Vedanta-owned Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) highlighted the importance of its aluminium wire rod business in supporting India’s power transmission, distribution and infrastructure sectors. Produced at BALCO’s Korba facility in Chhattisgarh, the electrical-grade aluminium wire rods are supplied to cable and conductor manufacturers for use in power lines, electrical networks and industrial applications. The company offers both conductor-grade and specialty alloy wire rods for applications ranging from building cables to high-voltage transmission systems. As India continues expanding its power grid and renewable energy capacity, demand for aluminium conductors and cables is expected to grow steadily. BALCO’s integrated production model, covering alumina, primary aluminium and finished wire rods, helps ensure product quality and supply stability. However, the business remains exposed to fluctuations in aluminium prices, energy costs and competition from domestic and international suppliers.

【SMM Steel】Nippon Steel is planning to invest in an electric arc furnace (EAF) at its steelworks in Košice, Slovakia, as part of its strategy to reduce carbon emissions and promote greener steel production. The project is expected to cut reliance on traditional coal-intensive steelmaking routes with high CO2 emissions. The investment aligns with the broader transition of the European steel industry toward lower-emission technologies. The EAF adoption is also expected to improve energy efficiency at the Košice plant and strengthen its competitiveness amid increasingly stringent environmental regulations.

【SMM Steel】Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) has transferred its 2 million tonnes per annum Dugdha Coal Washery to JSW Steel, marking the first coal washery asset monetization under the Ministry of Coal's infrastructure programme. JSW Steel secured the contract as developer and operator by bidding a 2.35% premium over the standard notified price. This partnership introduces private sector operations into state-owned infrastructure to upgrade resource utilization and expand national coal beneficiation capabilities. The project aims to supply washed coking coal to the domestic steel industry, supporting the national Mission Coking Coal strategy to lower import dependency. The arrangement is expected to optimize supply chain productivity throughout Jharkhand and adjacent regions.

Under the global trend of vehicle electrification, China's and the European and American NEV markets have maintained high growth, driving the expansion of battery enterprises; wind power and PV installations continue to grow, and the demand for energy storage and filtering shows considerable growth prospects. Downstream automotive electronics and server sectors in the electronic circuit copper foil industry have maintained good growth with state support; with the advent of the 5G era, a new wave of development in the consumer electronics industry has driven production growth of high-performance flexible copper clad laminates. However, as copper foil enterprises continuously release new capacity in and outside China, fierce competition has brought severe profit challenges. Capacity integration, cost reduction and efficiency improvement, and enhancing product competitiveness have become the core of industry development. SMM , in response to the demands of industry users, as an independent third-party platform, with the aim of promoting the development of the global copper foil industry, has organized and sorted out copper foil industry resources in and outside China for market reference and study. Here, we join hands with Jinfeng Precious Metals Materials (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. to sincerely invite outstanding enterprises and industry experts to assist in the production of , and to provide your valuable suggestions, jointly making positive contributions to the development of the copper foil industry. We strive to present a more objective industry landscape, and will invite all sectors of the industry chain to participate in production and supervision, helping to promote the distribution and dissemination of the global copper foil industry map throughout the process! (Click the link to get it for free: ) Jinfeng Precious Metals Materials (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. is based in Jiangsu, serving the entire country. It is a comprehensive full-industry-chain service provider integrating precious metal scrap recycling, coating removal processing, high-purity precious metal powders, precious metal compounds, and catalytic material production and sales. It has deeply cultivated the fields of copper foil, chlor-alkali chemical industry, and water treatment electrolytic electrode recycling and regeneration, with complete recycling qualifications and guaranteed compliant operations. The company's core business focuses on waste electrode recycling and substrate regeneration. It specializes in the recycling and disposal of waste iridium-coated anode plates from copper foil plants, as well as ruthenium-iridium coated anode meshes and ruthenium-platinum coated cathode meshes from chlor-alkali and water treatment industries, supported by a mature back-pull anode coating removal process. This process completely strips the precious metal coating and returns the titanium substrate intact, significantly reducing clients' raw material loss costs and achieving dual recycling of both titanium and precious metals. With in-house standardized production and purification workshops, we mass-produce high-purity precious metal raw materials. Our main products include 99.95 high-purity iridium powder, 99.95 high-purity ruthenium powder, as well as precious metal salts such as chloroiridic acid, ammonium chloroiridate, iridium trichloride, and ruthenium trichloride, and we also supply various precious metal catalysts. All products strictly comply with national industry standards, ensuring stable purity and controllable quality, suitable for multiple industrial scenarios such as electrolysis, electroplating, and chemical catalysis. Our business covers all categories of precious metals including platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, gold, and silver, integrating the entire process from scrap recycling, hydrometallurgical refining, powder synthesis, compound preparation, to finished product sales. The company adheres to the concept of green recycling development, relying on mature hydrometallurgical purification technology, achieving high precious metal recovery rates, transparent pricing, and efficient settlement. We have long served upstream and downstream enterprises in the new energy copper foil, chlor-alkali, environmental water treatment, and fine chemical industries, providing industrial clients with one-stop precious metal recycling solutions through compliant qualifications, stable supply, and comprehensive after-sales service. Jinfeng Precious Metals Materials (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. Contact: Director Du Tel: 138 6166 6239 Address: No. 1079 Binjiang West Road, Jiangyin, Jiangsu SMM Contact Bao Jinyong 13159338158 baojinyong@smm.cn

SMM June 23: Metals market: Overnight, base metals on the domestic market showed mixed performance. SHFE zinc rose 0.53%, SHFE aluminum fell 0.27%, SHFE nickel rose 0.39%. SHFE tin fell 1.96%, SHFE copper edged down, SHFE lead rose 0.34%. Additionally, the most-traded alumina futures contract fell 2.63%, and the cast aluminum main contract rose 0.3%. Overnight, ferrous metals all fell. Iron ore fell 0.34%, rebar fell 0.16%. HRC fell 0.21%, stainless steel fell 1.46%. Coking coal and coke: the most-traded coking coal contract fell 0.63%, and the most-traded coke contract fell 2.81%. Overnight, on the overseas market, LME base metals mostly rose. LME copper rose 0.62%. LME aluminum fell 1.1%, LME lead rose 0.77%. LME zinc rose 1.32%. LME tin fell 0.34%. LME nickel rose 1%. Overnight, in precious metals: COMEX gold fell 0.85%, and COMEX silver fell 1.71%. Overnight, SHFE gold fell 0.18%, and SHFE silver fell 1.23%. As of 7:16 on June 23, the overnight closing prices: Macro Front China: [National Energy Group: Full-Throttle Efforts to Prepare for Peak Summer, Stabilizing Production and Increasing Output to Cement Coal Supply as Ballast] National Energy Investment Group Co., Ltd. announced in a statement that, according to forecasts by the National Climate Center, this summer's average temperature across the country will be higher than usual, with more high-temperature days than normal. National Energy Group fully leverages its integrated coal-power-chemical-transport operation advantages, makes all-out efforts across all links, and firmly shoulders the heavy responsibility of ensuring supply during the peak summer. Coal supply is the baseline support for stable electricity generation. The coal segment of National Energy Group is rapidly stabilizing and increasing production, coordinating internal and external resources, and ensuring equipment operation and maintenance, aiming for high-output and stable-supply goals to solidify the foundation of energy supply and fully support regional peak power load demand. [National Energy Group's Installed Power Generation Capacity Exceeds 400 Million kW, Accounting for About 1/10 of National Total] National Energy Group announced that its installed power generation capacity has exceeded 400 million kW, accounting for about one-tenth of the national total, playing a "pillar" role in ensuring stable national power supply and safeguarding energy security. After exceeding 300 million kW in May 2023, its installed capacity entered the 400 million kW level in June 2026, setting a new record among global energy companies for installed generation capacity. Among this, thermal power and wind power installed capacity both remain the world's largest. As of end-May 2026, National Energy Group has put into operation 65 ultra-supercritical coal-fired power units of gigawatt-class, accounting for nearly 30% of all such units in China, with its high-efficiency and clean coal power scale firmly leading the industry; at the same time, the group actively explores new development models such as integrated wind-solar-storage-hydrogen and coordinated generation-grid-load-storage, and has built new-type energy storage with a total capacity of 8.01 million kW / 19.21 million kWh, continuously enhancing its renewable energy consumption and regulation capabilities. (Xinhua) US dollar: Overnight, the US dollar index rose 0.24% to 101. Fed's Goolsbee said: Fed Chairman Walsh's approach is to reduce speculation on interest rates and reduce forward guidance; I quite agree with this approach. According to CME "FedWatch": the probability that the Fed will keep rates unchanged in July is 63.7%, and the probability of a cumulative 25bp rate hike is 36.3%. For the September meeting, the probability of keeping rates unchanged is 26.1%, a cumulative 25bp rate hike is 52.2%, and a cumulative 50bp rate hike is 21.4%. (Jinshi Data APP) Bank of America currently expects the Fed to raise interest rates three times this year, the latest sign that Wall Street is bracing for more aggressive Fed tightening. The bank's economists previously expected the Fed to hold rates steady this year. The reason for the revised forecast is strong economic data and a hawkish shift in Fed communication, suggesting the Fed will take a more proactive approach to combating inflation. Bank of America's forecast of three rate hikes remains a minority view: only 19% of market investors currently expect three hikes, though that proportion has climbed from 3% a week ago. Investors see two rate hikes this year as the most likely outcome. (Jinshi Data APP) Other currencies: [Starmer Says UK Labour Party New Leader Election to Start on July 9] UK Prime Minister Starmer said on the 22nd, when announcing his resignation, that the election for the new leader of the UK Labour Party will begin on July 9. Starmer said he has asked the Labour Party's National Executive Committee to set a timetable for the leadership election, with the nomination process to start on July 9 and be completed before the parliamentary summer recess. This means the new Labour leader will be in place before Parliament returns in September. (Xinhua) Macro front: Today, data to be released include the preliminary June manufacturing PMIs for France, Germany, the Eurozone, and the UK; the preliminary UK June services PMI; the UK June CBI industrial orders balance; the US ADP employment change for the week ending June 6; the preliminary US June S&P Global manufacturing and services PMIs; and the US June Richmond Fed manufacturing index, among others. Additionally, watch for: a speech by Bank of Canada Governor Macklem; the 17th Summer Davos Forum held in Dalian from June 23 to 25; and MSCI's release of its annual market classification review results, with South Korea expected to be placed on the watch list for developed market status. Crude oil: Overnight, both oil futures fell, with WTI down 2.33% and Brent down 2.8%. Oil prices opened higher on Monday but then turned lower. Wallstreetcn mentioned that Qatar and Pakistan issued a joint statement on Monday, announcing that the US and Iran have agreed on a mechanism to end military operations in Lebanon and have established a communication channel to ensure the safety of commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The US Treasury Department then announced that it would allow Iran to sell oil to international markets within 60 days, as one of the conditions of the memorandum of understanding signed by both sides last week. US Vice President Vance described the first round of negotiations as "very, very smooth." (Wallstreetcn) Furthermore, Iraq's deputy oil minister for upstream affairs said in a statement on Sunday that Iraq plans to gradually restore crude oil production to between 4.2 million and 4.3 million barrels per day. ANZ Bank expects that in the first four weeks, production will return to about 2 million to 3 million barrels per day. Resumption of production still faces challenges; in Q3 2026, 2 million to 3.5 million barrels per day may be restored, provided the market is stable, while another 1 million to 2 million barrels per day of supply could be permanently or semi-permanently lost. ANZ added: "The initial production recovery will mainly come from logistics (transportation), not production. Later stages will depend on upstream production and refinery restarts. A full resumption of production is unlikely this year." (Jinshi Data APP)

According to statistics from the Shaanxi Coal Industry Association, as of the end of May, the province's coal production totaled 318.837 million mt, up 3.8% YoY, accounting for 16.1% of the national coal production. Coal sales amounted to 285.2742 million mt, up 3.12% YoY. In May, the province had 225 mines in operation, producing 63.4498 million mt of coal and selling 62.0982 million mt. Of this, key state-owned coal enterprises—Shaanxi Coal Group, Shaanxi Investment Group, and Shendong's coal mines in Shaanxi—recorded raw coal production of 31.8664 million mt, accounting for 50.2% of the province's coal production; coal sales reached 30.9971 million mt, accounting for 49.9% of the province's coal sales.