Hudbay Minerals has officially launched the New Ingerbelle expansion project at its Copper Mountain mine in British Columbia, Canada. The project is expected to extend the mine's operating life beyond 2040 while improving operational efficiency through access to higher-grade mineralization and a significantly lower stripping ratio. Based on current reserves, New Ingerbelle is projected to produce approximately 750,000 tonnes of copper, 900,000 ounces of gold and 5.5 million ounces of silver over its mine life. The project received key mining permits in February 2026 and has been designated as a priority resource project by the British Columbia government. The expansion as an important step in supporting long-term copper supply and regional economic development.

Bougainville Copper Ltd. has lost its exploration licence for the Panguna copper-gold project in Papua New Guinea’s Autonomous Region of Bougainville after local authorities revoked the permit. A new 25-year mining licence has been granted to Bougainville Minerals Ltd., a company controlled by the Autonomous Bougainville Government and local landowners. Panguna is one of the world's largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits, containing an estimated 5.3 million tonnes of copper and 19.3 million ounces of gold. The licence transfer could significantly influence the future development pathway of the project while highlighting the growing role of local stakeholders and resource ownership issues in major mining developments.

SMM Morning Meeting Minutes: Overnight LME copper opened at $13,813/mt. At the open, copper prices showed wild swings, dipping to $13,776.5/mt during the session. Then the price center fluctuated upward, touching a high of $13,835.5/mt near the close, and finally closed at $13,835/mt, up 0.13%. Trading volume reached 11,500 lots, and open interest stood at 251,000 lots, down 7,579 lots from the previous trading day, indicating a reduction in bearish positions. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2607 contract opened at 105,280 yuan/mt. In early trading, it hit a high of 105,580 yuan/mt, then the price center dipped to 105,210 yuan/mt. Subsequently, the center fluctuated upward, and finally closed at 105,510 yuan/mt, up 0.1%. Trading volume reached 18,000 lots, and open interest reached 122,000 lots, down 2,119 lots from the previous trading day, indicating a reduction in bearish positions.

As industry regulation policies continue to be implemented, compliant scrap is currently insufficient to support recyclers in maintaining a high operating rate. Market expectations for tighter rare earth raw material supply are intensifying. After a prior period of fluctuating downward, Pr-Nd oxide prices have achieved three consecutive daily gains. Supply side, driven by policy guidance, the rare earth scrap recycling industry has entered a phase of reasonable production pace adjustments. Multiple recyclers reported that the industry operating rate is expected to pull back from June to July: large enterprises, with their higher self-mining ratios, are seeing more pronounced production cuts; while medium and small enterprises, with lower self-mining ratios and a larger proportion of processing orders, are experiencing a relatively limited impact on actual production. Pr-Nd Oxide Sees Three-Day Winning Streak, Up 2.85% on 17th According to SMM price data, the spot price of Pr-Nd oxide stood at 720,000-725,000 yuan/mt on June 17, with an average price of 722,500 yuan/mt, an increase of 20,000 yuan/mt or 2.85% from the previous trading day. Driven by proliferating expectations of supply tightness, Pr-Nd oxide began its rise on June 15. The average price of 722,500 yuan/mt on June 17 represents an increase of 32,000 yuan/mt or 4.63% from the average price of 690,500 yuan/mt on June 12, achieving a three-day winning streak. Market Outlook Expectations for production cuts in the scrap recycling sector significantly boosted Pr-Nd prices, but downstream purchasing sentiment remains cautious, with a heavy wait-and-see atmosphere in the market. Near-term trading is expected to stay stagnant, with Pr-Nd prices likely moving sideways in a narrow range in the short term. Medium and long-term, it is crucial to monitor the supply pace of compliant scrap. As an important supplement to rare earth raw materials, the circulation volume of compliant recycled materials and the normalized operating rates of recyclers will have a lasting impact on raw material supply elasticity. Meanwhile, attention should be paid to the pace of demand release during traditional industry peak seasons; changes on both the supply and demand sides will affect the medium and long-term price equilibrium for Pr-Nd oxide. Recommended Reading:

[SMM Rare Earth News] USA Rare Earths (USAR) announced that its hydrometallurgical demonstration facility in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, has officially begun operations. The facility targets production of its first separated oxides in Q3 2026, at which point it will become one of the few Western enterprises capable of commercially supplying strategic heavy rare earth oxides such as dysprosium, terbium, and yttrium. The plant features a fully automated design and is equipped with multi-stage solvent extraction circuits and a real-time monitoring system. Its demonstration project will validate the processing flows for three raw materials in phases and in parallel: ore from the Round Top project in Texas, third-party mixed rare earth carbonates (including feedstock from Serra Verde), and the recycling of NdFeB magnet grinding scrap. This start-up marks a key step for USAR in building a complete rare earth value chain encompassing mining, processing, metals, and magnet manufacturing.

Capacity-wise, according to incomplete statistics, China’s alkaline electrolyzer market stands at 43.77 GW, and the PEM electrolyzer market at 2.7 GW. This week, no offline delivery information was publicly available. Project-related updates: Jiyuan (Siping) Green Energy Co., Ltd.: SPIC Green Energy issued the termination announcement for the centralized tender of the 12th batch of infrastructure projects in 2026. The D12-01 Biochar Preparation Unit EPC General Contracting Section under the subsidiary Lishu Wind and Solar-Based Green Hydrogen Coupled with Biomass Green Methanol Project has been officially terminated. The reason cited was notification from the bid inviter, without disclosure of details such as project adjustments or plan changes. It is understood that this section planned to build a new biochar preparation unit with an annual capacity of 240,000 mt, adopting an end-to-end EPC general contracting model covering supporting systems including biomass pretreatment, drying, torrefaction, and cooling, as well as a carbon shaping core system, heat supply, conveying, civil works, and intelligentization. Huawang (Qingdao) Hydrogen Technology Group Co., Ltd.: Re-tender announcement for the general contracting of the hydrogen purification station project at the Hydrogen Industrial Park. The project is located in Dongjiakou Chemical Park, Huangdao District, Qingdao, with a total investment of 46.2968 million yuan, an engineering cost of 27 million yuan, a maximum bid ceiling of 26.8 million yuan, and a design fee ceiling of 200,000 yuan. The site covers 720 m² and includes one 5,000 Nm³/h PSA purification unit for upgrading hydrogen-rich tail gas, designed to produce over 3,600 mt/year of high-purity hydrogen with a purity ≥ 99.999%, meeting China’s national standards for vehicle-grade hydrogen. Guohua (Ningxia) New Energy Co., Ltd.: Open tender for the PC construction general contracting of the integrated hydrogen production portion of the Solar-Storage-Hybrid Off-Grid Hydrogen Production Key Technology Research and Demonstration Project. The project is located south of the Qingshuiying hydrogen production station in Ningdong Town, covering about 33 mu, with utilities relying on the existing hydrogen station. It plans six hydrogen production trains — Train E is a 1,000 Nm³/h hybrid pilot unit; Trains F through J consist of five new hydrogen production systems each rated at 1,000 Nm³/h (maximum operating load 1,200 Nm³/h), each paired with an 800 Nm³/h alkaline electrolyzer, a 200 Nm³/h PEM electrolyzer, and purification equipment, achieving hydrogen purity of 99.999%. China Coal Green Energy (Ordos) Energy Technology Co., Ltd. : The prequalification results for the basic design of the first-phase hydrogen-ammonia project and supporting utilities of the Uxin Banner Wind and Solar-Based Hydrogen-to-Ammonia Integrated Project have been published. Wuhuan Engineering Co., Ltd. ranked first with a bid price of 1.698 million yuan. Goldwind Green Hydrogen Technology (Xing’an League) Co., Ltd. : The Xing’an League Goldwind Science & Technology Wind-to-Hydrogen (Phase III) Project has released its first environmental impact assessment public notice. The project is located in the Xing'an League Economic and Technological Development Zone, an expansion project with a hydrogen production capacity of 160,000 Nm³/h. It is being constructed in three phases: the first and second phases each have a hydrogen production capacity of 32,000 Nm³/h, and upon completion of the third phase, total self-owned green hydrogen capacity will reach 224,000 Nm³/h, with an additional 56,000 Nm³/h of green hydrogen purchased externally. The supporting green methanol project has a combined capacity of 1.575 million mt across the three phases. Pre-construction work is currently progressing in an orderly manner. Guohua (Rudong) New Energy Co., Ltd.: The solar-hydrogen-energy storage integrated project has been fully completed and put into operation. It is the largest project of its kind in China and a key national PV base project, integrating PV, energy storage, and green electricity hydrogen production facilities to build a complete green electricity industry chain. The project generates 468 million kWh of electricity annually, sufficient to meet the power needs of nearly 200,000 households, and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by more than 300,000 mt per year. The energy storage system supports stable grid operation and enhances new energy consumption levels. The project produces 482 mt of high-purity green hydrogen annually, achieving zero-carbon production, with the green hydrogen supplied directly to the Yangtze River Delta region. The entire system has been commissioned and all indicators meet the standards. CSSC (Handan) Peric Hydrogen Technologies Co., Ltd.: The Shuangyashan Jixian electrolyzer project has completed filing. It is invested and constructed by Heilongjiang Hai Rui Ke Energy Technology Co., Ltd. The project is located in Jixian County, Shuangyashan City, with a total investment of 612 million yuan, including fixed asset investment of 238.7 million yuan, and a construction period of two years. It is planned to build a new production line with an annual output of 500 sets of 1,000 Nm³/h alkaline electrolyzers and complete hydrogen production equipment, with a total capacity of 2.5 GW. The project covers an area of 63.23 mu, where factory buildings, office buildings, and supporting facilities will be constructed, and equipment such as CNC machining, welding, assembly, and detection equipment will be procured. Junrui Green Hydrogen (Alxa League) Energy Co., Ltd.: A change announcement for the winning bid result of the first phase of the 14,400 mt/year green hydrogen base project in the Alxa High-tech Zone has been released. The original first-ranked winning candidate, a consortium led by Xinjiang Xingyu Construction Engineering Co., Ltd., failed to collect the bid acceptance notice within the specified time as required. According to the tender document provisions, this is deemed an automatic forfeiture of the winning qualification. After this change, the second-ranked winning candidate, a consortium led by Guangxi Construction Engineering Group No.4 Construction Engineering Co., Ltd., becomes the project's winning bidder. The winning bid amount is 915,185,806.17 yuan, and the project duration is 18 months (549 calendar days). The project had previously completed the public announcement of winning candidates and the release of the initial winning bid result in April. China Coal Green Energy (Ordos) Energy Technology Co., Ltd. : The winning bid result for the design and survey services of the first phase of China Coal Green Energy (Ordos) Uxin Banner wind-solar hydrogen production and ammonia synthesis integrated project's hydrogen production, storage, and transportation engineering has been announced. China Power Engineering Consulting Group North China Electric Power Design Institute Co., Ltd. won the bid for 4.75 million yuan. The project is located in Uxin Banner, Ordos. Phase I will construct large-scale electrolytic water-based hydrogen production equipment, spherical tanks, and solid-state hydrogen storage facilities, with a total hydrogen storage capacity of 308,000 Nm³, accompanied by supporting systems for hydrogen transport and automatic control. The project encompasses the entire industry chain of wind and solar power generation, hydrogen production and storage, and ammonia synthesis. Gansu Huanshui Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. : Gansu Huanshui Energy Chemical issued the tender announcement for the EPC contract of electrolytic hydrogen production supporting the Huadian flexible ammonia project, a key project under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Located in the Tianshui Chemical Park, Huan County, Qingyang, Gansu, the project covers an area of 524.43 mu. It will construct new facilities for sodium chloride electrolysis and mercury-free polyethylene and related supporting infrastructure, with a total investment of 2.6112 billion yuan. Relying on green electricity for production, it will produce 31.50 million Nm³ of hydrogen annually, primarily supplying the flexible ammonia project. The construction period is 24 months, and consortium bids are allowed, with a maximum of 4 members; the lead partner must possess construction qualifications. Sinopec Xinxing Xinjiang Green Hydrogen New Energy Co., Ltd. : The candidate for the general construction contracting (Section 1) of the new-type electrolyzer industrial application demonstration project was announced, with Sinopec Henan Oil Construction Engineering Co., Ltd. ranking first. The project will build multiple electrolyzer testing platforms, along with supporting civil engineering, substation, automatic control, and fire protection facilities, covering construction, material procurement, and subsequent maintenance and related work. Zhongxiang Fuguang Energy Technology Co., Ltd.: The integrated energy project coupling green electricity-based hydrogen production with CO₂ capture has been filed in Zhongxiang city, Jingmen, Hubei. With a total investment of 2.8 billion yuan, the project focuses on green hydrogen preparation, direct air carbon capture, and green fuel synthesis. Once completed, it is expected to produce 10,000 mt of green hydrogen, 10,000 mt of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and 150,000 mt of China VI standard diesel annually, with construction scheduled to start in February 2027. The project site is in Zhongxiang city, planned to lease 1,000 mu of land, and will construct 260,000 m² of new factory buildings, a 20,000 m² standardized hydrogen storage yard, and supporting auxiliary facilities, procuring 216 units (sets) of core equipment including electrolyzers, storage tanks, and control systems. Shanghai Yiwei Industrial Technology Co., Ltd.: won the bid for the general contracting project of the 1500Nm³/h integrated biomethane-based hydrogen production and refueling station in Pinggu Mafang for Beijing Gas. This project is Pinggu's first integrated hydrogen production and refueling demonstration project and a key demonstration project for Beijing Gas to promote green energy transition. The project is configured with three Hysail-500Nm³/h containerized hydrogen generators, with a total production capacity of 1500Nm³/h. Leveraging biomethane-based hydrogen production technology, it creates a model of 'on-site production, immediate refueling, and nearby consumption,' yielding 99.999% high-purity hydrogen compliant with the GB/T37244-2018 national standard for vehicle hydrogen. Once completed, it will become a critical hub for hydrogen energy supply in eastern Beijing. Policy Review 1. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and other departments issued a notice on printing and distributing the "Guidelines for Accounting Non-Fossil Energy Electricity Consumption (Trial)". The content pointed out the need to strengthen alignment with energy statistics and carbon emission accounting systems, holistically consider factors such as physical connections, electricity energy trading, and green electricity certificate trading, and clearly categorize the rules for recognizing non-fossil energy electricity consumption and the accounting methods for users at the province (autonomous region, municipality directly under the central government; the same hereinafter) and city (prefectural) levels. Recognition methods for non-fossil energy electricity consumption: Physical Recognition. Self-generated and self-consumed non-fossil energy electricity and self-consumed electricity from new business models like direct green electricity connections are recognized as the electricity user's non-fossil energy electricity consumption. Electricity consumed for the production of non-fossil energy power generation projects is recognized as the generation enterprise's non-fossil energy electricity consumption. Transaction Recognition, encompassing electricity energy trading (including conventional non-fossil energy electricity trading, green electricity trading, etc.; the same hereinafter) and green certificate trading (including green certificate transfers, etc.; the same hereinafter). 2. The Energy Bureau of Jilin Province and the Development and Reform Commission of Jilin Province jointly issued the notice on the "Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Integrated and Converged Development of New Energy in Jilin Province". Overall goal: By 2030, integrated and converged development shall become a major approach for new energy expansion in the province, with new scenarios featuring integration and convergence emerging continuously. The province's new energy development model will become more flexible, consumption channels more diverse, application scenarios richer, and the electricity market more dynamic, with over 50 new integrated application projects and scenarios being newly established, strongly supporting the comprehensive green transformation of the province's economic and social development. 3. The Administration for Market Regulation of Guangdong Province issued a notice soliciting opinions on the provincial local standard "Operational Specifications for Integrated Hydrogen Production, Storage, and Refueling Equipment (Draft for Review)". The document states that this standard specifies the basic requirements, personnel management, equipment and facility management, hydrogen quality management, refueling operation management, safety management, archive management, and data recording for the operation of integrated hydrogen production, storage, and refueling equipment. Corporate Dynamics Guohong Hydrogen Energy Technology (Jiaxing) Co., Ltd. : Hydrogen heavy-duty trucks from Hongjing Logistics, equipped with Guohong Hydrogen Energy fuel cell systems, officially commenced commercial operation in Xinjiang. The first batch of vehicles departed fully loaded with coke from the Yongxin Coal Chemical Plant in Fukang city, traveling 130 km one way to arrive at the Urumqi Bayi Steel Plant. Beijing Future Hydrogen Energy Technology Co., Ltd. : drafted and released the group standard "Long-term Stability Assessment Method for AEM Water Electrolysis Hydrogen Production Membrane Materials"(T/CIET 2226-2026). Hubei Inteli Electric Co., Ltd. : has seen its cumulative hydrogen project performance in the European export market exceed 1GW. It previously secured contracts to supply 38 units of 4000 Nm³ (alkaline) hydrogen production power supply equipment for a green hydrogen green steel project and 50MW megawatt-class IGBT PWM hydrogen production power supplies for a petrochemical enterprise in Greece. Sungrow Hydrogen Energy Technology Co., Ltd. : won the bid for the green hydrogen coupling coal chemical section of the first-phase project of the 600,000 kW off-grid renewable energy-based hydrogen production project in the Pingshuo coal mining subsidence area of China Coal Group, becoming the primary supplier of alkaline electrolyzer packages for this project with a 48MW scale. The project adopts a pure off-grid hydrogen production technology route, relying on PV and other renewable energy sources to produce green hydrogen, which is directly supplied to coal chemical production lines. It serves as a benchmark project for low-carbon transition using wind and solar hydrogen production in the coal mining industry. According to the supply plan, Sungrow Hydrogen will provide 8 units of 1200Nm³/h electrolyzers, 2 sets of 4800Nm³/h gas-liquid separation and purification systems, along with its self-developed '4-to-1' flexible hydrogen production integrated solution, effectively enhancing the integration level of the equipment package and the long-term operational economy. The company's relevant off-grid hydrogen production package system has undergone long-term verification at a 30MW electrolytic water hydrogen production empirical base, possessing core advantages such as wide load regulation, millisecond-level power response, and long-cycle stable operation, perfectly adapting to fluctuating PV power conditions and addressing pain points in off-grid hydrogen production operations. Anscombe (Beijing) Hydrogen Energy Technology Co., Ltd.: successfully won the bid for the green hydrogen coupling coal chemical section of the first-phase project of the 600,000 kW off-grid renewable energy-based hydrogen production project in the Pingshuo coal mining subsidence area of China Coal Group. The project utilizes an off-grid hydrogen production model, preparing green hydrogen from PV renewable energy, with the hydrogen output supplied directly for coal chemical production use. This project is a core initiative of China Coal Group's 'green hydrogen + coal chemical' coupled low-carbon pathway. Its scale is leading, and the off-grid operation mode imposes extremely high technical requirements on hydrogen equipment enterprises for system integration and adaptability to fluctuating new energy conditions. According to the cooperation plan, Anscombe will supply 4 units of 1200Nm³/h electrolyzers, 1 set of 4800Nm³/h gas-liquid separation and purification system, and provide a '4-to-1' flexible hydrogen production overall solution, comprehensively matching unstable off-grid wind/solar power operating conditions. Transportation Energy Company of Yanchang Petroleum & Gas Group: The hydrogen refueling demonstration station it constructed at the Fuping Service Area (North Zone) on the G5 Beijing-Kunming Expressway has successfully achieved mechanical completion and entered the feed test phase. This station is the first hydrogen refueling demonstration station on an expressway in north-west China, with a total investment exceeding 18.30 million yuan. It is a standardized Level 3 hydrogen refueling station, designed with a daily refueling capacity of 1,000 kg, equipped with an intelligent hydrogen refueling management and control system, capable of serving hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks and intercity buses, improving the Shaanxi expressway hydrogen energy supply network. Ai Hydrogen Technology (Group) Co., Ltd. : signed the contract for the western China integrated solid-state hydrogen production, storage, and utilization project with the People's Government of Zhong County, Chongqing. The project will address the shortage of hydrogen sources in Chongqing and guarantee hydrogen demand for transportation and industrial users in eastern Chongqing during the '15th Five-Year Plan' period. Relying on the enterprise's proprietary magnesium-based solid-state hydrogen storage core technology, the project can solve industry challenges such as high hydrogen storage and transportation costs and insufficient safety, enabling large-scale, low-cost, and safe hydrogen storage and transport. China Power Engineering Consulting Group Co., Ltd. : The 10,000 mt-level biomass pressurized gasification pilot plant successfully completed a 72-hour continuous operation test. Industry experts witnessed that the parameters were stable, the equipment operated normally, and multiple core capabilities were verified, marking key progress in the engineering R&D of this technology. The project was led by CPEIC Zhonghe Institute, collaborating with multiple entities to systematically verify biomass pressurized gasification, operating condition optimization, and engineering scale-up aspects. Lanzhou LS Group Co., Ltd.: its self-developed 1000 Nm³ PEM electrolytic water hydrogen production system successfully passed industrial testing. The project's hydrogen production power supply was provided by Hubei Inteli Electric, featured a containerized integrated solution; the equipment completed installation and commissioning ex-factory, offering convenient deployment and strong adaptability, which can effectively shorten construction periods. Patent Applications 1. Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (China), published patent CN2025110028, developing a ceramic-based anion exchange membrane with a laboratory-tested lifespan of 80,000 hours. 2. Johnson Matthey (UK), submitted patent WO2025109876, disclosing an Fe-Ni-Mo ternary non-precious metal catalyst formulation, with activity approaching that of platinum-based materials. Technical Footprints / Technical Specifications 1. Lei Tong, Haiwei Liang from USTC, and Liang Zhang's team from Tsinghua University proposed the Carbon Mesoporous Depth Engineering (CMDE) strategy. By utilizing hollow mesoporous carbon spheres to regulate ionomer penetration depth, it resolves the inherent contradiction between kinetic activity and oxygen mass transport in low-platinum fuel cells, developing a PtCo low-platinum catalyst that balances poisoning resistance, high mass transport, and excellent durability, achieving power, activity, and durability targets set by the US DOE at an ultra-low platinum loading of 0.1mgPt cm⁻². 2. Professor Zhizhang Li's team at Northwestern Polytechnical University innovatively constructed a three-dimensional multi-physics field coupled model for tubular solid oxide fuel cells, systematically revealing the quantitative influence rules of temperature, electrode thickness, porosity, and oxygen domain geometric parameters on battery output performance. 3. China Automotive Engineering Research Institute's National Hydrogen Energy Power Quality Inspection and Testing Center completed a 0-400 kW hydrogen-involved load-bearing three-comprehensive vibration testing platform and opened it for commercial use, addressing the gap in domestic testing for high-power, hydrogen-involved multi-physics coupling. 4. The high specific power cathode closed-cathode air-cooled stack technology developed by the team of Academician Zhongwei Chen and Associate Researcher Meng Zhang at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics' State Key Laboratory of Energy Catalysis and Conversion passed the scientific and technological achievement appraisal by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation. This technology effectively overcomes the industry contradiction between water retention and oxygen mass transport in air-cooled fuel cells, solving technical challenges such as low-humidity performance degradation, carbon corrosion, dry membrane water flooding, and high-power thermal management. 5. Two group standards related to water electrolysis-based hydrogen production were officially released and implemented, namely "Safety Technical Specifications for Water Electrolysis Hydrogen Production" and "Economic Performance Indicator Calculation Methods for Water Electrolysis Hydrogen Production." 6. Petronor and H2SITE collaborate to advance membrane technology for hydrogen production, enhancing high-purity hydrogen in refining and low-carbon efficiency.

SMM Morning Meeting Minutes: Overnight, LME copper opened at $13,744/mt, dipped to $13,725/mt shortly after the opening, then its price center fluctuated upward to touch $13,822.5/mt, followed by wild swings and finally closed at $13,796.5/mt, up 0.61%. Trading volume reached 16,600 lots, open interest stood at 263,000 lots, a decrease of 3,509 lots from the previous trading day, manifested as bearish position reduction. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2607 contract opened at 105,490 yuan/mt, hitting a high of 105,700 yuan/mt right after the opening, then its price center fluctuated downward all the way, touching a low of 105,060 yuan/mt near the end of trading, and finally closed at 105,210 yuan/mt, down 0.14%. Trading volume reached 25,000 lots, open interest stood at 147,000 lots, a decrease of 1,715 lots from the previous trading day, manifested as bullish position reduction.

[Geopolitical Risks Subside: How Will the Zinc Market React?] The Middle East conflict has recently shown clear signs of de-escalation. The market is now fully pricing in a U.S.-Iran agreement and the resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. What impact will this have on the zinc market?

Trafigura has committed US$570 million to Develop Global's mining projects, including the Sulphur Springs copper-zinc project, while securing future marketing rights for production. The deal highlights traders' growing efforts to secure long-term copper supply.

Time flies as the midpoint of 2026 approaches. The zinc concentrate market has witnessed another extraordinary price cycle this year. As of June 12, domestic zinc concentrate treatment charges (TCs) plunged to -50 yuan per metric ton of zinc metal, marking the arrival of negative TCs. Meanwhile, TCs for imported zinc concentrate tumbled to -71.2 US dollars per dry metric ton, both hitting all-time record lows.