After returning from the Chinese New Year holiday, Q4 reports from listed miners outside China have been released one after another recently. 2025 was a period of concentrated release of new capacity at mines outside China. What was the specific situation? What are the expectations for 2026? Let us analyze it by enterprise.

Precious metals are having a moment. Gold and silver surged to record highs in January, benefiting from an alignment of macroeconomic factors, evolving supply-demand dynamics, and renewed industrial demand.

Indonesia, as a crucial emerging market in Southeast Asia, possesses massive potential for the development of the photovoltaic (PV) industry. According to assessments by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia's potential PV power generation capacity reaches up to 207 GW. This article will provide an in-depth insight into the actual dynamics and industrial landscape of the current Indonesian PV market.

Futures: Overnight, LME lead opened at $1,934.5/mt and moved sideways around the daily average during the Asian session. Entering the European session, it briefly rose to test the $1,940/mt level before weakening again to a low of $1,930/mt. It then rebounded and recovered all losses, touching a high of $1,946/mt before the close and finally settling at $1,945/mt, up $14/mt, or 0.73%. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE lead contract gapped lower to open at 16,605 yuan/mt. Early in the session, supported by stronger LME lead, it climbed to a high of 16,680 yuan/mt before pulling back and consolidating above the intraday average. It edged up slightly before the close and eventually settled at 16,665 yuan/mt, down 25 yuan/mt from the previous day, or 0.15%. As shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was nearly at a standstill, production cuts by Middle Eastern oil-producing countries also kept escalating. Three sources familiar with the matter revealed that the Trump administration in the US had asked Israel to stop further airstrikes on Iran’s energy facilities, especially oil infrastructure. This was said to be the first time the US had clearly restrained Israeli military operations since the joint US-Israeli military action against Iran began. The US made this request partly because of concerns that it could push up global oil prices and trigger large-scale Iranian retaliation against energy infrastructure in the Gulf region. The 2026 draft report on central and local fiscal budgets clarified the total national defense expenditure budget, and Zhang Xiaogang introduced this year’s national defense spending arrangements. In 2026, the national general public budget arranged national defense expenditure of 194 billion yuan, up 6.9% from the previous year’s executed amount, of which central government spending was 191 billion yuan, up 7% from the previous year’s executed amount. Spot Fundamentals: In the Shanghai market, Chihong lead was quoted at discounts of 100-0 yuan/mt against the SHFE lead 2604 contract. SHFE lead remained in the doldrums, and with delivery approaching, some suppliers shifted cargoes to ship to delivery warehouse, reducing shipment pressure and relatively narrowing discounts. This was mainly reflected in primary lead smelter cargoes self-picked up from production site, with ex-works quotations in mainstream producing areas ranging from discounts of 50 yuan/mt to premiums of 75 yuan/mt against the SMM #1 lead average price. In addition, secondary lead smelters held prices firm in shipments, with secondary refined lead quoted ex-works around parity with the SMM #1 lead average price. As arrivals of imported lead increased, however, discounts on individual secondary refined lead quotations widened to 200 yuan/mt ex-works. Downstream enterprises bought the dip on demand, mainly purchasing primary lead, and transactions relatively improved. Inventory: As of March 10, LME lead inventory stood at 284,875 mt, flat from the previous day; as of March 9, SMM social inventory of lead ingot across five regions continued its accumulating trend. Lead Price Forecast for Today: Recently, downstream enterprises have still mainly been digesting inventories, with low enthusiasm for procurement and stockpiling. After lead ingot inventories accumulated at medium- and large-scale smelters in Henan and other regions, they were continuously transferred to social warehouses. For secondary refined lead, as scrap battery prices remained firm while lead prices were in the doldrums, smelters showed low enthusiasm for shipments and ramping up operating rates, and discounts in spot secondary refined lead quotations narrowed, with downstream just-in-time procurement tilting toward primary lead. In addition, secondary refined lead will enter delivery as substitutes, coupled with replenishment from imported lead, refined lead social inventory is expected to find it difficult to reverse the short-term trend of continued accumulation, and lead prices remain under pressure.

Silver is having one of its most extraordinary years in modern market history.

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] The widening contango price spread between futures contracts for nearby months continued to strengthen suppliers’ willingness to ship to delivery warehouses, further tightening the availability of freely tradable spot copper and providing solid support for spot premiums. Against this backdrop, suppliers showed strong sentiment to hold prices firm during the day, with offers remaining firm. Demand side, downstream buyers maintained just-in-time procurement, providing some support for prices; supply side, although social inventory remained at a high level, more than half of the cargoes had already been converted into warrants, and spot circulation stayed tight. Shanghai added 1,759 mt of warrants yesterday, further intensifying the tightness in freely tradable cargo availability. Overall, under the dominance of delivery logic, Shanghai spot copper premiums are expected to remain in premium territory tomorrow.

The University of Tsukuba in Japan successfully developed a new-type magnesium-air solid-state battery, using a nitrogen-doped porous graphene cathode to solve the problem of chloride corrosion, providing a high-safety, low-cost technological pathway for flexible electronics and wearable devices. At the same time, the Record Ridge magnesium mine project in British Columbia, Canada, has triggered strong opposition from the local tourism community over plans to transport ore to China for processing, and has been halted by litigation, with a court hearing scheduled for March 10. The two developments respectively highlight magnesium’s cutting-edge applications in new energy technology and the real-world tensions in resource development.

SMM Morning Brief: Overnight, LME copper opened at $13,104.5/mt, then its center moved downward to a low of $13,003.5/mt. It then fluctuated upward, hitting a high of $13,096.5/mt near the close, and finally closed at $12,919/mt, up 1.37%. Trading volume reached 22,000 lots, down 9,254 lots from the previous trading day; open interest stood at 304,000 lots, up 1,035 lots from the previous trading day, mainly reflecting long position buildup overall. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2604 contract opened at 101,430 yuan/mt. After dipping to 101,200 yuan/mt in early trading, it hovered at highs, hitting a high of 101,930 yuan/mt near the close, and finally closed at 101,860 yuan/mt, up 0.7%. Trading volume reached 28,000 lots, down 88,000 lots from the previous trading day; open interest stood at 193,000 lots, down 1,780 lots from the previous trading day, mainly reflecting short position reduction overall.

[SMM Stainless Steel Daily Review] SS Futures Were in the Doldrums, While Spot Stainless Steel Held Steady with Just-in-Time Procurement Dominating SMM News on March 11: SS futures showed a weak fluctuating trend. Since March, they had continued to move sideways in the 14,000-14,400 range. Affected by the continued escalation of geopolitical conflicts, SS futures extended their fluctuating trend, closing at 14,210 yuan/mt by the midday session. In the spot market, driven by the sideways movement in futures, spot traders' quotations generally held steady. Downstream end-users mainly made just-in-time procurement, while the earlier bullish sentiment had been fully exhausted, leaving insufficient willingness for advance purchases and stockpiling. However, as the traditional peak season gradually approaches, fundamental demand can still be maintained, and market participants expect stainless steel prices to remain strongly supported by costs within the month. The most-traded SS futures contract fluctuated downward. As of 10:15 a.m., SS2604 was quoted at 14,105 yuan/mt, down 190 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Spot premiums for 304/2B in Wuxi stood in the 400-600 yuan/mt range. In the spot market, cold-rolled 201/2B coils in Wuxi all held steady; for cold-rolled burr-edge 304/2B coils, average prices in both Wuxi and Foshan held steady; cold-rolled 316L/2B coils in Wuxi held steady; for hot-rolled 316L/NO.1 coils, Wuxi quotations held steady; and cold-rolled 430/2B coils in both Wuxi and Foshan held steady. As the market entered the traditional peak consumption season of "Golden March and Silver April," the stainless steel market ushered in a window for demand recovery. The downstream demand side successively resumed work and production after the Chinese New Year holiday, and demand showed a gradual recovery trend. However, although transactions improved from the previous period, the market had yet to show the brisk activity typical of the peak season, ...

[SMM Tin Morning News: The Most-Traded SHFE Tin Contract Maintained a Fluctuating Trend Around the 400,000 Mark in the Night Session, with Downstream Enterprises Mostly Digesting Inventories for Operations]