【SMM Steel】The British Chamber of Commerce has warned that new steel import quotas effective July 1 will severely impact SMEs in steel-consuming sectors. The UK's annual steel demand is ~10.3m tonnes, while domestic production covers only ~2.6m tonnes. William Bain, BCC Head of Trade Policy, said companies face millions in losses once quotas are exhausted, with some considering relocation to the EU. The BCC urges the government to scale back quota cuts, phase in the 50% tariff, and extend transitional arrangements.

The US and Iran “have neared an agreement,” which is planned to be signed on the sidelines of next week’s G7 summit, and could be signed as early as this Sunday. Reports indicate that Geneva, Switzerland, is being discussed as a “potential signing venue.”This year’s G7 summit will take place from June 15 to 17 in Évian-les-Bains, France. On the afternoon of June 11 local time, US President Trump told the media at the White House that the US and Iran could sign an agreement in Europe as soon as this weekend, that he himself might not attend, but that Vice President Vance would be present.

Saint-Gobain will discontinue production of its Alumina-Zirconia-Silica (AZS) line at the Falconer facility in the US, with production expected to end in August and 79 positions affected. The company said other product lines at the site will continue operating. Industry reports show AZS refractory manufacturing is facing rising energy costs, tighter environmental regulations and growing zirconium raw material shortages, driving production costs higher. Increasing demand for high-purity zirconia from sectors such as solid-state batteries, nuclear applications and advanced manufacturing is also intensifying raw material competition. Markets believe weaker North American construction demand and elevated operating costs continue to pressure profitability in related manufacturing sectors.

The 200,000-ton-per-year lithium salt project by Guocheng Lithium is planned for construction across three phases. Upon full completion, it will become the largest single-site lithium salt production base in China. The project is of great significance to ensuring the security and stability of the country’s lithium battery industry supply chain. Currently, the first phase, a 60,000-ton-per-year battery-grade lithium carbonate project, is accelerating its civil works finalization, with mechanical and electrical installation over 90% complete and equipment commissioning now underway. Mechanical completion is expected in April, with trial production set to begin simultaneously. Lithium ore is transported from the Dangba mining area in Barkam by road, covering over 300 kilometers to the Deyang-Aba Industrial Park in Mianzhu. The mining area is the largest proven spodumene deposit in Asia, with accumulated identified ore reserves of 84.255 million tons, lithium oxide resources exceeding 1.12 million tons, and an average grade of 1.33%. Within the Deyang-Aba Industrial Park, the first-phase plant facilities are largely finished, and equipment commissioning is in full swing. According to Sichuan Guocheng Lithium, mechanical completion for the phase is scheduled for the second quarter, at which point trial production will commence. Other similar projects, including those by Sichuan Development Longmang New Materials and Fuling Precision, have also broken ground in the park. Guocheng Lithium stated that once operational, these projects will create clustering effects in the park. Leveraging the park’s location advantages and circular economy foundation, upstream and downstream enterprises will engage in deep cooperation in areas such as byproduct utilization and technology R&D to build a lithium battery materials industrial ecosystem. The Deyang-Aba Industrial Park is rapidly emerging as a key national hub for new energy battery materials. According to park authorities, based on current industrial capacity, projects under construction and in operation can achieve an annual output of 150,000 tons of basic lithium salts and 420,000 tons of cathode materials, positioning the park as a critical upstream supply base for lithium battery materials in China. Over the next three years, the park plans to invest 1.59 billion yuan in 20 infrastructure projects, including road construction, power facilities, emergency response systems, and pipeline and channel upgrades, aiming to enhance industrial carrying capacity and accelerate its integration into the provincial-level advanced manufacturing cluster for lithium battery materials in the Chengdu-Deyang-Meishan-Ziyang region.

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.

In early March 2026, Qatalum—the 648,000-tonne-per-year primary aluminum smelter in Qatar, a 50/50 joint venture between Norsk Hydro and Qatar Aluminum Manufacturing Company initiated a controlled shutdown of production. The decision, effective from March 3, followed a warning from gas supplier QatarEnergy that natural gas deliveries would be fully suspended due to disruptions linked to the ongoing U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict, including attacks on regional energy infrastructure.