This week, spot lithium carbonate prices continued to rise, with the increase expanding. The SMM battery-grade lithium carbonate average price climbed from 152,000 yuan/mt on Tuesday (February 24) to 173,000 yuan/mt on Thursday (February 26), a cumulative rise of 21,000 yuan/mt over three trading days; the industrial-grade lithium carbonate average price also increased from 148,500 yuan/mt to 169,500 yuan/mt, with the same 21,000 yuan/mt gain. The key catalyst driving the accelerated price rise this week stemmed from sudden policy changes in major lithium resource-supplying countries. On Wednesday (February 25), Zimbabwe, the world's fourth-largest lithium resource producer, announced through its Ministry of Mines that it would immediately suspend all exports of lithium concentrates and raw ore (including goods in transit), allowing only enterprises with valid mining rights and approved beneficiation plants to apply for export qualifications. This move aimed to strengthen mineral regulation, combat illegal export activities, and promote the localization of the lithium industry chain. Affected by this unexpected event, the most-traded lithium carbonate futures contract surged by 12% intraday on Thursday, reaching a high of 187,700 yuan/mt. Meanwhile, the spot market transactions remained sluggish, with a clear divergence in sentiment between upstream and downstream players. Overall, upstream lithium chemical plants showed a strong reluctance to sell, with a low willingness to ship spot orders, and some enterprises made limited shipments at relatively high futures levels; downstream material plants maintained a cautious stance, adhering to just-in-time procurement, with most enterprises sticking to a strategy of restocking at lower prices, showing little interest in chasing higher prices. Overall, despite the rapid price surge, market inquiries and actual transactions still appeared sluggish.

On the evening of February 11, (600157) disclosed an announcement stating that the company is steadily advancing the acquisition of mining rights for aluminum under coal at eight mines, including Sendayuan and Jintaiyuan. Among them, the bauxite and associated resources at the Sendayuan Mine have completed reserve assessment and filing, confirming abundant bauxite and strategic rare metal gallium resources. Recently, the company's Jintaiyuan Mine also received the "Reply Letter on Review and Filing of Mineral Resource Reserves" issued by the Department of Natural Resources of Shanxi Province, approving the mineral resource reserve assessment for the Jintaiyuan Mine. Based on the detailed survey of bauxite and other resources at the Jintaiyuan Mine, the exploration area accounts.

【SMM News Flash】Fernando Aboitiz, Director of Mining at Mexico's Ministry of Economy, stated that since October 2024, the Mexican government has revoked 1,126 mining concessions, covering an area of 889,000 hectares. At the president’s regular morning press conference on Thursday, he noted that the concessions were revoked from individuals and enterprises due to their failure to pay mining rights maintenance fees and to submit statistical data or progress reports.

Last week, the overseas rare earth market exhibited distinct characteristics, including accelerated exploration of futures financialization, diversified development of global resource projects, deepened supply chain strategies in major consumer countries, progress in alternative technology R&D, and continuous expansion of international cooperation networks. Next week, as China enters the Chinese New Year holiday, overseas markets will maintain this pace of advancement.

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.

The cobalt intermediate products market remained in a state of nominal pricing with thin trading this week, with prices holding steady in the range of $25.5–26.0/lb. News such as the US "stockpiling plan" and the acquisition of certain cobalt mining rights of overseas miners by US-funded enterprises heightened market concerns about cobalt raw material shortages in China in 2026, strengthening suppliers' willingness to hold prices firm. However, as the year-end approaches, some smelters have entered the stage of clearing production lines and preparing for shutdowns, leading to a noticeable decline in purchase willingness and resulting in sluggish actual market transactions. Overall, against the backdrop of large-scale arrivals of cobalt intermediate products remaining distant, increased geopolitical risks are expected to exacerbate the structural tightness of domestic intermediate products, maintaining upward pressure on prices.