Bunker Hill Mining Corp has shipped the first concentrate from its Bunker Hill zinc-lead-silver mine in Idaho to Teck Resources’ integrated Trail lead-zinc smelter in British Columbia. The company’s new 1,800 t/d processing plant has completed commissioning and begun producing concentrate, marking the mine’s first concentrate-sale revenue in more than 45 years. Bunker Hill is continuing to optimise plant performance during commissioning and is targeting full commercial production by year-end. Concentrate is analysed by Silver Valley Analytical before being trucked about 220 km to Trail for processing under Bunker Hill’s offtake arrangements. The restart introduces a new source of zinc-lead concentrate supply, while ramp-up performance remains the key item to monitor.

[SMM Silver Express] SMM July 31: SMM 1# silver ingot production stood at 1,556 tonnes in July 2026, down 0.38% month-on-month and 3.59% year-on-year, with cumulative growth of 5.3% in the first seven months. Producer inventories rose 22.2% month-on-month. The decline was mainly due to ongoing maintenance at copper, lead and zinc smelters, with some inventories reserved for processing trade exports.

[Frequent disruptions in China’s supply side; TCs fell in many regions of China in August]: On a weekly basis, the SMM Zn50 domestic weekly average TC fell 400 yuan/mt Zn WoW to -1,150 yuan/mt Zn, and the SMM Imported Zinc Concentrate Index fell $3.5/dmt WoW to -$98.13/dmt. On a monthly basis, the SMM Imported Zinc Concentrate Index fell $17.01/dmt MoM in July to -$89.81/dmt....

According to SMM, a zinc smelter in Central China plans to carry out routine maintenance in August, which is expected to last around half a month, affecting output by 1,000-1,500 mt.

According to China Customs data, China imported 2.7616 million tonnes (gross weight) of zinc concentrate during January–June 2026, up 8.98% year on year, with overall imports posting modest growth compared with the same period last year.

According to the latest China Customs data, China imported 362.8 kt (gross weight) of zinc concentrate in June 2026, down 8.51% MoM (or 51.1 kt) but up 9.97% YoY. Cumulative imports for January–June 2026 reached 2.7616 million tonnes (gross weight), representing a 8.98% increase from the same period last year.

SMM, July 23: To deepen exchanges within the lead and zinc industry, facilitate information channels, and accurately capture zinc industry development trends and market movements, on July 22, a team from SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (SMM), including copper-lead-zinc senior analyst Geng Zhiyao and zinc senior analyst Li Hanyu, visited Yunnan Luoping Zinc & Electricity Co., Ltd. for an exchange meeting and were warmly received by relevant company leaders. During the meeting, relevant personnel from Luoping Zinc & Electricity introduced the company's operational status, industry chain layout, and medium and long-term strategic plans to the SMM team. The two sides engaged in in-depth discussions on topics including domestic zinc raw material supply, smelting cost changes, zinc product market trends, downstream demand trajectories, comprehensive recovery of associated rare and precious metals, and the development direction of green smelting. Leveraging SMM's industry database, SMM analysts shared supply-demand analyses for the zinc market, price dynamics, and potential industry opportunities, and exchanged views with the company on challenges in industrial development. Luoping Zinc & Electricity, drawing on its own strengths in hydropower integration, mine resources, and integrated smelting and deep processing, outlined its advancement approaches in resource expansion, technological R&D, and extension into new materials. This visit established a bridge for industry information sharing. In the future, both parties will maintain regular communication and exchanges, continuously collaborate to explore paths of industrial synergy, and jointly promote the steady and high-quality development of the zinc industry. About Yunnan Luoping Zinc & Electricity Co., Ltd. Yunnan Luoping Zinc & Electricity Co., Ltd. was established in 2000 and listed on the main board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2007 (stock code 002114). Its largest shareholder is Qujing Development and Investment Group, holding a 22.3960% stake, and the actual controller is the Qujing Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. Key Assets: It encompasses three core resource sectors: minerals, hydropower, and zinc smelting, housing production units such as the Fule Lead-Zinc Mine, Lazhuang Power Plant, zinc smelter, comprehensive utilization plant, and ultrafine zinc powder plant. The company boasts an integrated capacity of processing 100,000 mt of raw ore annually, producing 120,000 mt of electrolytic zinc, 140,000 mt of sulphuric acid, 12,000 mt of ultrafine zinc powder, and generating 250 million kWh of electricity per year, with an annual output value exceeding 2 billion yuan. This forms a complete industry chain of "power generation — mining — smelting — rare and precious metals recovery — new materials." Coupled with its self-contained hydropower energy loop, this creates a unique core competitive advantage, positioning the company as a leader in the non-ferrous metal smelting sector in Southwest China. Main Businesses: Hydropower generation, mining of non-ferrous metals such as lead and zinc, zinc smelting, and production and sale of extended products. The products include zinc sulfide concentrates, lead concentrates, zinc ingot, industrial sulphuric acid, cadmium, ultrafine zinc powder, germanium concentrates, silver concentrates, copper concentrates, zinc alloy, industrial and residential electricity, and edible rapeseed oil. The company has successively received honors such as “Contract-honoring and Credit-worthy Enterprise” at provincial and municipal levels, “Key Industrial Enterprise of Qujing City”, National Intellectual Property Advantage Enterprise, High-tech Enterprise, and National Laboratory Accreditation Certificate. Strategic Development: In terms of hydropower resource development, first, it invested in and participated in the construction of the Luoping County Laodukou Hydropower Station with an installed capacity of 37,500 kW, holding 37% equity; second, it invested in and participated in the construction of the Laojiāngdǐ Hydropower Station in Xingyi City, Guizhou Province, with an installed capacity of 100,000 kW, holding 33% equity. In terms of lead-zinc mine development, first, it invested in and participated in the development of the Jinsha Lead-zinc Mine in Yongshan County, holding 23.2% equity. Second, through a private placement of shares, it completed the overall acquisition of Puding County Xiangrong Mining, Derong Mining, and Hongtai Mining Co., Ltd. under Guizhou Fanhua Mining Group Co., Ltd., gaining control of the mine assets held by the three companies. In terms of business development, first, it acquired the sulphuric acid plant of the former Luoping County Zinc Electric Company. Second, it built a rapeseed oil production line with a capacity of 10,000 mt per year. Third, it established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Yunnan Luoping Zinc Electric New Materials Co., Ltd., to extend the industry chain through zinc alloy products. Technological Innovation: The company holds 78 patents. Among them, the comprehensive treatment and recovery of valuable metals from high-iron, low-germanium zinc oxide calcine and zinc sulfite is at an industry-leading level. SMM Contact: Geng Zhiyao Tel: 13818541149

Swedish miner Boliden reported second-quarter adjusted operating profit of SEK2.87 billion, more than double the year-earlier level but below the market consensus of SEK3.26 billion and down from SEK4.43 billion in the first quarter. Higher metal prices and strong performances from the Somincor and Zinkgruvan mines supported earnings, but these gains were offset by disruption at the Garpenberg mine, smelter maintenance and a slower-than-expected ramp-up of the Odda zinc smelter expansion. Garpenberg had previously suspended operations following abnormal seismic activity and a rockfall, but production has resumed in unaffected areas and the damaged ore hoist has been repaired. Boliden maintained its guidance of 1.5 million tonnes of milled ore in 2026 and 2.3 million tonnes in 2027. Meanwhile, the Odda zinc smelter expansion continues to ramp up more slowly than planned due to issues with a new roaster. The company also lowered its 2026 milled-volume forecast for the Tara mine by 200,000 tonnes to 1.6 million tonnes. Inventory build-up during maintenance shutdowns and the slow Odda ramp-up contributed to a quarterly free cash outflow of SEK2.11 billion and higher net debt.

【Domestic Zinc Concentrate Market】According to SMM, sulfuric acid prices across many regions in China have recently remained elevated at RMB 1,500–1,900/mt, continuing to provide strong profit support for domestic zinc smelters. The domestic zinc concentrate market remained tight in July, while the domestic-to-import price ratio stayed unfavorable, prompting smelters to continue prioritizing purchases of domestic zinc concentrate. Mainstream domestic treatment charges (TCs) have now declined to -500 to -1,000 yuan/metal tonne.

[Smelters Focus on Domestic Ore Procurement; TCs Continue to Decline in Many Regions]: On a weekly basis, the average SMM Zn50 domestic weekly TC fell 150 yuan/mt Zn WoW to -750 yuan/mt Zn, and the SMM imported zinc concentrate index dropped $6.85/dmt WoW to -$90.15/dmt....