far below expectations, prompting more cautious market assessments of H2 consumer resilience.US Census Bureau data released Friday showed that July retail sales fell 0.6% MoM, the largest monthly decline since May 2025 and well below market expectations of a 0.1% increase. Lower auto purchases and a pullback in online retail were the main drags.

The global automotive industry is accelerating its low-carbon, intelligent transformation, while China's automotive industry is shifting from scale advantages to leadership in both technology and supply chains. In 2025, the NEV penetration rate in China exceeded 50%, driving upgrades in automotive materials such as aluminum, steel, and magnesium and triggering a surge in demand for lightweight new materials. Coupled with the implementation of the EU carbon tariff, low-carbon transformation across the industry chain is imminent. As the 15th Five-Year Plan begins and the dual-carbon drive deepens, the industry urgently needs a professional platform to resolve material technology challenges. Against this backdrop, will be held on September 10-11, 2026 in Shanghai , SMM , together with co-title sponsor - Guangdong Hongjin New Materials Group Co., Ltd. , cordially invites industry peers to attend and drive the in-depth evolution of the automotive supply chain toward green, lightweight, intelligent, and globalized development. Click to attend; we look forward to meeting you at the event. Focusing on Cast Aluminum Alloy for 30 Years , Guangdong Hongjin New Materials Group has been deeply engaged in the cast aluminum alloy field for 30 years, takes "Casting the Future" as its development vision, is anchored to the core mission of "becoming a high-quality partner for the global automotive supply chain," and is a leading aluminum-based new materials enterprise at a 10-billion-yuan scale, integrating R&D, large-scale production, and one-stop support services. 1. Industrial Layout and Capacity Strengths The group has established a complete industry chain in South China, Central China, and East China, with 10 modern production sites and 2 provincial-level new materials research institutes. As of 2025, the group's annual capacity for green and low-carbon aluminum alloys exceeded 1.5 million mt. Its proprietary direct molten aluminum supply service can cover clients within a 200-kilometer radius, providing all-inclusive turnkey support throughout the melting and casting process, significantly reducing energy consumption and production costs for downstream die-casting enterprises, and helping the industry chain cut carbon emissions and improve efficiency. 2. Robust R&D to Tackle Core Material Challenges in Integrated Die Casting The company has established a dual research institute R&D system, with Huajin New Materials Research Institute and Nantong Hongjin New Materials Research Institute, and works closely with Central South University, Shandong University, Jilin University, Nantong University, Chalco Materials Research Institute, and top-tier automakers to jointly build an industry-academia-research cooperation platform. It has independently developed a series of new aluminum alloy materials with high thermal conductivity, high electrical conductivity, high strength and toughness, and high wear resistance, and many products have been commercialized. The heat-treatment-free aluminum alloy material for large-scale integrated die casting of NEVs has been successfully developed and certified by OEMs, and is fully ready for mass production , directly addressing the core pain point of NEV body lightweighting. The company holds dozens of aluminum alloy material patents, offers a full range of general-purpose die-casting alloys under standard grades such as ADC12, A380, AC46000, A360, ADC10, AISi12, A356, B39H, ALSI10MNMG, and ALSI7CUMG, and has also launched dozens of proprietary patented high-end alloy grades, including HJ03, HJ05, HJ05A, HJ06, HJ08, HJAM-05, HJ-GD08, HCS09, HJ09A, HJ09B, HJ12, HJ13, HJ15, HJ16, and HS330, covering the needs of different lightweight parts. 3. Comprehensive Qualifications and Green Low-Carbon System The enterprise has successively obtained a full set of automotive industry system certifications, including ISO 9001, IATF 16949, ISO 14001, and ISO 50001, completed carbon footprint and greenhouse gas verification, and is advancing the development of ESG and ASI sustainable aluminum standards, aligning with global automakers' low-carbon procurement requirements and fully addressing EU carbon tariff trade barriers. 4. Global High-Quality Customer Matrix Hongjin New Materials' aluminum alloy products are widely used in NEVs, 5G communications, 3C electronics, low-altitude aerospace, general machinery, and other fields. The company has been a long-term, stable supplier to leading domestic and overseas companies, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volkswagen, Tesla, BYD, NIO, XPeng, Xiaomi, Geely, CATL, and DJI, and is also a designated qualified material supplier for Google and Amazon, with a mature and complete global supply system. New Materials Applications Contact Information Procurement Center: South China Team - Procurement Lead - Yu Gefang 158 1930 2652 East China Team - Procurement Head - He Fulai 187 9615 9377 Central China Team - Procurement Head - Guo Hua 159 7153 3777 Hongbang Team - Procurement Head - Yang Zhenjiang 139 2263 2929 Sales Center: South China Team - Sales Head - He Chijia 138 2754 9148 East China Team - Sales Head - Wang Zhibin 151 9097 6668 Central China Team - Sales Head - Li Hongwei 136 1832 5655 Hongbang Team - Sales Head - Yang Zhenjiang 139 2263 2929 Website: SMM Conference Contact Lv Junlei 176 1601 9596 lvjunlei@smm.cn

Computing power rental prices moved sideways today, with monthly rental and per-card-hour quotes for all models unchanged, mainly because no new resources were released into the market. Meanwhile, DeepSeek announced that it raised V4 series API pricing and introduced differentiated peak/off-peak pricing. Cached input pricing saw significant increases, well beyond the range of cost increases, signaling a pattern of testing the market with higher prices while leaving room for future anchoring. Frontline token businesses face a single pricing source and limited bargaining power, and need to closely monitor token price trends.

August 13, 2026: This week, the operating rate of China's leading downstream aluminum processing enterprises was 59.9%, down 0.2 percentage points WoW. The industry remained in the traditional consumption off-season; with high temperatures and weak end-use demand weighing on activity, most sectors were broadly under pressure. The primary aluminum alloy operating rate edged down 0.2 percentage points to 58%; weakening automobile production and higher aluminum prices curbed downstream purchases, new spot orders were extremely limited, and the sector remained in the doldrums. The aluminum plate/sheet and strip operating rate was unchanged at 69.0%; construction sheets & plates stockpiling expectations were not realized, can stock and automotive sheet orders were stable, and after concentrated export deliveries the market returned to real demand, leaving little upward driver in the short term. The aluminum wire and cable operating rate rose 0.4 percentage points to 62.4%; improved domestic-to-overseas price ratios slightly opened the export window, but limited new orders and slow State Grid cargo pick-up provided only mild support. The aluminum extrusion operating rate fell 0.8 percentage points to 50.8%; high temperatures shortened working hours and higher aluminum prices raised costs. Both construction and industrial extrusion weakened, and afternoon suspensions in south-west China further dragged output. The aluminum foil operating rate was unchanged at 70.1%; demand was weak during the air-conditioner end-user maintenance period, mid-month inventory built up, and enterprises mainly controlled production schedules and destocked; an inflection point in operating rates remains to be seen. The secondary aluminum operating rate edged down 0.3 percentage points to 49.1%, a low for the same period in recent years; tight compliant aluminum scrap, tax invoice uncertainty, and disruptions from high temperatures and typhoons made near-term improvement difficult. Overall, with the off-season constraint persisting and high-temperature disruptions, industry operating rates remained at low levels. In the short term, each segment is expected to stay mostly weak but stable, while aluminum wire and cable may move sideways due to the phased opening of the export window. Primary aluminum alloy: This week, the operating rate of China's leading primary aluminum alloy enterprises was 58%, down 0.2 percentage points WoW, continuing the weak operating trend. At present, the market was still in the traditional consumption off-season. According to CAAM data, China's automobile production in June was 2.37 million units, down 240,000 units MoM, and overall production in July and August is still expected to remain at low levels. Automobile consumption demand continued to weaken, clearly dragging on the primary aluminum alloy market. At the industry level, enterprise production schedules were still dominated by annual long-term contracts; new spot orders were extremely limited, overall orders edged down slightly from earlier, and overall operating rate fluctuations were relatively small. Meanwhile, the aluminum price center shifted somewhat higher during the week, further denting downstream purchasing sentiment; inquiry and spot transaction activity cooled noticeably, the trading atmosphere was subdued, and this placed some restraint on operating rates. Overall, the market lacked clear positive drivers in the short term; enterprises mostly stayed on the sidelines with limited willingness to ramp up production on their own initiative. Leading enterprises' operating rates are expected to hold at current levels next week, continuing the weak operating pattern. Aluminum plate/sheet and strip: This week, the operating rate of leading aluminum plate/sheet and strip enterprises was unchanged WoW at 69.0%. In terms of orders by product, the construction sheets & plates industry had not yet warmed up; as of this week, there was no concentrated stockpiling, and the industry lacked confidence that the August off-season to peak-season transition period would lift consumption. Orders on hand for hot-rolling downstream products such as can stock, automotive sheet, and 3C materials were relatively stable. The aluminum plate/sheet and strip operating rate is expected to recover in late August. In exports, after concentrated delivery of export orders received in Q2, the market gradually returned to real demand levels. In the short term, August stockpiling expectations have not yet been realized, and the demand side lacks drivers for substantive improvement; operating rates are expected to remain low and stable. Aluminum wire and cable: This week, the operating rate of China's aluminum wire and cable industry was 62.4%, up 0.4 percentage points WoW. During the week, thanks to improved domestic-to-overseas price ratios, the export window for aluminum stranded wire opened slightly, and some enterprises received a small number of new orders again, providing some support to operating rates. However, profit margins in this window were limited, overall new order sizes were small, and it was difficult to return to the previous high export prosperity level; the boost was mild. Domestically, State Grid cargo pick-up remained slow, and with the industry in the consumption off-season, domestic demand was generally weak and lacked strong support. Overall, neither domestic nor external demand showed clear improvement. The aluminum wire and cable industry is likely to mainly move sideways in the short term, with limited room for operating rates to rise or fall. Aluminum extrusion: This week, the weekly operating rate of China's aluminum extrusion industry was 50.8%, down 0.8 percentage points WoW. This week, the weak demand pattern in construction extrusion did not improve. Under persistently high temperatures, downstream construction site working hours were shortened, and purchase demand for construction extrusion declined further. Recently, aluminum prices drifted higher, raising raw material costs; downstream processing producers turned more cautious in procurement and maintained a purchase-as-needed strategy. On the supply side, some enterprises actively controlled the volume of engineering construction extrusion orders to optimize cash flow and took a prudent approach to new project orders. As multiple bearish factors compounded, the operating rate of the construction extrusion segment continued to move lower this week. In industrial extrusion, new orders for industrial motor housings, machinery equipment parts, and general industrial extrusion products declined, dragging the industrial extrusion operating rate slightly lower. In addition, some enterprises in south-west China reported that recent high temperatures were severe, workshop temperatures in the afternoon were too high, and work had to be suspended in the afternoon for rest, so overall output in August will decline. Overall, the short-term fundamentals of high-temperature disruptions and weak end-use demand in the off-season have not yet improved. Under the combined pressure of these two factors, operating rates in the aluminum extrusion industry will continue to weaken in the near term. Aluminum foil: This week, the operating rate of leading aluminum foil enterprises was unchanged WoW at 70.1%. At the enterprise operation level, the market was in the traditional off-season stage of consolidating at lows. Some aluminum foil producers reported that August sales completion rates were low, mid-month inventory build-up pressure was relatively large, and controlling production schedules and prioritizing destocking remained their primary strategy. In terms of order structure, air-conditioner end-users were in a period of large-scale summer equipment maintenance, providing little additional support to overall operating rates in the short term. Overall, deep weakness in air-conditioner foil and the packaging off-season effect remained the dominant factors, and as operating rates had already fallen to a relatively low level, the inflection point in operating rates remains to be seen. Secondary aluminum: This week, the operating rate of leading enterprises in the secondary aluminum industry edged down 0.3 percentage points WoW to 49.1%, still at a low level for the same period in recent years. On the raw material side, compliant aluminum scrap supply was tight, enterprise procurement cost pressure was relatively large, and tax invoice policy uncertainty continued to constrain raw material purchases and production. On the demand side, the market was still in the end-use consumption off-season, downstream order release was insufficient and mainly rigid demand, and enterprises showed weak willingness to schedule production. In addition, high temperatures and typhoon-related rainstorms disrupted production in some regions, further limiting production release. Under the combined impact of raw material constraints, off-season demand, and weather disruptions, the operating rate is expected to remain low in the short term. Going forward, attention will focus on the recovery of end-use orders and changes in tax invoice policy.

SMM, August 13: This week, trading sentiment among domestic aluminum fluoride enterprises was moderate, and aluminum fluoride prices remained stable. As of this report, SMM mainstream aluminum fluoride quotations stood at 11,200-11,800 yuan/mt; cryolite spot prices held steady, and SMM cryolite quotations were 7,500-9,000 yuan/mt. Raw material side: This week, aluminum fluoride raw material prices diverged. The upstream 97% fluorite wet powder market consolidated on a strong note, with mainstream delivered prices at 3,300-3,750 yuan/mt. Supply side, domestic mine safety supervision tightened, standardized mining management and control was implemented, and mine technological transformation and rectification cycles lengthened, constraining the release of effective industry capacity over the long term. Some mines in Inner Mongolia stopped production for rectification, most mines in the main producing areas of south China had not yet resumed production, spot cargo circulation in the market was tight, and although imported cargo from Mongolia could ease some supply pressure, the extent was limited. Demand side, downstream hydrogen fluoride enterprises maintained moderate rigid-demand restocking, but wait-and-see sentiment gradually emerged in the terminal fluorochemical market. Combined with steady consumption from the aluminum sector providing a floor, fluorite prices maintained a stable-to-rising pattern amid the tug-of-war between sellers and buyers. Other raw materials, the domestic aluminum hydroxide market drifted lower, with a weighted average price of 1,660 yuan/mt, down 0.60% WoW; the sulphuric acid market loosened from high levels, with transaction centers shifting slightly lower. After the gains and losses among raw materials offset each other, overall aluminum fluoride production costs stayed high. Supply side: The industry remained caught in a negative loop of high costs, production losses, and low operating rates. Rising fluorite prices further intensified enterprises' losses. Although product negotiation prices picked up somewhat in August, industry profitability was not meaningfully repaired. Most enterprises stepped up equipment maintenance and flexible production cuts, and overall operating rates continued to decline. At this stage, most enterprises in the market were adopting a contractionary operating strategy, prioritizing delivery of long-term contract orders. Incremental effective supply in the market was limited, and spot cargoes were tight overall. Demand side: Downstream aluminum industry operating capacity remained high, providing rigid demand support for aluminum fluoride and underpinning the market bottom. However, aluminum smelters were cautious and conservative in overall purchasing sentiment, mostly making sporadic restocking purchases for rigid demand. Sentiment for pushing for lower prices and waiting on the sidelines was strong, and there were no concentrated restocking or incremental procurement activities, making it difficult to drive market prices upward. Comment: This week, aluminum fluoride raw material trends continued to diverge. Fluorite prices rose sharply, raising the cost floor, while aluminum hydroxide and sulphuric acid prices pulled back slightly, partly offsetting cost pressure. The industry's overall production costs remained high, profit margins were difficult to repair, and production enthusiasm stayed weak. In August, the aluminum fluoride tender price of the benchmark aluminum enterprise was raised by 250 yuan/mt MoM. Upstream and downstream enterprises followed suit with price increases. Market prices stabilized for now, lacking one-sided trend drivers. Transactions were mostly small rigid-demand restocking orders. Aluminum fluoride prices are expected to remain in a stable stalemate pattern in the short term, with limited price movement. Going forward, close attention should be paid to raw material cost-side dynamics and marginal adjustments in downstream aluminum enterprises' procurement pace.