On the 25th at POSCO Center in Seoul, POSCO Future M signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Kumho Petrochemical and BEI for the joint development of anode-free lithium metal battery technology. The anode-free lithium metal battery under development eliminates the use of an anode material, enabling a 30–50% increase in energy density by utilizing the additional space within the battery.

The U.S. government has shifted from policy announcements to actively deploying capital, channeling funds through multiple programs to strengthen domestic and allied critical mineral and metal supply chains and related manufacturing. In practice, this financing is delivered through several key agencies: the Department of Energy (especially the Loan Programs Office), the Department of Defense (including Defense Production Act Title III and the Office of Strategic Capital), the Department of Commerce (such as the CHIPS Program Office), USDA Rural Development for select industrial support, and the International Development Finance Corporation for strategic overseas investments, alongside the Export-Import Bank, which plays a major role in funding projects from mining to manufacturing.

Leading Indian steel manufacturer JSW Steel is set to commission a state-of-the-art blast furnace at its Dolvi Works facility in Maharashtra by the end of March 2026. Partnering with SMS group and Paul Wurth, the new furnace is designed to produce 4.5 million tonnes of hot metal per year and incorporates advanced technologies for carbon footprint reduction, including hot syngas and coke oven gas injection. This expansion is part of JSW's strategic roadmap to increase its total domestic steel production capacity from 34.2 MTPA toward a goal of 50 MTPA by 2030.

[SMM Rare Earth Price Flash] As of now, the quoted price of cerium oxide in Sichuan has been raised to 15,000 yuan/mt. Major cerium metal producers in Inner Mongolia have raised their quotations to 35,000-35,500 yuan/mt, while some smaller producers quoted 34,500-35,000 yuan/mt, and the lowest quotation in Sichuan was 35,000 yuan/mt.

On March 22, the 3600T large extrusion press of Gumei Metal Aluminum Plant, a key project in Dongtian Town, officially went into operation. The project has a total investment of 20 million yuan. The 3600T extrusion press is a large-scale modern production equipment with advantages of large tonnage, high precision, and high stability. It can produce profiles with a maximum pipe diameter of 350 mm, covering diverse fields such as building profiles, photovoltaic brackets, new energy, and rail transportation.

[SMM Silicon-Based PV Morning Meeting Summary] Silicon Metal: Spot silicon metal prices remained in a stalemate consolidation. Yesterday, SMM east China oxygen-blown #553 silicon was at 9,100-9,300 yuan/mt, and #441 silicon at 9,300-9,500 yuan/mt, unchanged from the previous day. The quote center of some silicon enterprises was slightly lower than that of trading firms engaging in both spot and futures market, while downstream users mainly transacted at lower prices, and overall market trading activity was subdued. Polysilicon: N-type recharging polysilicon was quoted at 38-47 yuan/kg. Polysilicon prices continued to decline somewhat recently, mainly affected by market sentiment and inventory clearance by some leading enterprises. At present, low-priced polysilicon has already fallen below the cost line of some manufacturers, and the sentiment to hold quotes firm has strengthened somewhat. The upstream market was also still watching wafer price movements.

Precious metals staged their first coordinated rally in nearly two weeks on Tuesday as the prospect of a diplomatic resolution to the U.S.-Iran conflict continued to lift market sentiment and weaken the dollar.

The lithium mine Zijin Mining Group Co. plans to open this year in the Democratic Republic of Congo is set to be one of the world’s biggest suppliers of the battery metal.The Chinese company – which has grown at breakneck speed to become a top producer of copper and gold – has been developing the Manono lithium project in southeastern Congo since it secured the prized deposit in 2023.

[SMM Daily Brief Review of Coking Coal and Coke] In terms of supply, with costs remaining high, most coke producers saw wider losses and began to push for a coke price hike, but losses remained within an acceptable range, and coke production stayed stable. On the demand side, steel trading improved somewhat, steel mills became more willing to produce, and daily average hot metal production continued to increase, further boosting rigid demand for coke. Overall, coke fundamentals shifted toward tightness, but steel mills showed only average acceptance of higher coke prices, and the coke market may remain generally stable with slight rise in the short term.

Russia’s MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC is betting on artificial intelligence as part of a $100 million push to find additional uses for palladium as electric vehicles erode the metal’s main source of demand.Nornickel, the world’s biggest palladium producer, aims to create 1.7 million ounces of new annual consumption for the metal. That’s equivalent to almost a fifth of existing demand.