Since the beginning of 2026, the lithium battery materials industry has seen a new wave of structural positioning led by chemical giants. In March, Dazhong Mining announced that it planned to sign a tripartite agreement with the Meishan High-tech Zone Administrative Committee and Wanhua Chemical (Sichuan) Battery Materials Technology Co., Ltd. to jointly invest in and build a “200,000 mt/year lithium chemicals project,” with Phase I expected to be planned at 30,000 mt.

Premier Energies Ltd has started trial production at its 5.6 GW solar module manufacturing facility in Seetharampur, Telangana, producing G12R TOPCon modules with zero-busbar ('0BB') architecture. This new 75-acre factory boosts the company's total module capacity beyond 10 GW. The highly automated plant can produce up to four modules every 16 seconds and uses 'AI'-powered fault detection. Company executives highlighted the facility's role in scaling integrated manufacturing and supporting India's clean energy goals. Premier Energies is also executing a $1.38 billion capital expenditure plan over three years to double its capacity, expand into ingots and wafers, and diversify into inverters and battery systems.

For almost four weeks, the war against Iran has kept the world on edge – a conflict that leaves deep marks not only geopolitically but also economically. Volatility and uncertainty in global markets are increasing daily.

K2 Gold has successfully completed its 2026 reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at the Si2 Gold Project in Nevada, USA. The campaign comprised eight drill holes totaling 3,871 meters across five target areas, including inaugural exploration at three new zones. Drilling encountered extensive epithermal alteration and quartz veining, validating a geological model targeting the deeper "boiling zone" where higher-grade gold and silver deposits may exist. Assay results from the sampled materials are currently pending laboratory analysis.

From the perspective of Sprott’s experts, gold remains a central strategic building block for investors, even if the precious metal suffers in the short term from the rise in US Treasury yields.

The gold price has undergone a sharp correction since its January high, unsettling many investors. The price decline of more than $1,000 per ounce appears at first glance to represent a break in the previous uptrend. However, according to analysts at WisdomTree, this movement reflects less a fundamental change in the macroeconomic situation than a combination of position adjustments, liquidity needs, and short-term market pressure.

Gold is likely to continue playing an important role in central banks’ reserve portfolios in 2026. According to the World Gold Council, indications suggest that not only will already active central banks remain present in the market, but new buyers may also emerge.

[SMM Silicon-Based PV Morning Meeting Summary: Polysilicon Prices Remained Slightly Weak, While Module Prices Were Stable on the Surface but Fell in Practice] Over the weekend, N-type recharging polysilicon was quoted at 36-43.5 yuan/kg. Polysilicon prices still appeared slightly weak over the weekend, and the market reported that some crystal pulling facilities had extremely low target prices, which upstream suppliers had not yet accepted.

This week, ferrous metals retreated after a rapid rise. At the beginning of the week, the market said that Asia had shifted to coal-fired power generation due to a natural gas supply deficit, while Indonesia would increase coal production and impose export taxes. The rise in international coal prices was transmitted to China, and coking coal and coke led the gains in ferrous metals; mid-week, the Middle East situation remained volatile, and the U.S. and Iran held differing attitudes toward war, with ferrous metals consolidating at high levels; the pullback in the second half of the week was also mainly due to the weakening of the cost-side logic, as market rumors said long-term iron ore contract negotiations had been completed, expectations for tightening iron ore supply declined, and raw materials turned into the main driver of the pullback. In the spot market, speculative trading and end-user purchase sentiment improved in the first half of the week, while rigid demand remained dominant in the second half, and the spot-futures price spread widened somewhat......

Former Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda Haruhiko said that, under normal circumstances, the Bank of Japan would raise interest rates at its April monetary policy meeting.