[SMM Rare Earth News Flash] The Geological Survey of Brazil (SGB) recently conducted rare earth exploration potential assessments in the states of São Paulo, Paraná, and Santa Catarina, achieving notable preliminary results, with total rare earth oxide (TREO) grades exceeding 0.8% in multiple samples. Brazil currently holds the world's second-largest rare earth reserves, with major projects concentrated in the states of Minas Gerais and Goiás. Against the backdrop of surging global interest in rare earths and record-high mergers and acquisitions (such as the $2.8 billion acquisition of Serra Verde by American Rare Earths), SGB is actively expanding into new mineralization areas, with the next step being assessments of areas including Sete Barras in the state of São Paulo.

India-based Inox Clean Energy has acquired Boviet Solar’s US PV manufacturing assets in a deal valued at around USD 750 million, marking its entry into the US solar manufacturing market. The deal includes 3GW of operating TOPCon module capacity and a binding agreement to acquire 3GW of TOPCon cell capacity expected online by December 2026. SMM believes the acquisition strengthens Inox’s US localization strategy while helping mitigate tariff and policy risks.

[SMM Global Steel Enterprise Special Report] A Detailed Analysis of US "Steel King" Nucor: 100% Electric Arc Furnace Forging High Profits, Vertical Integration Mitigating Cost Fluctuations Nucor Corporation is a company incorporated in Delaware in 1958. The company and its subsidiaries are engaged in the manufacture of steel and steel products. It also produces and procures ferrous and non-ferrous metal materials, primarily for use in its steelmaking operations. Most of its operating facilities and clients are located in North America. Its operations include international trading and sales companies responsible for buying and selling steel and steel products manufactured by the company and others. Nucor is also the largest recycler in North America, using steel scrap as the primary raw material for producing steel and steel products. In 2025, it recycled approximately 20 million gross tons of steel scrap. Operating Performance Data source: Nucor Corporation Annual Report、SMM Reasons behind the performance changes: ① Decline in gross profit: The primary reason for the decline in gross profit in 2025 was the compression of profit margins in the steel products segment. Due to lower average selling prices, gross profits from the grating and decking, building systems, and rebar fabrication businesses under this segment all experienced significant declines. ② Steel mill segment growth: In contrast, gross profit in the steel mill segment increased, primarily driven by higher sales and improved steel industry spreads. ③ Investment expenditures: Over the past three years, Nucor invested approximately $9.73 billion in capital expenditures and acquisitions, aiming to expand its product portfolio and enhance operational flexibility. Segments, Major Products, and Marketing Nucor reports its results in three segments: the steel mills segment, the steel products segment, and the raw materials segment. The steel mills segment is Nucor's largest segment, accounting for 62% of the company's sales to external clients for the fiscal year ended 2025. It primarily sells its products to steel service centers, manufacturers, and fabricating enterprises located in the US, Canada, and Mexico. In 2025, the steel mills segment sold approximately 19,848 kt of products to external clients. Data source: Nucor Corporation Annual Report、SMM The Steel Products segment primarily produces high-value-added downstream construction and industrial components, holding leading positions across the U.S. in multiple sub-segments including steel joists, prefabricated metal buildings, and insulated metal panels. It accounted for 29% of the Company's net sales to external clients for the year ended 2025. In 2025, total sales of major products in the Steel Products segment were approximately 1.478 million mt, including approximately 658,000 mt of steel joists and joist girders, approximately 436,000 mt of steel deck, and approximately 384,000 mt of metal building systems. Although physical sales volume (tonnage) was far below that of the Steel Mills segment, the per-mt selling price and profit margin were much higher than those of basic steel, and the segment also ranked first in market share across the U.S. in multiple areas. Data source: Nucor Corporation Annual Report、SMM The Raw Materials segment is the cornerstone of Nucor's vertical integration strategy, primarily operated through its wholly-owned subsidiary The David J. Joseph Company (DJJ), and manages DRI production facilities in Louisiana and Trinidad. By blending DRI with steel scrap, it supports electric arc furnace (EAF) production of higher-grade sheets & plates while ensuring cost advantages and supply security of raw materials. It accounted for 9% of the Company's net sales to external clients for the year ended 2025. In 2025, approximately 20 million gross tons of steel scrap were recycled and processed. Data source: Nucor Corporation Annual Report、SMM Clients and Markets Data source: Nucor Corporation Annual Report、SMM Major Development Projects in Recent Years The vast majority (91%) of Nucor's capital was allocated to internal construction (CapEx), strengthening core competitiveness through technology upgrades (such as electric arc furnaces and micro mills); a small portion was used for strategic acquisitions to achieve "outward expansion" into high-margin downstream areas. Through acquisitions such as SWDP, the company quickly entered high-barrier, high-growth sub-segments including data centers and green energy, making its business structure more resilient to cyclical downturns. Data source: Nucor Corporation Annual Report、SMM Core Logic of Vertical Integration for Cost Reduction: Raw Material Supply Structure Data source: Nucor Corporation Annual Report、SMM Core Risk Factors The greatest risk facing Nucor is a combination of internal and external challenges — internally, cost fluctuations in steel scrap and energy; externally, the impact of low-priced imported steel resulting from global (especially China's) overcapacity. Specifically: 1. Core Industry Risks ① Severe global supply-demand imbalance: Global steel surplus capacity reached 704 million net mt in 2025 (8 times US annual production). It is expected to further increase to 795 million mt by 2027. ② Regional impact: China's annual production has exceeded 1 billion mt in each of the past 8 years, and Chinese steelmakers continue to invest in new capacity in Southeast Asia and Africa. ② Import shock: This surplus leads to a flood of low-priced steel into the US market, creating significant downward pressure on Nucor's product prices, sales, and profit margins. 2. Production Cost Risks ① Steel scrap price sensitivity: Nucor uses 100% electric arc furnaces (EAF), with steel scrap being the largest cost item. Steel scrap prices fluctuate significantly and are beyond Nucor's control. ② Supply chain uncertainty: Although Nucor has achieved a degree of self-sufficiency through its DRI plants and DJJ recycling system, pig iron and iron ore pellets still rely on international procurement, facing geopolitical risks (e.g., Ukraine, Russia, Brazil). 3. Operational Challenges ① Energy-intensive nature: Steelmaking relies on large amounts of electricity (for melting) and natural gas (for heating and DRI production). ② Cost pass-through: Energy prices are affected by demand, the regulatory environment, and transmission infrastructure (pipelines/power grid), and cost surges may erode profits. 4. Compliance and ESG Risks ① Emission reduction pressure: The steel industry faces intense scrutiny due to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. ② Policy risk: Although Nucor's emission intensity is far lower than its blast furnace peers, increasingly stringent environmental protection laws and regulations may increase capital expenditures or restrict operations at existing facilities. 5. End-Use Market Risks ① Industry cyclicality: The steel industry is highly correlated with the macro economy. ② End-use market fluctuations: Nucor's largest market is non-residential construction. If this sector (e.g., commercial offices, industrial facilities) contracts due to high interest rates or economic recession, it will directly impact Nucor's performance severely. Copyright and Intellectual Property Statement: This report is independently created or compiled by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "SMM"), and SMM legally enjoys complete copyright and related intellectual property rights. The copyright, trademark rights, domain name rights, commercial data information property rights, and other related intellectual property rights of all content contained in this report (including but not limited to information, articles, data, charts, pictures, audio, video, logos, advertisements, trademarks, trade names, domain names, layout designs, etc.) are owned or held by SMM or its related right holders. 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On April 22, Ningbo Shanshan Co., Ltd. issued an announcement stating that the court has approved the reorganization plan for Shanshan Group and its wholly-owned subsidiary Ningbo Pengze Trading Co., Ltd., and has terminated the debtor's reorganization proceedings. According to the reorganization plan, Anhui Wanwei Group Co., Ltd. will, through a combination of direct stock acquisitions and voting arrangements with retained shares, control a total of 21.88% of the voting rights of Shanshan shares held by Shanshan Group and Pengze Trading. The controlling shareholder of Shanshan Shares will change to Wanwei Group, and the actual controller will change to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the People's Government of Anhui Province.

China Northern Rare Earth disclosed its 2025 annual report on April 18, which stated: 2025 was a pivotal year for the reshaping of the global rare earth industry landscape, a pivotal year for the strategic elevation of China's rare earth industry, and a pivotal year for the company to achieve historic breakthroughs in its business development. Over the past year, the company implemented national industrial policies and enhanced its capacity to serve national strategies. Production of major products hit record highs , with operating revenue reaching 42.563 billion yuan, up 29.11% YoY; net profit attributable to shareholders of the publicly listed firm reaching 2.251 billion yuan, up 124.17% YoY. The company maintained its industry-leading position in revenue, profit, output value, and market capitalization, successfully concluding the "14th Five-Year Plan" period. It effectively safeguarded the security and stability of China's rare earth industry chain and supply chain, and elevated China's rare earth industry to a new level of high-quality development. The explanation of operating revenue changes disclosed in China Northern Rare Earth's announcement stated: In 2025, amid an overall rise in rare earth market prices, the company seized market opportunities and coordinated the advancement of the "Five Unifications" scientific production model. Production and sales of major products, including smelting and separation products, rare earth metals, rare earth new materials, and rare earth permanent magnet motors, all achieved YoY growth. The main business disclosed in China Northern Rare Earth's 2025 annual report stated: Adhering to the development philosophy of "optimizing and expanding rare earth raw materials, refining and strengthening rare earth new materials, and specializing and differentiating end-use application products," the company is capable of producing 11 major categories, over 100 varieties, and more than 1,000 specifications of rare earth products. The company's products are mainly divided into rare earth raw material products, rare earth new material products, and rare earth end-use application products. Among them, the company's rare earth raw material products include rare earth salts, rare earth oxides, and rare earth metals, which serve as the primary raw materials for downstream rare earth new material and new material product processing enterprises. Rare earth new material products include rare earth magnetic materials, polishing materials, hydrogen storage materials, catalytic materials, and rare earth alloys. The company's rare earth end-use application products mainly include rare earth permanent magnet high-efficiency energy-saving motors, solid-state hydrogen storage cylinders, and hydrogen-powered two-wheelers. Regarding the business plan for 2026, China Northern Rare Earth stated in its 2025 annual report: 2026 is the opening year of the "15th Five-Year Plan" period and a critical year for the company to advance high-quality development and accelerate its transformation into a world-class leading rare earth enterprise. The company will adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, take forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation as the main theme, fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and its successive plenary sessions, implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speeches and instructions on Inner Mongolia and the rare earth industry, as well as the decisions and deployments of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Baotou Municipality, and other higher-level authorities. The company will maintain the general principle of seeking progress while ensuring stability, fully and accurately implement the new development philosophy, shoulder its responsibilities and mission, steadily improve operational quality and efficiency, build a comprehensive all-element and all-category industrial system, promote the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, accelerate the pace of deepening reform, enhance the level of modern governance, continuously strengthen core functions and enhance core competitiveness, accelerate the building of a world-class leading rare earth enterprise, achieve a good start for the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, and make new and greater contributions to the construction of the "two rare earth bases." Key production and operating targets for 2026 (these targets are planning targets only; whether they can ultimately be achieved is subject to uncertainty and do not constitute substantive commitments by the Company to investors; investors and relevant parties should maintain sufficient risk awareness and understand the differences between plans, forecasts, and commitments): achieve operating revenue of over 44 billion yuan and total profit of over 3.5 billion yuan. On the premise of meeting operating targets, ensure that employee income moves in tandem with the enterprise's economic performance and labor productivity. Centering on the work targets, the following key initiatives will be carried out: 1. Stabilize production, promote sales, and improve quality and efficiency, demonstrating a new outlook of a strong start. Based on the national rare earth total volume control indicators, organize and arrange production schedules scientifically. Make every effort to ensure stable and high output from Phase I of the green smelting upgrade and renovation project. Enhance the capability of full-element rare earth extraction and separation. Optimize rare earth metal production processes to improve product quality and capacity scale. Release newly added magnetic material alloy capacity, with per-mt product costs reaching industry-leading levels. The polishing segment will leverage resource and capacity advantages, implement transformation toward high-end and precision products, and enhance product competitiveness. Rare earth additives will focus on high value-added product development to ensure stable product supply. Monitor mainstream product price trends and maintain market stability. Achieve production-sales balance for rare earth lanthanum-cerium products while actively digesting inventories. Strengthen procurement and sales channel development for rare earth Pr-Nd products to enhance market control. The functional materials segment will seize policy and market opportunities to secure orders. Rare earth permanent magnet motors will target frontier fields to achieve new breakthroughs in sales. Refine cost management and implement comprehensive measures to deepen cost reduction, quality improvement, and efficiency enhancement. Optimize financing methods to provide low-cost funding support for the Company's development. 2. Optimize layout and add momentum, shaping new advantages in industrial development. Efficiently advance the construction of key projects and accelerate the construction of Phase II of the green smelting upgrade and renovation project. Promote the Northern Jinlong separation production line to achieve trial production within the year. Promote stable and smooth production at the Jinmeng rare earth secondary resource project. Build a full-category industrial system and accelerate the implementation of joint venture and cooperation projects. Promote stable production and full production at the Northern Magnetic Material digital green technology empowerment project, and expand segmented application fields of rare earth permanent magnet materials. Strengthen the promotion and application of solid-state hydrogen storage materials and expand new applications in the rare earth catalysis field. Enhance the level of digital and intelligent management, deepen the construction of information management and control systems, continue to advance the in-depth application of business systems such as human resources, discipline inspection, and engineering projects, and further consolidate the digital form of business operations. Build a procurement-sales collaborative management platform to form a closed-loop business process covering "procurement, production, inventory, sales, and finance," achieving business-finance integration. Advance the construction of green smelting smart factories, progressively cultivate major production units to build smart factories, and continuously improve the CNC rate of key processes and the digitalization rate of production equipment. 3. Coordinating internal and external efforts to tackle key challenges, empowering innovation to seek new breakthroughs. Increase high-quality scientific and technological supply and strengthen R&D investment intensity. Focus on project deployment and research breakthroughs in areas such as cost reduction in smelting and separation, quality improvement in metal electrolysis, development of new rare earth materials, and expansion of new rare earth applications, developing new products, new processes, and new equipment. Conduct high-value patent cultivation and standards development and revision in key areas across the entire industry chain. Improve the "1+2+N+4" rare earth industry technology innovation platform system, launch high-level rare earth innovation platform projects, and comprehensively optimize and integrate technology innovation resources. Further leverage the role of the industrial transformation center, streamline the pathway for commercializing research outcomes, and enhance the quality and efficiency of technology transfer. Deepen the integration of industry, academia, and research, and promote the establishment of joint laboratories with renowned universities in China. Carry out "Three Firsts" application work in areas such as NdFeB alloy production equipment, rare earth permanent magnet motors, rare earth polishing fluids, and rare earth functional additives, and achieve substantive results. Further leverage the functions of the company's collaborative innovation centers across various industrial sectors, strengthen resource coordination and centralized management, and implement organized research. Focus on tackling key common technologies, promote close interaction and coordinated development among subsidiaries, and drive the output and transfer incubation of major scientific and technological achievements. Introduce the technology readiness level evaluation system into the entire R&D management process to establish quantitative assessment channels. Continue to strengthen the recruitment and cultivation of scientific and technological talent, providing full support in terms of compensation, research funding, and living benefits. 4. Deepening and substantiating reforms to stimulate new vitality in enterprise development. Enhance the company's management and control effectiveness, improve the board of directors' construction and authorization system, explore the formulation of management systems for the performance of duties by full-time and part-time chairpersons, and elevate the board's standardized performance and scientific decision-making capabilities. Optimize the company's management and control matters, processes, and authorities to improve decision-making efficiency. Promote the optimization and integration of subsidiaries. Implement the requirements of the "doubling" initiative for specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative enterprises, and cultivate additional such enterprises. Deepen the reform of the three systems, improve the cadre assessment and evaluation system, and strengthen the rigid implementation of assessment results. Optimize the selection and appointment mechanism, intensify competitive recruitment and market-oriented hiring, implement "3+6" contract-based management, and firmly establish a talent selection orientation that prioritizes actual performance and practical contributions. Closely align with the company's development and actual business needs, scientifically evaluate organizational structures, reasonably reduce management layers, and enhance management effectiveness. Leverage new projects and production lines to establish shared employment mechanisms, promoting dynamic position integration and workforce optimization. Deepen the reform of the compensation distribution system, build a "same-level, broad-grade" compensation system based on position value and performance contributions, strengthen the linkage between subsidiary performance and the company's overall profitability, and drive a close connection between employee income and enterprise profitability as well as individual contributions. 5. Striving for Excellence in Management to Elevate Modern Governance to New Heights. Strengthened strategic security management, enhanced information resource integration, and actively participated in the formulation of national industrial policies. Strengthened financial management by rigorously implementing comprehensive budget management, further reinforcing capital control, and establishing a capital risk prevention and control system. Enhanced financial informatization by building a standardized, efficient, and well-adapted financial shared services system. Strengthened risk and compliance management by improving the compliance management system to ensure that business development and compliance management advanced in tandem. Established a legal affairs shared system to reduce legal service costs for subsidiaries and strengthen the company's overall legal risk prevention and control capabilities. Improved the comprehensive risk management system and optimized risk management across the entire process of strategy, operations, and management. Strengthened safety and environmental protection management, guided by the "10000" safety vision, to enhance intrinsic safety levels. Effectively carried out safety management of relevant parties. Rigorously implemented environmental protection accountability, improved integrated traceability management of solid waste across production, sales, transportation, and utilization, and enhanced emergency response capabilities. Strengthened talent management by reinforcing training and empowerment, implementing targeted training by level and category, and improving the competency of key personnel. Deepened specialized cultivation of high-level talent and strengthened the deep integration of talent development with the company's strategic growth. Innovated the training model for industrial workers, built a platform for skills inheritance and innovation, simultaneously consolidated talent reserves, optimized talent structure, and enhanced talent effectiveness. Strengthened market capitalization management by establishing a scientific market capitalization management philosophy, improving the ESG management system, and comprehensively leveraging measures such as information disclosure, investor relations management, cash dividends, mergers and acquisitions, and ESG on the basis of enhancing the company's value creation capabilities, to improve market capitalization management performance and maintain the company's position as the largest by market capitalization in the rare earth industry. When discussing potential risks, China Northern Rare Earth mentioned product price risk: Affected by internal and external factors such as macro economic conditions, cyclical industry fluctuations, changes in rare earth market supply and demand, intensified market competition, and geopolitical disruptions, prices of major rare earth products may fluctuate and decline, posing product price risk. Countermeasures: The company will closely monitor market conditions, strengthen market forecasting and analysis, innovate marketing models, adjust marketing strategies, improve product quality, vigorously expand markets, and increase product market share. While maintaining and expanding the marketing base for Pr-Nd products, the company will intensify marketing efforts for La-Ce products, optimize service quality, and improve client satisfaction. Leveraging the role of a major rare earth group, the company will stabilize confidence, stabilize expectations, and stabilize market operations, adopting comprehensive measures to overcome unfavourable factors and striving to mitigate the impact of product price risk on the company's operating performance. Looking back at the SMM Pr-Nd oxide price trend in 2025: the average price of Pr-Nd oxide on December 31, 2025 was 606,500 yuan/mt, compared with the average price of 398,000 yuan/mt on December 31, 2024, representing an increase of 52.39% in 2025. In comparison, the annual daily average price of Pr-Nd oxide in 2025 was 491,576.13 yuan/mt versus 391,871.9 yuan/mt in 2024, indicating a YoY increase of 25.45% in the daily average price in 2025. Driven by expectations of supply reduction due to partial shutdowns at separation plants, upstream suppliers raised their quotes rapidly, low-priced spot cargo in the market tightened quickly, pushing rare earth prices up for three consecutive days. According to SMM pricing, on April 20, the price of Pr-Nd oxide was 815,000-818,000 yuan/mt, with an average price of 816,500 yuan/mt, up 1.74% from the previous trading day. As the price of Pr-Nd oxide rose, wait-and-see sentiment in the market intensified, while downstream magnetic material enterprises had limited acceptance of high-priced metals, and purchasing enthusiasm declined. In the short term, supported by strong confidence among upstream suppliers to hold prices firm, Pr-Nd product prices are expected to hover at highs. For more information on rare earth fundamentals, technical aspects, and policy developments, please attend the ~ SMM Rare Earth Forum Contact: Wang Haiqiao Contact: 19818727891

On March 27, Jinhui Mining disclosed its 2025 annual report. The report showed that in 2025, the company produced 71,783.8 mt in metal content of zinc concentrates, 22,508.09 mt in metal content of lead concentrates, and 30,323.88 kg of by-product silver. During the reporting period, the company completed the acquisition of the remaining 51% equity in its subsidiary Gansu Haosen Mining Co., Ltd., achieving 100% ownership of the company. The mining rights consolidation of the Jiangluo mining area was fully completed, with the mining rights held by the company in the Jiangluo mining area consolidated into its wholly-owned subsidiary Xicheng Mining, achieving unified ownership.