The SMM Imported Zinc Concentrate Index for this week is $53/dmt, with a 5.26% WoW increase. The SMM Imported Lead Concentrate average spot TC for this week is $-45/dmt.

SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (SMM) has been deeply involved in the non-ferrous metals industry for 26 years. SMM spot prices have been recognized by 400,000 enterprises across the entire manufacturing industry chain, spanning from mines, smelting, trading, processing, to end-users, and are used as transaction settlement prices. As an independent third-party pricing platform in the non-ferrous metals industry, SMM adheres to the principles of "fairness, impartiality, and openness." The Shanghai Non-ferrous Metals Spot Price (SMM Price) reported each trading day is highly and widely recognized within the industry. For many years, the SMM Price has been a crucial indicator directly used or referenced for transaction settlements in the industry. To better serve the silver industry and extend SMM's pricing and data services to various fields and upstream and downstream sectors of the industry chain, while also staying abreast of the latest industry developments, SMM regularly announces, approves, and removes price submitters, and holds plaque awarding ceremonies for them. On May 15, at the 2025 SMM (6th) Silver Industry Chain Innovation Conference hosted by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (SMM), SMM held a grand plaque awarding ceremony for the Yinbiao Zhuxin · 2025 SMM 1# Silver Price Submitters ! The Chihong Industrial Development (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. Guangzhou Nansha District Zhongjin Lingnan International Trade Co., Ltd. Jinchuan Group Trading Co., Ltd. Minshan Huanneng High-Tech Co., Ltd. Ningbo Haoshun Precious Metals Co., Ltd. Ningbo Kaitong International Trade Co., Ltd. Shanghai Jijin International Trade Co., Ltd. Shanghai Eagle Metal Materials Co., Ltd. Shanghai Jiushi Metal Materials Co., Ltd. Shanghai Yuhong Industrial Co., Ltd. Shanghai Zhaojin Hongcheng International Trade Co., Ltd. Yanggu Xiangguang Copper Co., Ltd. Grand Hope Water Resources Co., Ltd. (The above companies are listed in no particular order) were awarded by Liu Xiaolei, Director of SMM Big Data, at the ceremony~ SMM would like to express its gratitude to the above companies for their support and assistance, and also welcomes more enterprises to participate and contribute to the healthy development of the silver industry chain~ 》Click to view the special report on the 2025 SMM (6th) Silver Industry Chain Innovation Conference

》Check SMM metal quotes, data, and market analysis 》Subscribe to view historical price trends of SMM metal spot cargo On May 14, 2025: As of April 30, 2025, all companies have disclosed their 2024 annual reports. According to SMM statistics, a total of 19 publicly listed firms operate copper smelters. These 19 publicly listed firms are: Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group (000630), Jiangxi Copper Corporation (600362), Jinchuan Group International Resources Co., Ltd. (02362.hk), Daye Nonferrous Metals Group (00661.hk), Yunnan Copper (000878), Zijin Mining (601899), Yuguang Gold and Lead Group (600531), Western Mining Co., Ltd. (601168), Yunnan Tin Co., Ltd. (000960), Shandong Humon Smelting (002237), Zhongjin Gold (600489), Baiyin Nonferrous Group Co., Ltd. (601212), Ningbo Jintian Copper (601609), Huludao Zinc Industry Co., Ltd. (000751), North Copper (000737), Zhejiang Chifoo Holding Group Co., Ltd. (002266), Guangdong Feinan Resources Co., Ltd. (301500), Beijing GEEN Environment Engineering Co., Ltd. (603588), and Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonfemet Co., Ltd. (000060). 2024 Production and 2025 Production Plans for Copper Cathode at Each Smelter According to annual report disclosures and SMM's understanding, the total copper cathode production of the aforementioned 19 copper smelters in 2024 was 10.5558 million mt, with an increase of 642,000 mt, up 6.5% YoY. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that the national production in 2024 was 13.644 million mt, with these 19 enterprises accounting for 77.37% of China's total copper cathode production. This figure increased by 1.04% compared to the same period last year. We expect that with the release of new capacity, industry concentration will increase again in the future. Regarding the specific situations of each smelter: Only 4 out of the 19 smelters experienced production cuts. Among them, Yunnan Copper had the largest decline, with a significant drop in production due to the relocation of its headquarters smelter. The largest increase was seen at Jiangxi Copper, with an annual copper cathode production of 2.2919 million mt, up 194,600 mt or 9.3% YoY in 2024, continuing to lead the copper industry. This was followed by North Copper, with a production increase of 178,800 mt compared to 2023, reaching 31.32 mt. Then came Jinchuan Group, with a production of 1.3272 million mt, an increase of 158,100 mt compared to 2023. In addition, based on their 2025 production plans, the total production in 2025 is expected to be 11.4028 million mt, an increase of 847,000 mt or 8%. According to SMM statistics, the new production from domestic smelters from January to May 2025 has already reached 536,400 mt, and it is highly probable that the annual increase of 847,000 mt will be achieved. In 2025, two smelters are expected to increase their production by more than 200,000 mt. Among them, the largest increase is expected to be from Yunnan Copper, with an increase of 254,000 mt, mainly due to the resumption of production after the relocation of the smelter and the commissioning of new smelters. Next is Jinchuan Group, which is expected to increase its production by 252,800 mt, thanks to the commissioning of a new smelter. In addition, due to the tight supply of copper concentrates, six smelters are expected to implement production cuts in 2025, two more than last year. Overall, although copper concentrate TCs hit a record low this year, it has not hindered the expansion pace of copper smelters.

On April 23, at the CCIE-2025SMM (20th) Copper Industry Conference and Copper Industry Expo - Main Forum, hosted by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd., SMM Metal Trading Center, and Shandong Aisi Information Technology Co., Ltd., with Jiangxi Copper Corporation and Yingtan Land Port Holding Co., Ltd. as main sponsors, and Shandong Humon Smelting Co., Ltd. as a special co-organizer, Xinhuang Group and Zhongtiao Mountain Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd. as co-organizers, Wang Jianlong, Deputy Director of Metallurgy Department One of China ENFI Engineering & Technology Co., Ltd., shared insights on the global copper smelting landscape and intelligent development. Ben Knoefler, Chairman of the Board of KCI Group, analyzed the global copper market for 2025. 1 Global Copper Resource Distribution Overall, the world's copper resources are relatively abundant, with an estimated 31 billion tons of land-based copper resources and 7 billion tons in deep-sea nodules. Natural copper minerals include native copper, oxides, and sulfides. The world's proven copper reserves are about 10 billion tons, and based on current mine production, the static assurance period for mining is approximately 45 years. In terms of regional distribution, the main areas with concentrated copper ore resources globally are: (1) The western foothills of the Andes in Peru and Chile, South America; (2) The Cordillera region in the western part of the North American continent, mainly in the US and Mexico; (3) Central Africa, particularly in the DRC and Zambia; (4) Central Asia, mainly Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Russia; (5) Australia. The top five countries in terms of copper ore reserves are Chile, Peru, Australia, Russia, and the DRC, accounting for about 57% of the total. 2 Global Refined Copper Consumption Global copper consumption is mainly concentrated in two types of countries or regions. One type is traditional developed Western countries, where copper consumption is relatively stable. The other type is developing countries and regions experiencing rapid economic growth, which have higher copper consumption growth rates and are key factors in global copper consumption growth. According to ICSG statistics, global refined copper consumption in 2024 was 28.577 million mt, up 5.79% YoY. The growth in global refined copper consumption is mainly supported by strong apparent demand in China. The main areas of global copper consumption are power grids, construction, consumer goods, transportation, and engineering machinery, accounting for 28%, 27%, 22%, 12%, and 11% respectively. As a basic raw material, changes in copper consumption are closely related to global economic development. In recent years, consumption of copper plate/sheet and strip in traditional fields and copper foil for circuit boards has been relatively weak, while copper use in the power and new energy sectors has performed well. 3 Global Refined Copper Production and Capacity Distribution Global refined copper production in 2024 was 28.0228 million mt, up 4.07% YoY. The increase in refined copper production is mainly due to capacity expansion in China and the DRC, while production in other regions decreased by about 1%. As the largest consumer and producer of refined copper, China does not have a significant advantage in copper ore resources and needs to import large amounts of copper concentrates. China's refined copper production and copper concentrate imports In 2024, China's refined copper production was 13.644 million mt, and copper concentrate imports were 28.11 million mt. To address the current state of the copper smelting industry, relevant national departments are promoting the healthy and orderly development of the copper smelting industry through industrial policies, environmental protection policies, and other measures. In general, on the supply side, efforts are being made to deepen supply-side structural reforms, strictly control the disorderly expansion of copper smelting capacity, and accelerate intelligent and green transformation. On the demand side, enterprises are being guided to accelerate technological progress, overcome the shortcomings of copper-based new materials, and fully tap the potential applications of copper in new infrastructure and construction projects. Major Chinese Copper Smelters According to incomplete statistics, there are more than 40 copper smelters (production lines) nationwide, with four groups having a capacity of over 1 million mt/a. 4 Global Copper Smelting Processes and Their Development Copper Smelting Processes Pyrometallurgy (80%): Impurities are removed as slag at high temperatures, resulting in copper anode, which is then electrolyzed to produce refined copper. Traditional matte smelting, the main process for copper smelting, is suitable for sulfide ores. One-step copper smelting, with limited industrial application, is suitable for sulfide ores under special raw material conditions. Hydrometallurgy (20%): Copper is enriched in solution through leaching and extraction processes, followed by electrodeposition to produce refined copper. • Leach-extraction-electrodeposition, suitable for oxide ores, especially for large-scale processing of low-grade oxide ores. • Roast-leach-extraction-electrodeposition, suitable for sulfide ores, mixed ores, and copper-cobalt ores. • Oxygen pressure leach-extraction-electrodeposition, suitable for sulfide ores, mixed ores, and copper-cobalt ores. Copper Pyrometallurgical Process Flow It also elaborated on the hydrometallurgical process flow of copper, including roasting, leaching, extraction, and electrodeposition. Several Main Matte Smelting Processes and Their Development ► Flash Smelting: Flash smelting technology includes Outokumpu flash smelting and INCO flash smelting, with Outokumpu technology being widely applied. China began introducing flash smelting technology in the 1980s. Xiangguang Copper innovated boldly based on flash smelting technology, inventing the vortex flash smelting technology, which received a national invention patent. Advantages include high capacity, high automation, and longer furnace life; disadvantages include high investment, complex feed preparation system, poor adaptability to high-impurity raw materials, and the need to reduce costs through scale effects. Recent developments include: high oxygen (even pure oxygen) smelting, further expansion of single-furnace capacity (500,000 mt/a), continuous innovation and improvement of process equipment, and gradual localization. ► Top-Blown Smelting: Top-blown smelting technology, including Ausmelt smelting and ISA smelting, was introduced to China in the 1990s. Characteristics of top-blown smelting technology include using a submerged lance to blow air and oxygen into the melt pool, providing strong stirring and good reaction kinetics, and high production efficiency. Disadvantages include the need to add fuel, inability to separate slag and copper in the furnace, requiring a settling electric furnace, high comprehensive energy consumption, low utilization of oxygen and fuel, and short furnace life. Recent developments include: increasing oxygen concentration, improving matte grade, raising smelting temperature, and continuously extending lance and furnace life. ► Bottom-Blown Smelting: Bottom-blown smelting is a new copper smelting technology with independent intellectual property rights from China ENFI. It was first industrially applied in Vietnam in 2002, and the first bottom-blown copper smelting production line in China was put into operation in 2008. Advantages include simple feed preparation, low furnace investment, high oxygen utilization, and strong adaptability to raw materials, capable of handling high-impurity raw materials. Disadvantages include high copper content in slag and low direct recovery rate. Developments include: further expansion of single-furnace processing capacity (1.8 million mt/a of concentrate); as a representative technology for matte gold capture, it has low requirements for copper content in concentrate and has been applied in complex gold concentrate processing at Shandong Humon, Central China Gold, and Guotou Jincheng. Zhongjin Lingnan Copper Co., Ltd. (formerly Dongying Fangyuan) developed the "Zhongjin Method" for two-step copper smelting based on bottom-blown smelting. China ENFI and Baotou Huading Copper Industry developed the full bottom-blow three-furnace process based on bottom-blown smelting and continuous bottom-blowing. ► Side-Blown Smelting: Based on Vanyukov smelting technology, China developed and applied oxygen-enriched double side-blowing smelting technology in 2009, which has rapidly developed in recent years. Characteristics of side-blown smelting technology include blowing air and oxygen into the melt pool through tuyeres on both sides of the furnace, improving mass and heat transfer conditions, with low blowing pressure, low copper content in slag, and relatively simple operation. Disadvantages include the need for manual opening and plugging of tuyeres and the need to add coal (mainly to inhibit magnetic iron in slag). Recent developments: Rapidly achieved a leap from 100,000 mt capacity to 400,000 mt capacity, with the maximum bed area reaching 70 square meters. ► P-S Converter Blowing: P-S converter blowing, invented in 1905, has been used for over a century and remains the primary copper matte blowing technology worldwide. Advantages include flexible operation and the ability to balance various cold copper-containing materials and externally purchased cold copper using reaction heat. Disadvantages include periodic intermittent operation, large fluctuations in flue gas volume and sulfur content, which are unfavorable for acid-making systems, large flue gas collection volumes, and difficult-to-solve low-altitude SO2 pollution caused by ladle lifting. The drawbacks of P-S converters have prompted metallurgists to seek continuous blowing technologies. ► Flash Blowing: The world's first flash blowing furnace was commissioned at Kennecott Utah Copper in 1995, forming the "double flash" process when paired with flash smelting. Xiangguang Copper was the first in China to introduce "double flash" technology, and the first flash blowing furnace in China was put into operation in 2007. After years of improvement, it developed into vortex flash blowing technology. Currently, there are six flash blowing furnaces in operation in China, five of which are paired with flash smelting, each with a capacity of over 400,000 mt/a, and one paired with bottom-blown smelting, with a capacity of 300,000-400,000 mt/a. Advantages include easy measurement of solid matte, high automation, and high operating rate. Disadvantages include the need for additional grinding equipment for matte and limitations in handling cold materials like anode stubs due to furnace structure and thermal balance. The maximum single-unit designed capacity has reached 500,000 mt/a. Additionally, it provided a detailed introduction to the processes and developments of bottom-blowing and multi-lance top-blowing. 5 Trends in the Copper Smelting Industry Main factors and trends driving global copper smelting development It also reviewed the development policies of China's copper smelting industry and shared interpretations of the main contents of the High-Quality Development Plan for the Copper Industry (2025-2027). 6 Intelligent Development in the Copper Smelting Industry Background of intelligent transformation and upgrading Policy promotion for intelligent transformation and upgrading In March 2021, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) issued the Notice on Accelerating the Digital Transformation of State-Owned Enterprises. In November 2021, the MIIT issued the 14th Five-Year Plan for Deep Integration of Informatization and Industrialization. In April 2020, the MIIT, NDRC, and Ministry of Natural Resources jointly released the Guidelines for the Construction of Smart Factories (Mines) in the Nonferrous Metals Industry (Trial). Among these, the Guidelines for the Construction of Smart Smelting Factories in the Nonferrous Metals Industry, led by China ENFI, provide a top-level design for the intelligent development of the nonferrous metal smelting industry. Overall implementation plan for smart factories Expected effects of smart factory implementation It discussed in detail aspects such as organizational management model reconstruction, innovative digital transformation panoramic view, data assetization, and improvement of technical and economic indicators. For more information, click to view the special report on the CCIE-2025SMM (20th) Copper Industry Conference and Copper Industry Expo.

According to the 2024 annual report of Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonfemet Co., Ltd., the company's mines held zinc metal resources of 7.13 million mt as of 2024. In 2024, the company's mining enterprises produced 265,000 mt of lead and zinc concentrate metal content, up 0.84% YoY. Among them, domestic mining enterprises produced 161,300 mt of lead and zinc ore metal content, down 5.33% YoY. The company's smelters produced 871,500 mt of copper, lead, and zinc products, up 3.26% YoY. Among them, lead and zinc products amounted to 439,800 mt, down 0.27% YoY.

According to the 2024 annual report of Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonfemet Co., Ltd., the company's mines held zinc metal resources of 7.13 million mt as of 2024. In 2024, the company's mining enterprises produced 265,000 mt of lead and zinc concentrate metal content, up 0.84% YoY, of which domestic mining enterprises produced 161,300 mt of lead and zinc ore metal content, down 5.33% YoY. The company's smelters produced 871,500 mt of copper, lead, and zinc products, up 3.26% YoY, of which lead and zinc products accounted for 439,800 mt, down 0.27% YoY.