SMM News, March 31: According to SMM statistics, total aluminum production outside China in March 2026 edged up 0.2% YoY, while daily average production fell 2.7% MoM, mainly due to widespread production cuts and shutdowns at aluminum plants in Mozambique and the Middle East during March. According to an announcement on Hydro's official website, Qatalum smelter in Qatar initiated an orderly shutdown on March 3, and announced on March 12 that it had decided to stop further production cuts and maintain a 60% operating rate. On March 16, according to South32's official website, Mozal Aluminium (Mozal) was confirmed to have entered maintenance status on March 15, involving 580,000 mt of capacity. On March 15, according to an announcement on Alba's official website, Alba initiated the shutdown of Lines 1, 2, and 3 under controlled and safe conditions, involving capacity equivalent to 19% of its total capacity of 1.623 million mt, or about 310,000 mt; around March 25, the market reported that its Line 4 might also see production cuts or shutdowns, involving 320,000 mt of capacity; on March 28, according to an announcement on Alba's official website, its aluminum plant facilities were hit on March 28, the extent of equipment damage was still being assessed, and it would maintain operational flexibility and employee safety. On March 28, according to EGA's official website, facilities at its Al Taweelah aluminum plant suffered severe damage, with the extent of the damage still under assessment. The market expects large-scale production cuts and shutdowns there, and the plant has aluminum capacity of about 1.55 million mt. Looking ahead to April 2026 , although the Mount Holly aluminum plant in the US and the Grundartangi aluminum plant in Iceland are expected to begin resuming production, production resumptions at Spain's San Ciprián aluminum plant continue to advance, and operating capacity at new aluminum projects in Indonesia and Angola is expected to continue ramping up, given the large scale of production cuts and shutdowns at aluminum plants in the Middle East and Mozambique in March and the further emergence of their impact, aluminum production outside China in April is expected to decline significantly both YoY and MoM. Overall, if the situation in the Middle East proves difficult to ease, monthly aluminum production is expected to shift into sustained negative YoY growth from Q2 to Q4 2026. Continued attention should be paid to subsequent announcements from relevant aluminum plants in the Middle East and trends in global aluminum inventory.

The University of Tsukuba in Japan successfully developed a new-type magnesium-air solid-state battery, using a nitrogen-doped porous graphene cathode to solve the problem of chloride corrosion, providing a high-safety, low-cost technological pathway for flexible electronics and wearable devices. At the same time, the Record Ridge magnesium mine project in British Columbia, Canada, has triggered strong opposition from the local tourism community over plans to transport ore to China for processing, and has been halted by litigation, with a court hearing scheduled for March 10. The two developments respectively highlight magnesium’s cutting-edge applications in new energy technology and the real-world tensions in resource development.

On February 10, ERG Africa, a subsidiary of Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), and Enterprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC), a state-owned entity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), signed a memorandum of understanding on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba in Cape Town. The agreement establishes a public-private partnership aimed at promoting the formalization, professionalization, and regulation of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in the DRC. Under the agreement, EGC will obtain mining rights to an exploitation area owned by ERG in Lualaba Province and will implement a pilot project to develop a more structured mining model.

Recently, African media reported that the cross-border, world-class iron ore resource of the Mbalam-Nabeba Iron Ore Project, located between Congo Republic and Cameroon in Africa, is expected to commence production in December 2025 , with the supporting railway construction to start simultaneously. The Mbalam-Nabeba Iron Ore Project is situated on the border between Cameroon and Congo Republic, with Mbalam located in Cameroon and Nabeba in Congo Republic. According to a 2015 exploration report, the iron ore reserves of this mine are estimated at 5.64 billion mt (mainly hematite, with a grade of 33.4%), including 805 million mt of high-grade iron ore (with a grade of 57.3%), making it a world-class large-scale high-quality open-pit iron ore mine. According to the latest information, the total iron ore resources of the entire Mbalam-Nabeba Project exceed 6.44 billion mt. Among them, the mining areas in Congo Republic cover three ore deposits: the Nabeba Iron Ore Mine, the Avima Iron Ore Mine, and the Badondo Iron Ore Mine , with estimated iron ore reserves of 1.5 billion mt, 1.4 billion mt, and 679 million mt, respectively. On August 17, 2022, Cameroon Mining Company Sarl (CMC) obtained the mining license for the Mbalam Iron Ore Mine. Bestway Finance, an investment vehicle headquartered in Singapore that shares the same parent company as CMC, and the Australian publicly listed firm AustSino Resources announced a joint development of this project. Behind these two shareholders is a large number of Chinese engineering, construction, infrastructure, or mining companies, including China Railway 20th Bureau Group Corporation, China Machinery Engineering Corporation, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, China National Chemical Engineering Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd., and China Construction Mining Group Co., Ltd., among others. On May 7, 2024, representatives from Bestway Finance and representatives from the Cameroonian government, including Professor Fuh Calistus Gentry, the interim Minister of Mines, Industry, and Technological Development, signed the development agreement for the Mbalam Iron Ore Mine. Driven by the upcoming production of the Simandou Project in Guinea, it may bring greater impetus and stimulation to this world-class project in Cameroon. Let's wait and see for the official commencement of production at the end of the year!

As the world places greater emphasis on sustainable development, the recycling and reuse of metal resources not only effectively reduces resource waste but also mitigates environmental pollution, thereby promoting a green transformation of the economy.

According to Kumba Iron Ore's latest quarterly report, the company sold 9 million mt of iron ore in Q1, which is equivalent to its total production. Kumba has been collaborating with Transnet and the Ore Users Forum to prioritize maintenance work related to independent technical assessments of the iron ore line. Following this positive start, Kumba maintained its full-year iron ore production and sales guidance between 35 million mt and 37 million mt. The company's average FOB export price for iron ore this quarter was $98/mt, 11% higher than the benchmark price of $88/mt. CEO Mpumi Zikalala stated that amidst the uncertain global macro environment, it is even more crucial for Kumba to focus its strategy on operational excellence and cost optimization. "We successfully restructured our business in 2024, significantly enhancing our resilience in a more challenging operating environment. We are pleased to continue unlocking value through our high-quality iron ore products, achieving an average price 11% higher than the benchmark." In this quarter, Kumba increased its waste stripping volume by 8% to 40.5 million mt, thanks to an optimized mine plan that operates as an integrated mining complex and develops greater flexibility in the production process. Although production at the Sishen mine decreased by 9% YoY to 6 million mt, production at the Kolomela mine increased by 12% YoY to 3 million mt. Importantly, iron ore shipped to ports by rail increased by 5% YoY to 9.8 million mt.