[SMM Steel] On March 19, 2026, SAIL announced that its Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) achieved a record annual production of 932,400 mt from its new plate mill, surpassing the previous record of 931,919 mt set in FY25. This milestone was reached with weeks still remaining in the current fiscal year. The output specifically included thinner grades and high-strength plates for critical defense and infrastructure sectors.

[SMM Aluminum Express News] Alvance British Aluminium has boosted output by ~10% at its Lochaber smelter in Fort William, Scotland (UK’s only primary aluminium plant), thanks to recent US tariff changes. The GFG Alliance-owned facility (48,000 tpy capacity, hydro-powered) now exports about half its production to the US for the first time. Managing Director Tom Uppington: “We increased production in response to shifting trade flows after US tariffs, entering the US market while serving UK and European customers.” President Trump set a 50% global tariff on steel/aluminium imports, but the UK secured a preferential 25% rate (vs. 50% for Canada), making UK metal more competitive. The US still relies on imports for automotive and aerospace sectors.

[Zinc Concentrates Production Information] Gold Resource disclosed its production for Q4 2025, during which its zinc metal production was 750 mt. In 2025, its copper, lead, and zinc production fell 59%, 56%, and 54%, respectively, from 2024. These declines mainly reflected the sequencing of mining into portions of the mineralized system with a relatively higher proportion of precious metals and lower base metal content than in the previous year.

[Peru Zinc Concentrates Production Information] According to data from Peru’s mining statistical bulletin, Peru’s zinc concentrates production was 105,300 mt in metal content in January 2026, down 19.3% MoM and up 14.7% YoY.

[SMM Tungsten Express] Almonty Industries has completed Phase 1 commissioning at South Korea's Sangdong tungsten mine, restarting production after a 30-year hiatus. The mine processes ~640,000 tpa ore, producing ~2,300 tpa tungsten concentrate. Phase 2 expansion targeted for 2027 will double throughput to 1.2Mtpa and output to ~4,600 tpa, representing ~40% of ex-China global tungsten supply. Project investment exceeds US$100 million with 45+ year mine life.

Rusal's financial report showed that, affected by its capacity optimization plan, full-year 2025 primary aluminum production fell 1.9% YoY to 3.918 million mt (2024: 3.992 million mt). Alumina production, meanwhile, rose 6.7% YoY to 6.858 million mt. In addition, benefiting from the Guinea expansion project and increased equity interests in refineries in China and India, bauxite production increased 16.2% YoY to 18.453 million mt.

Chile’s state-owned copper giant Codelco has reported a sharp drop in production to start this year, leading copper industry analysts and former Codelco executives to question its reports of surging output at the end of 2025 that helped the company meet its annual production target.

[SMM Magnesium Express] Fraunhofer's "Powerpaste" magnesium hydride hydrogen storage technology faces critical analysis. Producing 1kg H₂ requires ~10kg paste and 9kg pure water, with upstream magnesium production consuming 80-110 kWh electricity. Full system energy density comparable to batteries but efficiency only ~10%, with extremely low power output and complex thermal management. The technology remains chemically interesting but thermodynamically challenged, unable to scale beyond tiny demonstration systems.

[SMM Titanium Express] Guizhou Province's 2026 key projects list includes multiple titanium chemical projects: Kaiyang "P-S-Ti-Cu-Fe-Li-F" integrated project with 400,000 tpa TiO₂ and 1.4Mtpa ferrous sulfate heptahydrate; Kaiyang Sunward 300,000 tpa TiO₂ project with nearly 5.1 billion yuan investment targeting 10 billion yuan annual output; Sunward Fuquan 100,000 tpa TiO₂ project with pyrite acid plant, achieving full "Ti-P-S-Fe" resource recycling.

This week (March 12, 2026–March 18, 2026), the average operating rate of primary lead smelters in the three provinces was 62.59, up 1.52 percentage points WoW. This week, production at smelters in Henan fluctuated slightly but increased overall, while a mid-sized smelter in Hunan resumed production this week, contributing the main increase in output; in Yunnan, one smelter slightly raised production, while the resumption of operations at another smelter was delayed until late March. In addition, some small-scale smelters in Yunnan still had no expectations of resuming production due to raw materials, downstream orders, and other factors.