SMM Morning Meeting Minutes: LME copper opened at $13,270/mt overnight, initially testing the low at $13,252/mt, after which copper prices fluctuated upward, hitting a high of $13,526/mt and hovering at highs, eventually closing at $13,410/mt, up 3.95%. Trading volume reached 38,000 lots, down 10,550 lots from the previous session; open interest stood at 326,000 lots, down 1,276 lots from the previous session, reflecting overall bear position reduction. The most-traded SHFE copper contract 2603 opened at 104,950 yuan/mt overnight, initially testing the high at 105,800 yuan/mt, after which the center declined to test the low at 104,440 yuan/mt, fluctuating rangebound overall, and eventually closed at 105,180 yuan/mt, up 3.49%. Trading volume reached 129,000 lots, down 246,000 lots from the previous session; open interest stood at 192,000 lots, up 35 lots from the previous session, reflecting overall bull position increase.

【SMM News Flash】With the Viscaria copper mine expected to resume operations by 2028, copper mining activities are returning to Kiruna, the northernmost town in Sweden. The Viscaria copper mine operated from 1983 to 1997, initially managed by the state-owned iron ore mining company LKAB and later taken over by Outokumpu. Although the Viscaria copper mine is a brownfield site, Jorgen Olsson, CEO of Viscaria, stated that it is one of the fastest-growing copper deposits in Europe, and ongoing exploration has uncovered additional mineral resources beneath the mine.

Recently, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) signed a Mining Services Agreement with engineering services firm Kalinga Commercial Corporation Ltd, entrusting Kalinga with the development and operation of the Rowghat iron ore project in Chhattisgarh, which has a capacity of 14 million mt per year. The long-term contract spans 28 years, including an initial three-year construction period. Under the agreement, Kalinga will be fully responsible for mine development, infrastructure construction, and subsequent operations. The project is expected to significantly enhance SAIL’s integrated steel mills’ security, providing critical support for the steel giant’s continuous production and long-term raw material stability. Earlier, SAIL’s Rourkela Steel Plant signed a major agreement with Adani Enterprises Limited to develop and expand the Taldih iron ore mine. This partnership also adopts a mine-developer-and-operator model and is expected to raise Taldih mine’s capacity from 2 million mt to 7 million mt per year. The project includes new plants and supporting infrastructure, scheduled for completion by the end of 2026. Mining operations are expected to begin in 2027 and continue for 25 years. Currently, under SAIL’s management, Taldih mine relies on mobile crushing and screening equipment and small earthmoving machinery for production. SAIL is India’s third-largest producer, after NMDC and Tata Steel, operating 15 iron ore mines located in Jharkhand, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh, managed by Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL), Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), and Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) respectively to meet the raw material needs of all SAIL steel mills. Earlier this year, several Indian media outlets reported that the Ministry of Steel is considering establishing a dedicated mining business unit within SAIL to boost iron ore production. The move aims to support SAIL’s target of increasing steel capacity to 35 million mt per year by 2030.

Dazhong Mining Accelerates the Formation of an 'Iron Ore + Lithium Ore' Dual-Driven Strategy

On April 24, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for accelerating the mining of undeveloped greenfield iron ore mines to increase domestic steel production. In his video address at the "India Steel 2025" event, Modi emphasized that the steel industry needs to unite to build a "resilient, revolutionary, and steel-strong India.

According to the information released on March 5, 2025, Metinvest investment company is expected to double its investment in iron ore mining enterprises (GOKs) in 2025, with a total amount reaching 5.7 billion Ukrainian hryvnias (approximately $137 million), focusing on energy self-sufficiency, production stability, and sustainable development. An investment of 1.3 billion hryvnias ($31 million) is planned for the construction of facilities at the Northern and Central iron ore mining enterprises.