SMM News, February 3: According to an official announcement from Jinguan Copper, a subsidiary of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd., the company will begin public sales of 32 tons of crude selenium starting today. The base price has not been disclosed. The deadline for submitting quotation letters is before 11:30 a.m. on February 3, 2026.

SMM Morning Meeting Minutes: LME copper opened at $12,845/mt overnight, initially hitting bottom at $12,792/mt before rising sharply. After fluctuating rangebound, it climbed to $13,090/mt near the close and finally settled at $13,087.5/mt, up 5.03%, hitting a new record high again! Trading volume increased by 25,403 lots to 37,000 lots, and open interest rose by 3,352 lots to 339,000 lots, mainly driven by bulls adding positions. The most-traded SHFE copper contract 2602 opened at 100,890 yuan/mt overnight, touched a low of 100,780 yuan/mt at the open, then saw its price center rise, reaching a high of 102,810 yuan/mt before fluctuating rangebound and finally closing at 102,650 yuan/mt.

Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd. (000630.SZ) announced that the Phase II expansion of the Mirador copper mine, operated by its controlled subsidiary China Railway Construction Tongguan Investment Co., Ltd., is expected to be delayed. The project was originally scheduled for completion in June 2025, followed by trial production from July to December 2025, and full commercial operation in early 2026. However, due to political instability in Ecuador and frequent personnel changes, progress on signing the Mining Contract has been affected. As a result, formal commissioning can only proceed after the Mining Contract is executed. At present, the start date for commercial production remains uncertain, and the delay is expected to have a certain impact on the company’s operating performance in 2026, according to the announcement.

SMM News, December 19: According to an official release from the Jinguan Copper Branch of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd., its recent auction of 32 metric tons of crude selenium was successfully concluded. The specific transaction price was not officially disclosed, but the approximate price was less than 140 RMB per kilogram. Market participants indicated that compared to the results of other manufacturers' crude selenium tenders earlier, the price achieved by Tongling Nonferrous this week remained at a high level but did not show a continued upward trend. This suggests that as the year-end approaches, buyers' purchasing interest in the crude selenium market has not significantly increased.

SMM December 19: According to official information from the Jinguan Copper Branch of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd., the recent tender for 32 mt of crude selenium was successfully concluded. The specific transaction price was not disclosed by the company, but the approximate price was less than 140 yuan/kg. Market participants indicated that compared to the transaction results of crude selenium tenders from other producers in the previous period, the transaction price for crude selenium from the Jinguan Copper Branch of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd. this week remained at a high level but did not show a continued rising trend. This suggests that as the crude selenium market approaches the end of the year, buyer interest did not see a significant increase.

As "lubricants" and "buffers" in the industry chain, traders are important "price discoverers" in the spot copper cathode market.

On the evening of November 5, Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Tongling Nonferrous") announced that on November 4, the company successfully bid for the exploration rights of the Jiguanshan–Hucun copper-gold-molybdenum mine at a price of 3.204 billion yuan. It jointly signed the "Confirmation of Mining Exploration Rights Transfer Transaction" with the Anhui Provincial Real Estate Registration Center (Anhui Provincial Land and Resources Reserve Development Center). According to relevant data, the mine's total proven metal content includes copper (328,800 mt, average grade 1.06%), gold (8,640.37 kg, average grade 5.84 g/mt), and molybdenum (15,000 mt, average grade 0.094%).

SMM, October 28: According to official information from Jinguan Copper Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd., the company began publicly selling 32 tons of crude selenium yesterday, with the reserve price undisclosed. The deadline for submitting quotation letters is before 11:30 AM on October 29, 2025. Many market participants noted that the bidding period is only one day, indicating the招标方's strong confidence in selling this batch of crude selenium. Recently, the prices of selenium products, including selenium dioxide, have been robust, showing a clear upward trend, and the bidding results for many manufacturers have been relatively positive. Market participants stated that the bidding results of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd. Jinguan Copper Co., Ltd. are also highly significant, as they could, to some extent, reflect the future strength of crude selenium prices.

SMM October 28: According to official information from the Jinguan Copper Branch of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd., starting yesterday, 32 mt of crude selenium was publicly offered for external sale, with the base price undisclosed. The deadline for submitting quotation letters is before 11:30 AM on October 29, 2025. Many market participants indicated that the tender period is only one day, reflecting the tender issuer's strong confidence in selling this batch of crude selenium. Recently, prices of selenium products, including selenium dioxide, have remained strong, showing a clear upward trend, and tender results from many manufacturers have been relatively favorable. Market participants stated that the tender results from the Jinguan Copper Branch of Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd. are also highly significant, as they can, to some extent, indicate the future strength of crude selenium prices.

To conduct a thorough analysis and judgment of the operational performance of the non-ferrous metals industry in Q3 and throughout the entire year of 2025, examine the issues and prominent contradictions faced by enterprises in their production and operational activities, and gather relevant policy recommendations, on October 23, a symposium on the operational performance analysis of key enterprises in the non-ferrous metals industry for Q3 was held at the headquarters of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA). The symposium is a regular meeting of some key enterprises in the non-ferrous metals industry organized in accordance with the normalized working mechanism established between the Raw Materials Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the CNIA. Chen Xuesen, Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Leadership Group and Vice President of the CNIA, attended the symposium and delivered a concluding speech. Relevant leaders from the Operations Monitoring and Coordination Bureau and the Raw Materials Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also attended the symposium. Chen Xuesen chaired the symposium. Relevant personnel from China Aluminum Group Co., Ltd., China Minmetals Corporation, China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co., Ltd., China National Gold Group Co., Ltd., Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering Group Co., Ltd., Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Holdings Co., Ltd., China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-Tech Co., Ltd., Henan Jinli Gold and Lead Group Co., Ltd., China Molybdenum Co., Ltd., Anhui Truchum Advanced Materials & Technology Co., Ltd., Henan Mingtai Al. Industrial Co., Ltd., Shanghai Futures Exchange, China Nonferrous Metals Fabrication Industry Association, as well as the Recycled Metals Branch, Antimony Industry Branch, Silicon Industry Branch, and Lithium Industry Branch of the CNIA participated in the symposium. Participants, based on the specific circumstances of their respective enterprises or industries, engaged in discussions and delivered speeches focusing on the overall operational trends in Q3 and the latest developments in October. They emphasized the analysis of emerging, tendential, and trending issues currently affecting the stable development of enterprises, as well as prominent problems encountered in production and operations. From the perspective of enterprises, they analyzed the domestic and overseas environments faced by the industry, forecasted industry trends for the entire year and the coming year, and provided suggestions for the industry's "15th Five-Year Plan". In his concluding speech, Chen Xuesen stated that in the face of complex domestic and overseas environments, China's non-ferrous metals industry has overcome difficulties and achieved generally sound performance in the first three quarters, with major economic indicators performing impressively, laying a solid foundation for advancing towards a new stage of high-quality development. He emphasized that industry enterprises should deeply recognize the significance of formulating the "15th Five-Year Plan", earnestly study and implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, focus on building a modernized non-ferrous metals industrial system, and concentrate on improving resource security and pursuing high-end, intelligent, and green development directions, guiding enterprises and the industry towards higher-quality, more efficient, and more sustainable development on the new journey. He urged them to maintain firm confidence in development, uphold a favorable industry ecosystem, strengthen industry self-discipline, prevent "involutionary" cut-throat competition, and ensure the security of industry and supply chains. Meanwhile, the association will fully leverage its role in serving the government, industry, and enterprises, summarize and organize relevant opinions, and submit them to relevant departments to facilitate the industry's high-quality development. Personnel from relevant departments of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA) attended the symposium.