FPX Nickel Corp. has initiated the environmental assessment process for its Baptiste nickel project in British Columbia after submitting a project description accepted by both provincial and federal regulators. The proposed open-pit mine is expected to take three years to build and operate for 28 years, with processing capacity increasing from 108,000 tonnes per day in the first five years to 162,000 tonnes per day from year six onward.

Barrick Mining said that its Reko Diq copper-gold project in Pakistan still plans to achieve first production by the end of 2028.The project is a large-scale copper-gold project jointly developed by Barrick, the Pakistani government, and relevant joint venture partners, and is located in Balochistan, Pakistan. Although the company had previously warned that the capital budget previously disclosed for the project's two phases could face a significant increase, the 2028 production commencement target remained unchanged.

On April 1, 2026, the launch ceremony for the Zhongke Liquid Sunshine (Shawan) Green Hydrogen Coupled Zero‑Carbon Liquid Sunshine Methanol Circular Economy Industrial Project was held in Shawan, Tacheng Prefecture, Xinjiang. As a flagship project of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan strategic hydrogen energy layout, the project has officially entered the construction phase. Led by the research team of Academician Li Can of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and developed by Zhongke Liquid Sunshine (Shawan) Hydrogen Energy Technology Co., Ltd . , the project will build an integrated zero‑carbon circular economy system centered on wind‑solar power, green hydrogen, and methanol. It comprises three core modules: an annual output of 3.6 million tonnes of methanol, 13.5 GW of photovoltaic hydrogen production capacity, and an annual output of approximately one million tonnes of coal. Compared with conventional coal chemical industry, this model cuts coal consumption by two-thirds while enabling efficient utilization of green electricity and green hydrogen. The project adopts domestically developed oil‑methanol co‑refining technology to produce polyester fiber, supporting high‑value resource utilization in conjunction with Xinjiang’s textile industry. Multiple enterprises have participated in the joint construction, including China National Chemical Engineering Third Construction Co., Ltd. In alignment with national policies such as the West Hydrogen East Delivery pipeline initiative, the project will help upgrade Xinjiang’s wind and solar energy resources. It is expected to create nearly 2,000 jobs, serve as a model for Xinjiang’s green energy transition, and support national energy security and low‑carbon development.

On April 3, at the 2026 Space Computing Power Industry Conference, the "Space Computing Power Professional Committee" of the Computing Power Industry Development Consortium was established. Yicai reporters learned on site that the conference released ten key research projects that day, covering critical technologies at the satellite platform level, chip level, payload board level, networking and operations level, hardware system level, system software level, industrial application level, cross-structural level, cross-launch vehicle level, and cross-thermal management level, and that joint research collaboration will be carried out with industry participants.

[SMM Nickel Flash] Hanrui Cobalt Planned to Invest an Additional $108 million in Its Indonesian High-Grade Nickel Matte Project, Raising Total Investment to $351 million Hanrui Cobalt announced on March 27 that its board of directors had approved a proposal to increase the total investment in the fundraising project and adjust its internal investment structure. According to the announcement, the company planned to use $107.8905 million (approximately 745 million yuan) in its own and self-raised funds to increase the total investment in the "20,000 mt/year Nickel Metal Content Oxygen-Enriched Continuous Converting High-Grade Nickel Matte Project" from $243.2069 million to $351.0974 million (approximately 2.423 billion yuan), representing an increase of 44.36%.

Recently, Nanning Urban Construction Investment Group and Huahui New Material Technology Co., Ltd. signed an agreement for the lithium/sodium battery dry-process separator intelligent manufacturing project. The total investment for the project is approximately 500 million yuan. It plans to build a new production line with an annual capacity of 1 billion square meters of dry-process separators for lithium/sodium batteries. The project will introduce Guangxi's first new-generation dry-process uniaxial stretching and 4.2-meter-wide biaxial stretching battery separator production line. It is expected that upon reaching full capacity, the annual output value will be approximately 800 million yuan, creating 170 jobs, and establishing the first battery base film production base in Guangxi.

Recently, the Binhe Haoyu 100MW/200MWh independent energy storage station in Zhucheng completed acceptance and entered commercial operation. The project was invested in by an energy storage industry fund jointly initiated by Corun, CALB, and Kaibo Capital. It was jointly developed by members of the large energy storage ecosystem consortium, including Corun, CALC, Goxia Technology, Duanrui Technology, and Star Energy New Energy. The station adopts a hybrid energy storage technology route combining "lithium iron phosphate + all-vanadium redox flow batteries," which can meet the grid's full-time-scale regulation needs while significantly reducing the lifecycle levelized cost of energy, enhancing overall system economy and safety, and maximizing operational efficiency and economic benefits.

As production order fully resumed after the Chinese New Year, the sodium-ion battery industry chain saw a strong recovery in March. Production across the four major segments—cathode, anode, electrolyte, and battery cell—posted substantial growth both YoY and MoM, with industry prosperity rebounding markedly.

Recently, construction officially began on the high-end rare earth aluminum alloy project in the Baotou Jinshan Economic Development Zone, with a total investment of approximately 500 million yuan and annual output of 100,000 mt. The project will be advanced in an orderly manner in two phases. Phase I will build a 30,000 mt high-end rare earth aluminum alloy production line, focusing on technology R&D and capacity release to rapidly achieve scaled-up production. Phase II will expand capacity by 70,000 mt, further extend, supplement, and strengthen the industrial chain, optimize the product mix, increase added value, and support Guyang in building a distinctive high-end rare earth aluminum alloy industrial cluster.

On March 29, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the non-production supporting facilities of the 91,000 mt high-performance aluminum alloy cast-rolled coil project undertaken by China Second Metallurgical Group. This marked the official launch of the project’s construction and its entry into the substantive construction phase.