According to SMM, a zinc mine in North China continued processing lower-grade ore throughout June, resulting in a month-on-month decline of approximately 500 metal tonnes in zinc concentrate production. Output is expected to decrease further in July.

BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhua Finance) -- The acceleration of low Earth orbit satellite networking is creating incremental demand for satellite power supplies. Recently, a number of A-share publicly listed firms have intensively released announcements or related cooperation news covering outward investments, strategic cooperation, and co-built laboratories, with enterprises deploying space PV across the entire chain from wafers and packaging materials to perovskite cells. Industry insiders point out that the sector is accelerating the formation of space PV industry alliances for joint R&D, with multiple technology routes simultaneously undergoing in-orbit verification. Multiple institutions estimate that the long-term market size of the track could approach the trillion-yuan level, and space PV is becoming a new growth curve for the PV industry to navigate through cycles.

[SMM Rare Earth Express] Australian mineral sands producer Iluka Resources announced it has secured a confirmed A$1.65 billion (approximately $1.15 billion) non-recourse loan from Export Finance Australia (EFA) to develop the Eneabba rare earth refinery in Western Australia, the country's first fully integrated rare earth refining facility. The project is now over 50% complete, with the first A$1.25 billion drawdown expected by the end of 2026, when construction is forecast to reach 75% and commissioning is planned to commence in mid-2027. Meanwhile, Iluka has signed a binding four-year offtake agreement with a major global automaker to supply magnetic rare earth oxides—including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium—starting in 2028, covering approximately 10% (around 1,200 mt) of planned production.

[SMM Rare Earth Flash] Canadian rare earth developer Aclara Resources announced that the US state of Louisiana has approved a tax exemption for its heavy rare earth separation plant at Port Vinton. Under the Industrial Tax Exemption Program, the plant will be exempt from 80% of property taxes for the first five years, saving approximately $4.2 million annually and a total of about $20.8 million over five years, with an option to renew for another five years. The plant plans to break ground in Q4 2026 and will process mixed rare earth carbonates from ion-adsorption clay deposits in Chile and Brazil into high-purity separated rare earth oxides, producing heavy rare earths such as dysprosium, terbium, yttrium, gadolinium, and samarium. The designed capacity is 1,131 mt/yr NdPr, 148 mt/yr dysprosium, and 25 mt/yr terbium.

Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released a notice titled “Notice on Public Consultation for 242 Industry Standard Plan Projects Including Technical Requirements for the Operation Alarm System of Smart Factories in the Petrochemical Industry,” which now publicizes 8 PV industry standard project plans. Among the PV industry projects established in this batch, excluding 1 bracket standard and 1 smart PV system, the remaining 6 are all perovskite standard projects. The public consultation period is from June 6, 2026, to July 5, 2026.

Indonesia's Ministry of Industry plans to establish a National Industrial Zone Council (DKIN) to strengthen nationwide coordination of industrial zone development. Tri Supondy, the ministry's Director General for Industrial Resilience, Regional and International Access, told a parliamentary working session on Monday, June 29, 2026, that the council will be chaired by President Prabowo Subianto, with Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka as deputy chair and Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita as daily chairman, with membership drawn from relevant ministries and stakeholder representatives, supported by a secretariat under the Industry Ministry. Tri said the council will be tasked with formulating policy to accelerate industrial zone development and resolve cross-sectoral issues, though no timeline for its formation has been announced.