SMM News, February 3: According to an official announcement from Jinguan Copper, a subsidiary of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd., the company will begin public sales of 32 tons of crude selenium starting today. The base price has not been disclosed. The deadline for submitting quotation letters is before 11:30 a.m. on February 3, 2026.

SMM Morning Meeting Minutes: LME copper opened at $12,845/mt overnight, initially hitting bottom at $12,792/mt before rising sharply. After fluctuating rangebound, it climbed to $13,090/mt near the close and finally settled at $13,087.5/mt, up 5.03%, hitting a new record high again! Trading volume increased by 25,403 lots to 37,000 lots, and open interest rose by 3,352 lots to 339,000 lots, mainly driven by bulls adding positions. The most-traded SHFE copper contract 2602 opened at 100,890 yuan/mt overnight, touched a low of 100,780 yuan/mt at the open, then saw its price center rise, reaching a high of 102,810 yuan/mt before fluctuating rangebound and finally closing at 102,650 yuan/mt.

Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd. (000630.SZ) announced that the Phase II expansion of the Mirador copper mine, operated by its controlled subsidiary China Railway Construction Tongguan Investment Co., Ltd., is expected to be delayed. The project was originally scheduled for completion in June 2025, followed by trial production from July to December 2025, and full commercial operation in early 2026. However, due to political instability in Ecuador and frequent personnel changes, progress on signing the Mining Contract has been affected. As a result, formal commissioning can only proceed after the Mining Contract is executed. At present, the start date for commercial production remains uncertain, and the delay is expected to have a certain impact on the company’s operating performance in 2026, according to the announcement.

SMM News, December 19: According to an official release from the Jinguan Copper Branch of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd., its recent auction of 32 metric tons of crude selenium was successfully concluded. The specific transaction price was not officially disclosed, but the approximate price was less than 140 RMB per kilogram. Market participants indicated that compared to the results of other manufacturers' crude selenium tenders earlier, the price achieved by Tongling Nonferrous this week remained at a high level but did not show a continued upward trend. This suggests that as the year-end approaches, buyers' purchasing interest in the crude selenium market has not significantly increased.

SMM December 19: According to official information from the Jinguan Copper Branch of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd., the recent tender for 32 mt of crude selenium was successfully concluded. The specific transaction price was not disclosed by the company, but the approximate price was less than 140 yuan/kg. Market participants indicated that compared to the transaction results of crude selenium tenders from other producers in the previous period, the transaction price for crude selenium from the Jinguan Copper Branch of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd. this week remained at a high level but did not show a continued rising trend. This suggests that as the crude selenium market approaches the end of the year, buyer interest did not see a significant increase.

As "lubricants" and "buffers" in the industry chain, traders are important "price discoverers" in the spot copper cathode market.