Indonesian tin miner PT Timah Tbk (IDX: TINS) released its H1 2026 performance report. The report shows tin ore production in H1 was 12,232 mt Sn, up 75% YoY, including onshore production of 4,716 mt (up 97%) and offshore production of 7,516 mt (up 63%). Refined tin production was 10,865 mt, up 58% YoY; refined tin sales were 10,984 mt, up 85% YoY. On a monthly basis, refined tin production in Q2 2026 was 5,235 mt, down 7.0% from the previous quarter.

SMM News, July 31: According to SMM data, total aluminum production outside China in July 2026 fell 6.7% YoY, mainly due to lower plant loads at Middle Eastern smelters. The daily average production outside China rebounded 1.6% MoM, mainly driven by advancing production resumptions in the Middle East and Iceland, as well as production ramp-ups and new capacity commissioning in Indonesia, Vietnam, and other regions. In July, there were many updates on operating aluminum capacity outside China, summarized as follows: On July 1, Hydro announced on its official website that the Slovalco smelter had reached an agreement with the Slovak government, allowing the resumption of 75,000 mt of aluminum capacity, with production expected to start in Q4 2026. On July 2, according to overseas media reports, Magnitude 7 Metals will restart the Line 1 pots at its aluminum smelter in Marston, Missouri, adding 75,000 mt/year of primary aluminum capacity by the end of 2026. On July 2, EGA announced progress in restoring production at its Al Taweelah plant. All anode removal from the pots was complete; pot cleaning was about 90% finished; and over 20% of the pots had been cleared of solidified aluminum. The first repaired pot was successfully restarted on May 26, and as of July 2, 89 pots (out of a total of 1,262) were in operation. On July 3, Vedanta Aluminum released its production report, showing that the Balco smelter recorded aluminum production of 168,000 mt in FY27 (Q2 2026), up 10% QoQ and 17% YoY, mainly driven by trial production from expanded capacity. On July 15, Rio Tinto released its Q2 performance report, noting that aluminum capacity at Kitimat, NZAS, and AP60 continued to rise. The last two potlines at the Arvida smelter were shut down as planned in June, and the Arvida AP60 is planned to reach full production by the end of this year. On July 16, Alcoa announced its Q2 results, with production reaching 636,000 mt, up 5% QoQ, mainly driven by the completion of the restart at the San Ciprián smelter in Spain, ongoing ramp-up at the Alumar smelter in Brazil, and completed restarts at the Lista smelter in Norway and the Portland smelter in Australia. Looking ahead to August 2026, production resumptions in the Middle East are expected to continue advancing; new projects that started production earlier in Indonesia and Vietnam are expected to keep ramping up production; and the expanded capacity at India's Balco is expected to sustain its production ramp-up. Although conflict in the Middle East erupted once again, market feedback indicated that it did not affect aluminum smelter production again. Overall, aluminum production outside China is expected to maintain its MoM growth trend in the short term. However, recent market rumors have emerged that construction progress of aluminum projects in the Middle East, Indonesia, and other areas is slower than expected. Going forward, close attention should be paid to announcements from relevant aluminum smelters in the Middle East, Indonesia, and India.

The first half of 2026 is already in the past. At the start of H2, industry chain enterprises have begun to release their H1 2026 performance forecasts collectively. Notably, against the backdrop of a significantly higher YoY lithium price center, stable demand in the NEV industry, and a continuously booming energy storage sector, most enterprises in the lithium industry chain expect varying degrees of performance improvement. SMM has compiled the performance forecast situations of some enterprises in the industry chain, as follows:

Beijing time July 21, Vale released its operational performance report for Q2 2026. The report shows: Production: In Q2 2026, iron ore production totaled 84.3 million mt, up 1% YoY (700,000 mt), driven by record production at S11D and the growth from the Capanema project and the Vargem Grande 1 (VGR1) project. Iron ore pellet production totaled 7.3 million mt, down 7% YoY (500,000 mt), related to the temporary suspension of operations at the Oman plant for part of the quarter. In the iron ore business, improved performance across multiple operations drove the highest Q2 production since 2018. Iron ore sales: In Q2 2026, iron ore sales reached 79.7 million mt, up 3% YoY (2.4 million mt), supported by inventory sales and production growth.

Huahong Technology’s semi-annual results forecast disclosed on the evening of July 13 shows that attributable net profit in H1 2026 is expected to be 320 million yuan to 360 million yuan, up 301.84%–352.08% YoY. As for the reasons for the performance change, Huahong Technology said: In H1 2026, driven by industry policies and improved downstream demand, prices of major rare earth products in China climbed steadily. The company’s rare earth comprehensive utilization segment seized market opportunities, fully leveraged its comprehensive advantages in capacity scale, cost control and process technology, and continuously optimized its supply, production and sales coordination and inventory management strategies, effectively driving the full release of the segment’s profitability. The company continued to deepen its rare earth industry chain layout, steadily expanding its downstream rare earth permanent magnet materials business. Driven by steady demand from end-use sectors such as NEVs, wind power and industrial automation, the segment’s business scale kept expanding, its revenue and product mix continued to improve and it became an important supplement to performance growth. A review of SMM’s Pr-Nd oxide price trend in H1 shows that the Pr-Nd oxide price stood at 609,000 yuan/mt at the start of the year, hit its H1 high of 890,000 yuan/mt by late February, a cumulative gain of up to 46.7% from the start of the year. The key driver was the supply side: spot Pr-Nd oxide supply remained tight, futures surged sharply, suppliers held back from selling amid strong bullish sentiment, and pre-holiday stockpiling purchases by metal companies pushed prices up rapidly. At the same time, supply disruptions from Myanmar ore, domestic separation plants’ production resumptions falling short of expectations and market sentiment created a combined effect of “undersupply + bullish hold-back.” From March to April, however, bearish supply-side news combined with weak demand from traditional end-use sectors pulled Pr-Nd oxide prices back quickly to around 700,000 yuan/mt. Yet the rise in China Northern Rare Earth’s concentrate prices in April, supply support from production suspensions at separation plants and export orders released under the export control extension window together drove prices to rebound slightly. From May, downstream sectors gradually entered the off-season and purchases became more cautious. From late June, the formal implementation of the Mineral Resources Law Implementation Regulations, which list rare earths as strategic minerals, and production cuts by scrap recycling enterprises due to tax invoice issues boosted Pr-Nd oxide prices again, which rebounded to 742,500 yuan/mt on June 30. Huahong Technology announced on June 30 that its controlling shareholder Jiangsu Huahong Industrial Group Co., Ltd., which holds a 32.01% stake, plans to reduce its holdings by no more than 15.0102 million shares (1.99% of total equity) through centralized bidding and block trading within three months after 15 trading days; Director and senior executive Zhu Dayong, who holds a 0.19% stake, plans to reduce his holdings by no more than 365,000 shares (0.05% of total equity) through centralized bidding or block trading within three months after 15 trading days; Director and senior executive Liu Weihua, who holds a 1.52% stake, plans to reduce his holdings by no more than 2.8 million shares (0.37% of total equity) through centralized bidding or block trading within three months after 15 trading days. Huahong Technology previously released its 2025 annual performance report, showing that in 2025, the company achieved operating revenue of RMB7.835 billion, up 40.51% YoY, reaching a three-year high. After posting losses for two consecutive years, the company successfully returned to profitability, with net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company reaching RMB204 million, up 157.46% YoY. 1. The rare earth segment seized the industry opportunity, acting as the "ballast stone" and "engine" for the turnaround. In 2025, the global rare earth market experienced a major shift in the supply-demand pattern. Driven by surging downstream demand from sectors such as new energy and robotics, combined with rigid supply-side constraints, rare earth product prices continued to rise, with the cumulative annual price increase for core products like Pr-Nd oxide exceeding 35%. The company's Rare Earth Resource Comprehensive Utilization Division keenly captured this industry opportunity, made accurate assessments, and acted accordingly: the company kept pace with the market, optimized procurement and sales strategies, and maximized product value during the price upcycle. Technological transformation yielded results and capacity was released: the previously completed technological transformation and capacity expansion projects at Xintai Technology and Jiangxi Wanhong reached full production, with annual capacity for rare earth oxides stabilizing at 12,000 mt, significantly releasing economies of scale. The company tapped internal potential to reduce costs and enhance efficiency: by optimizing process flows, production costs were strictly controlled and recovery rates were improved. During the reporting period, the company's rare earth resource comprehensive utilization business recorded strong production and sales performance with rising volumes and prices, contributing core profits to the company. 2. All business segments collaborated to build a diversified support structure. While the rare earth resource comprehensive utilization segment led the way, other segments also achieved strong operating results, creating a favorable situation of "blossoming in multiple areas and developing in synergy": Rare Earth Magnetic Materials Segment achieved "dual improvement in volume and quality," with production capacity steadily released across various production sites, providing strong support for market expansion and order fulfillment. High-performance magnetic material products were successfully introduced into the supply chain systems of multiple first-tier NEV automakers, with order scale continuing to expand and client quality and business mix continuously optimized. Construction of the key Baotou production site is progressing in an orderly manner and is planned to enter trial production in Q2 2026, laying a critical foundation for doubling magnetic material capacity. Elevator Parts Segment: The traditional business seized the policy dividends from the "program of large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins," rapidly responding to domestic demand for elevator installation and retrofitting. Through refined production scheduling and efficiency gains, total annual production grew by over 20% YoY. The segment steadily expanded its second growth curve, with customer acquisition and product development activities for emerging businesses such as automotive electronics and energy storage progressing on schedule. At the same time, the division's "going global" process accelerated, closely following market trends and customer needs. Renewable Resource Equipment Segment: In the face of profound industry changes and intense market competition, the business division continued to increase investment in new product R&D and accelerated its deployment in markets outside China, striving to secure survival and development amid fierce competition. Internally, it focused tightly on cost reduction across supply, production, and sales to enhance operational quality. In the renewable resource operations segment, the end-of-life vehicle dismantling and steel scrap processing businesses constantly explored more diverse and flexible business models, and introduced specialized teams to improve operational quality and efficiency. In 2025, the company's total volume of end-of-life vehicle recycling and dismantling reached a record high. The business models continued to mature, internal management was consistently optimized, and industry synergies were accelerated, laying a foundation for future business development. In 2025, the company also achieved notable results in cross-segment industry synergies. The industrial linkages between the Magnetic Materials Business Division and the Rare Earth Business Division, the industry sharing between the Elevator Business Division and the Magnetic Materials Business Division, and the upstream-downstream resonance between the operations segment and the Rare Earth Business Division demonstrated the wisdom and commitment of the company's entire management team. Regarding the company's main business operations, HuaHong Technology's 2025 Annual Report disclosed: The company has consistently upheld its corporate mission of "Serving the Circular Economy, Creating a Green Life" and steadfastly adhered to its corporate spirit of "Striving, Fact-Based, Innovation, and Dedication," committing to becoming a renewable resource processing equipment manufacturer and a comprehensive resource recycling and utilization operator serving global markets. The company actively deployed renewable resource operation businesses, building a circular economy industry chain centered on end-of-life vehicle recycling and dismantling, extending downstream to the comprehensive utilization of steel scrap, rare earth recycling materials, and other metallic and non-metallic resources, while continuously exploring possibilities for expansion into related industries such as high-end manufacturing and smart manufacturing. During the reporting period, the company's main business was divided into four major segments: "Renewable Resource Equipment and Operations," "High-End Manufacturing of Elevator Parts," "Comprehensive Utilization of Rare Earth Resources," and "Rare Earth Magnetic Materials." HuaHong Technology's corporate development strategy and business plan announced in its 2025 Annual Report indicate: The company's overall development approach is as follows: strengthen product upgrades and technological innovation in renewable resource processing equipment to further consolidate its leading position in the renewable resource processing equipment industry; actively deploy renewable resource operation businesses, vigorously develop the end-of-life vehicle recycling and dismantling business, and use this as a main line to expand the comprehensive recycling and utilization of downstream steel scrap, rare earth scrap, and other metallic and non-metallic resources, building the company into a well-known enterprise in the circular economy sector. It will continue to advance the company's dual-wheel drive strategy, increase R&D, production, and sales of precision elevator parts, thereby building Weilman into a global industry leader in elevator signal systems and safety components; through fund operations, equity investments, mergers and acquisitions, and other capital operation models, accelerate the enhancement of the company's capital operation capabilities, achieve resource optimization and integration, continuously monitor extension opportunities in the upstream and downstream industry chain, and actively explore possibilities for the company's expansion into environmental protection, smart manufacturing, and IoT-related industries, forming new driving forces for company development and further enhancing its core competitiveness and profitability. According to the latest SMM price report: On July 17, the average price of Pr-Nd oxide was 766,000 yuan/mt, down 0.33% from the previous trading day. On July 17, Pr-Nd oxide futures prices declined, while inquiries in the spot market were sluggish. As a result, offers from Pr-Nd oxide suppliers edged lower. Nevertheless, most market participants remain confident about the outlook and showed a strong willingness to hold prices firm, which limited the actual decline in oxide prices, and low-cost supply remained scarce and hard to find. In the metals market, prices also fell. Magnetic material enterprises saw poor new orders, limiting their ability to accept high metal prices; purchases mainly served rigid restocking demand, leading to sluggish inquiries in the metal market. Upstream and downstream sectors remained locked in a stalemate, with the metals segment continuing to face pressure. In the short term, due to the stagnant trading, Pr-Nd product prices are expected to move sideways in a narrow range. Recommended Reading:

When asked, "What are the technological content and barriers of the company's rolled copper foil? Who are the domestic and international competitors? Which companies are downstream clients?" North Copper responded on the investor interaction platform on June 25: The technological content and barriers of the company's rolled copper foil are reflected in: 1. The long process flow of rolled copper foil, involving disciplines such as smelting, rolling, metal heat treatment, and electrochemistry, requires continuous trial production to accumulate a process database. This represents a long-term experiential barrier that cannot be quickly reverse-engineered. 2. Capital and hardware thresholds, with extremely high equipment investment, high barriers for equipment installation, commissioning, and operation, and severe limitations on product width and ultra-thin gauge. 3. Barriers in rolling and forming processes, which are also the highest thresholds—covering product thickness, sheet flatness, internal structure, and mechanical properties, as well as the synergistic barriers of dozens of interconnected processing steps. The consistency control across the entire process is far more demanding than the single-step electrodeposition process for copper cathode foil. Regarding the statement, "The CCL construction portion of the company's 50,000 mt high-performance rolled copper foil and 2 million m² copper clad laminate (CCL) project has not yet commenced due to insufficient relevant technology and talent reserves, out of prudence. Next, the company will decide on the CCL investment and construction plan based on thorough market surveys and scientific validation," North Copper responded on the investor interaction platform on June 25: The CCL construction portion of the company's 50,000 mt high-performance rolled copper foil and 2 million m² CCL project has not yet commenced due to insufficient relevant technology and talent reserves, out of prudence. Next, the company will decide on the CCL investment and construction plan based on thorough market surveys and scientific validation. North Copper responded on the investor interaction platform on June 25: The company seizes market opportunities, closely monitors downstream market demand, focuses on R&D for mid-to-high-end copper strip products and structural adjustments for rolled copper foil products, and is committed to filling gaps in its process lines and reaching its capacity standard, striving to turn losses into profits as soon as possible. Regarding the question, "When will the company's semi-annual report performance forecast announcement be released?", North Copper responded on the investor interaction platform on June 25: The company has scheduled the disclosure of its 2026 semi-annual report for August 27. If the conditions for a performance forecast are met, the company will release the announcement within the stipulated time. When asked, "After the implementation of the 'Regulations on the Implementation of the Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China', has the related work on applying for the mining permit for the newly added copper ore at the Tongkuangyu Mine been accelerated? Could you discuss the company's near-term plans? If progress goes smoothly, based on the ore's copper grade and after deducting relevant costs, how much profit is this expected to bring to the company?" North Copper responded on the investor interaction platform on June 24: The detailed survey of deep-seated replacement resources at the Tongkuangyu Mine is a project to add reserves outside the current mining right's boundary at depth (elevation range: 80m to -325m), which is conducive to increasing the company's copper resource reserves and extending the mine's service life. Given that the replacement resources identified by the detailed survey have reached a large scale, according to reserve review and filing requirements, the exploration level must be achieved for resource reserve filing and for initiating the transition from exploration to mining. As the mine's production level shifts downward, the company will conduct further exploration work for deep-seated replacement resources at the next production level. The company currently has no relevant deep exploration plans. Regarding the question, "As a third-generation core substrate material for IC lead frames, could you briefly introduce the production and latest order status of your company's 5,000 mt chromium zirconium copper alloy product?", North Copper responded on the investor interaction platform on June 23: Our company has completed the casting ingot product for C18150 (chromium zirconium copper alloy); the subsequent copper strip process is currently under trial production. There are no orders at present. On June 17, North Copper stated on the interaction platform in response to an investor's question that the company has not yet established a cooperative relationship with NVIDIA. On June 17, North Copper stated on the interaction platform in response to an investor's question that the company has a comprehensive market cap management system, consistently centering market cap management on enhancing intrinsic value. Through methods such as focusing on core business growth, optimizing governance structures, strengthening information disclosure, and implementing shareholder return plans, it is committed to achieving long-term alignment between the company's value and its market performance. Should there be arrangements such as share buybacks or capital increase plans, the company will promptly issue relevant announcements. On June 15, North Copper stated on the interaction platform in response to an investor's question that, relying on scientific research breakthroughs at the Shanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of New Copper-based Materials, the company's copper strip and foil product structure is undergoing further adjustment and optimization. All production and operation activities are proceeding in an orderly manner, and product orders are growing steadily. On June 4, North Copper stated on the interaction platform in response to an investor's question that the company's management places high importance on extending the industry chain and has made positive progress in deep copper processing. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the company will rely on its existing copper strip and foil production lines to achieve new breakthroughs in scientific research, product structure adjustment, and capacity enhancement, thereby empowering the company's high-quality development. Performance: North Copper's previously released 2026 Q1 report showed that in Q1, the company achieved operating revenue of 10.044 billion yuan, up 46.89% YoY; net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company was 615 million yuan, with a YoY increase reaching 65.74%. Regarding the reasons for the increase in operating revenue, North Copper stated in its Q1 report that it was mainly due to an increase in product sales volume and rising prices. Additionally, North Copper's 2025 annual performance report showed that the company achieved operating revenue of 27.916 billion yuan in 2025, up 15.80% YoY; net profit attributable to the parent company was 791 million yuan, up 29.01% YoY. 2025 main product production: copper cathode produced was 300,300 mt, sulphuric acid 766,000 mt, gold ingots 6.4 mt, and silver ingots 68.5 mt. In its 2025 annual report, North Copper described: The company's main business is the mining, beneficiation, smelting, and rolling processing of copper metal. Currently, its captive mine has an annual ore processing capacity of 9 million mt and self-produced copper content of 43,000 mt. Its copper smelting capacity is 320,000 mt, along with gold ingots 10.8 mt, silver ingots 170 mt, and sulphuric acid 1.22 million mt, while it also comprehensively recovers valuable metals like platinum, palladium, selenium, and bismuth. Deep copper processing products include high-performance copper and copper alloy strips, rolled copper foil, etc., of which copper alloy strip capacity is 25,000 mt/year and rolled copper foil capacity is 5,000 mt/year. The company already possesses an integrated industry chain from mining, beneficiation, and smelting to rolling processing. The company's 'Zhongtiaoshan' brand Grade A copper is registered on the Shanghai Futures Exchange and the Shanghai International Energy Exchange, and its 'Zhongtiaoshan' brand gold and silver ingots are registered on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. The mineral exploration situation disclosed in North Copper's 2025 annual report showed that the company completed the detailed survey project of deep-seated replacement resources at the Tongkuangyu Copper Mine (below 80m elevation), with primary completed workloads: prospecting roadway 140.6m, 12 drill chambers/2,823.6m³, 12 drill holes (including 3 hydrogeological holes), drilling footage 7,268.62m, 1:2000 special hydrogeological, engineering geological, and environmental geological survey 6㎢, geophysical logging 2,065.61m, and pumping tests for 3 holes; 8,091 samples analyzed and tested, 46 rock/mineral test groups, 99 small-weight samples, 20 copper phase analysis samples, 10 complete chemical analysis samples, and 12 complete water quality analysis samples. On February 20, 2025, the Shanxi Mining Association organized the completion of supervision and field acceptance work for the resource detailed survey project, issuing supervision and field acceptance reports. In early March, the company completed the compilation of the 'Special Hydrogeological, Engineering Geological and Environmental Geological Detailed Survey Report for the Deep Part of the Tongkuangyu Mine'. On March 17, the Shanxi Mining Association organized an expert review which was passed. In May, the company completed the compilation of the 'Detailed Survey Report on Deep-seated Replacement Resources at the Tongkuangyu Copper Mine in Yuanqu County, Shanxi Province' (hereinafter referred to as the report). On May 23, the Shanxi Mining Association organized an expert review which was passed, and an review opinion was issued. According to the report, as of December 31, 2024, within the 80m to -325m elevation range of the Tongkuangyu mining area, cumulative identified industrial orebody (No. 5) resources amounted to 103.718 million mt of copper ore with an average grade of 0.84% and a metal content of 869,600 mt. Associated gold metal content was 8,930 kg at an avg. grade of 0.09g/t; associated molybdenum metal content was 3,727 mt at an avg. grade of 0.011%. Low-grade copper ore resources amounted to 34.625 million mt with an avg. grade of 0.25% and a metal content of 88,200 mt. The scale of discovered resources reached large-size, marking a significant prospecting achievement and providing a solid resource guarantee for the company's industry chain layout. Regarding the company's copper ore resource reserves, North Copper announced in its annual report, As of year-end 2025, the Tongkuangyu Mine had retained copper ore resources above 80m elevation of 204.664 million mt, with a copper metal content of 1.2501 million mt. Additionally, below 80m elevation at the base of the Tongkuangyu Mine's current mining right, the cumulative identified industrial orebody (No. 5) copper ore resources was 103.718 million mt, with an average grade of 0.84% and a metal content of 869,600 mt. For the 2026 production and operation plan, North Copper mentioned in its 2025 annual report: Main product production: copper cathode 300,000 mt, sulphuric acid 800,000 mt, gold ingots 6 mt, silver ingots 60 mt, to maximize economic benefits. A research report from Huaxi Securities on June 14 pointed out: In the medium and long term, copper, as a key metal for energy transition, possesses strategic allocation value under the policy guidance of the 15th Five-Year Plan. On the supply side, entering 2026, major mines globally have continued to experience strikes and production halts this year, keeping the supply profile relatively tight. From a macro perspective, the probability of a US Fed interest rate cut during the year still exists. In the long term, the macro environment supports copper prices, and the US dollar is expected to continue depreciating, supporting a positive outlook on copper prices. Furthermore, strong supply-demand fundamentals support copper prices. China's macro policies are expected to continue exerting force, and stimulus measures in sectors like electric power infrastructure, NEVs, and home appliance consumption could further expand. Beneficiary stocks: [Zijin Mining], [CMOC], [JCHX], [Jiangxi Copper Corporation], [Western Mining Co., Ltd.], [North Copper], [Tongling Nonferrous Metals], [Yunnan Copper].