The US Treasury (OFAC) has issued new licenses lifting major sanctions on Venezuela’s gold and mining industries, including state-owned miner Minerven. Following the 2026 political shift in Caracas, this move allows companies to resume investments, provide technical services, and sign contracts. The policy aims to secure global access to Venezuela's vast reserves of gold, bauxite, and rare minerals essential for high-tech supply chains.

TetraSpar Demonstrator ApS, owned by Stiesdal Offshore, RWE, and TEPCO, announced the decommissioning of its 3.6-MW floating wind project in Norway this summer. Since its commissioning at the METCentre, the demonstrator generated 70 million kWh with a strong 51.4% capacity factor and 98% availability. The final phase, managed by Global Maritime, involves a full structural inspection to extract key data for scaling floating offshore wind technology. Chairman Henrik Stiesdal noted the project successfully proved that industrialized floating wind concepts can perform reliably under real offshore conditions.

[SMM Aluminum Flash News] Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commission’s Commissioner for Economic Affairs, said on the 27th that the EU economy was facing stagflation risks as the conflict in the Middle East had triggered a surge in energy prices. On the same day, the Eurogroup held an online meeting on energy prices. At a press conference held after the meeting, Dombrovskis said that “the outlook is clouded by a high degree of uncertainty,” and that the EU economy was facing stagflation risks, a situation in which economic growth slows down while inflation rises.

[SMM Aluminum Flash News] Joanne Hsu, Director of the University of Michigan’s consumer survey, said that the US consumer sentiment index fell 6 in March, reaching its lowest level since December 2025. Consumer confidence declined across age groups and political affiliations. Middle- and upper-income consumers and those with stock market wealth were affected by continuously rising gasoline prices and volatile financial markets following the Iran conflict, with their confidence posting particularly notable declines. Overall, the short-term economic outlook fell 14, expectations for personal finances over the next year declined 10, while the decline in long-term expectations was relatively mild.

[SMM Aluminum Flash News] Recently, the vessel "Furui," loaded with prebaked anode cargo, successfully departed from the bulk cargo terminal of the Binzhou Port Area of Bohai Bay Port, Shandong Port, marking the successful addition of a new high-value-added cargo category to Binzhou Port's bulk and breakbulk business. The launch of this new cargo category was an important achievement in the deepening strategic cooperation between Binzhou Port and Sunstone Global Supply Chain, and also a key step for the port to break through its traditional cargo source structure and optimize its business layout, which is of great significance for enhancing the port's comprehensive service capabilities and strengthening its competitiveness in the regional market.

[Multiple Bearish Factors Stall the Uptrend; China’s Tantalum Market Undergoes Short-Term Adjustment While Medium and Long-Term Support Remains Solid] Recently, the sustained upward momentum in China’s tantalum products market came to a halt, with the overall market entering a phase of temporary consolidation and adjustment. Upward momentum slowed markedly in the short term, mainly due to three core factors: the transmission of macro sentiment, changes in circulating supply, and weakening raw material costs.