Recently, the NDRC is working with relevant departments to accelerate the study and formulation of the Implementation Plan for the Strategy of Expanding Domestic Demand (2026-2030). Moving forward, the NDRC will work with relevant departments to effectively expand China's domestic demand with greater intensity and more concrete measures.

Canada Nickel said on July 31 it received a positive Decision Statement from Canada's Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Nature for its Crawford nickel project in the Timmins district of northeastern Ontario, the first mining approval issued under the amended Impact Assessment Act since 2019. The project was referred to the federal Major Projects Office and selected for Ontario's One Project, One Process framework. CEO Mark Selby said the federal permit took four years and the project moved from its fifth drill hole to this milestone in under seven. The company will now advance detailed engineering, financing and remaining provincial and federal permits ahead of a construction decision targeted for 2027. Crawford would also be North America's only primary chromium source.

Canada Nickel's Crawford nickel project in Ontario has received federal approval following the completion of Canada's impact assessment process, clearing a key regulatory milestone for project development. The Crawford project is expected to become one of the world's largest nickel operations and is the first mining project approved under Canada's 2019 Impact Assessment Act. The company estimates the mine will have a 41-year operating life and play a strategic role in supplying low-carbon nickel for the electric vehicle battery and stainless steel industries.

On July 22, 2026, the first batch of spodumene concentrate produced by Manono Lithium – a company 54.9% owned by Zijin Mining – was shipped from Mutowa Port in Tanganyika Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), bound for international markets via Kigoma, Tanzania. Prior to shipment, the cargo was inspected and certified by the DRC's Centre d'Expertise, d'Évaluation et de Certification des Substances Minérales (CEEC), which stated that this transport marks the country's first-ever export of lithium products. The Governor of Tanganyika Province supervised the loading and noted that the shipment represents a key milestone for the province's integration into the regional mining trade network. He also called on the operating company to prioritize local hiring, so that the development of the mineral supply chain can generate more jobs and broader economic benefits for local residents. However, the commercial significance of the shipment remains difficult to assess, as the export volume, concentrate grade, transaction value, buyer identity, and final destination after arrival in Kigoma have not been disclosed. Future export plans have also not been announced.Manono Lithium operates the northeastern part of the Manono deposit under mining permit PE 15775. Its shareholding structure is: Zijin Mining affiliates hold 54.9%, DRC state-owned mining company Cominière holds 35.1%, and the DRC government holds 10%. The project is designed to process 5 million tonnes of ore annually, with a target output of approximately 1 million tonnes of spodumene concentrate per year. Subsequent crushing, flotation, and lithium compound processing facilities will be built in phases, and the first-stage lithium sulphate raw material production project is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

July 31, 2026 – The main alumina futures contract closed at 2,621 yuan/ton today, extending its recent weak performance. On the previous trading day (July 30), prices briefly touched an intraday low of 2,617 yuan/ton, plunging 1.37% in a single session and marking a fresh near-term trough. Under the combined bearish pressures of sustained supply expansion, intensifying import competition, and fading speculative sentiment, the alumina market is undergoing a fundamental-driven valuation correction. However, unlike the sharp downturn seen in late 2025, the current significantly higher feedstock costs are building a support floor that may prove difficult to break through decisively. On the supply front, domestic alumina operating capacity remains persistently elevated, with incremental pressure continuing to accumulate. In the Guangxi region, previously idled production lines from maintenance shutdowns are steadily resuming operations, gradually restoring regional supply capacity. Meanwhile, the southern region still faces nearly 3 million tonnes of new capacity slated for release in the coming months, further reinforcing market expectations of a loosening supply landscape. The fading excitement surrounding bauxite supply news has further undermined sentimental support for futures prices. Concerns over Guinean bauxite supply disruptions, which once rattled the market, have gradually receded from the spotlight as time passes. With speculative long positions exiting amid waning media attention, the market has lost its sentiment premium, and prices are reverting to supply-demand fundamentals. Overseas supply continues to weigh heavily on the domestic market. Alumina imports have surged significantly this year, with port inventories climbing to a lofty 940,000 tonnes. The persistent inflow of foreign alumina has not only supplemented domestic availability but also placed sustained downward pressure on spot quotations. Weakening spot prices have formed a negative feedback loop with the futures market, reinforcing the downward price spiral. Nevertheless, despite the layered bearish arguments, current prices are not without defense. Compared with the December 2025 selloff that bottomed at 2,437 yuan/ton, expectations for downside floors differ markedly this time. Back then, Guinean bauxite prices were quoted only around $60/ton, while current prices have climbed to the $70-75/ton range, driving the industry average fully-loaded cost to approximately 2,530 yuan/ton. This materially higher cost base implies that even with deeply bearish fundamentals, a repeat of the free-fall price rout is unlikely to materialize, as cost support effects will strengthen marginally as prices decline. The potential opening of export arbitrage remains one of the few upside catalysts on the horizon. Should overseas alumina prices continue to rise while domestic prices remain subdued, widening the price differential sufficiently to cover export costs, export channels could open periodically, providing a marginal outlet for excess domestic capacity. However, even if such a window materializes, the volumes that can be diverted are unlikely to offset the incremental pressure from new capacity additions in the southern region. Export opportunities are more likely to serve as short-term sentiment-driven rebound catalysts rather than a sufficient condition for a trend reversal. Taken together, alumina prices are expected to trade within a narrow range in the near term, caught between the bearish excess supply narrative and cost support. The core trading range is projected at 2,600-2,650 yuan/ton. Given that market fundamentals are expected to remain loose through August, futures prices could breach the key 2,600 yuan psychological level, though downside potential appears limited by rigid cost support on the mining side.

[SMM Express] South Africa's enforcement drive against illegal chrome mining in Limpopo has escalated through mid-2026, with the Hawks arresting five suspects, aged 43 to 50, at an illegal chrome mining site in the Thabazimbi policing area on 12–13 July. The operation, run by the Limpopo Serious Organized Crime Investigation team alongside local SAPS units, the Criminal Record Centre and the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, resulted in charges of illegal mining and contravening environmental law; the suspects appeared at the Thabazimbi Magistrate's Court on 14 July. The arrests form part of a broader, active pattern rather than an isolated incident. In late May, the Asset Forfeiture Unit secured a R4.5 million forfeiture order covering trucks and trailers linked to illegal chrome mining in the Sekhukhune district, and in early July a separate court ruling allowed authorities to seize seven trucks loaded with chrome ore from another illegal operation. Together, the cases point to sustained, coordinated action across Limpopo's chrome belt targeting the trucks, sites and proceeds tied to unlicensed chrome extraction.