This week, spot lithium carbonate prices continued to rise, with the increase expanding. The SMM battery-grade lithium carbonate average price climbed from 152,000 yuan/mt on Tuesday (February 24) to 173,000 yuan/mt on Thursday (February 26), a cumulative rise of 21,000 yuan/mt over three trading days; the industrial-grade lithium carbonate average price also increased from 148,500 yuan/mt to 169,500 yuan/mt, with the same 21,000 yuan/mt gain. The key catalyst driving the accelerated price rise this week stemmed from sudden policy changes in major lithium resource-supplying countries. On Wednesday (February 25), Zimbabwe, the world's fourth-largest lithium resource producer, announced through its Ministry of Mines that it would immediately suspend all exports of lithium concentrates and raw ore (including goods in transit), allowing only enterprises with valid mining rights and approved beneficiation plants to apply for export qualifications. This move aimed to strengthen mineral regulation, combat illegal export activities, and promote the localization of the lithium industry chain. Affected by this unexpected event, the most-traded lithium carbonate futures contract surged by 12% intraday on Thursday, reaching a high of 187,700 yuan/mt. Meanwhile, the spot market transactions remained sluggish, with a clear divergence in sentiment between upstream and downstream players. Overall, upstream lithium chemical plants showed a strong reluctance to sell, with a low willingness to ship spot orders, and some enterprises made limited shipments at relatively high futures levels; downstream material plants maintained a cautious stance, adhering to just-in-time procurement, with most enterprises sticking to a strategy of restocking at lower prices, showing little interest in chasing higher prices. Overall, despite the rapid price surge, market inquiries and actual transactions still appeared sluggish.

On the evening of February 11, (600157) disclosed an announcement stating that the company is steadily advancing the acquisition of mining rights for aluminum under coal at eight mines, including Sendayuan and Jintaiyuan. Among them, the bauxite and associated resources at the Sendayuan Mine have completed reserve assessment and filing, confirming abundant bauxite and strategic rare metal gallium resources. Recently, the company's Jintaiyuan Mine also received the "Reply Letter on Review and Filing of Mineral Resource Reserves" issued by the Department of Natural Resources of Shanxi Province, approving the mineral resource reserve assessment for the Jintaiyuan Mine. Based on the detailed survey of bauxite and other resources at the Jintaiyuan Mine, the exploration area accounts.

【SMM News Flash】Fernando Aboitiz, Director of Mining at Mexico's Ministry of Economy, stated that since October 2024, the Mexican government has revoked 1,126 mining concessions, covering an area of 889,000 hectares. At the president’s regular morning press conference on Thursday, he noted that the concessions were revoked from individuals and enterprises due to their failure to pay mining rights maintenance fees and to submit statistical data or progress reports.

Last week, the overseas rare earth market exhibited distinct characteristics, including accelerated exploration of futures financialization, diversified development of global resource projects, deepened supply chain strategies in major consumer countries, progress in alternative technology R&D, and continuous expansion of international cooperation networks. Next week, as China enters the Chinese New Year holiday, overseas markets will maintain this pace of advancement.

On February 10, ERG Africa, a subsidiary of Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), and Enterprise Générale du Cobalt (EGC), a state-owned entity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), signed a memorandum of understanding on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba in Cape Town. The agreement establishes a public-private partnership aimed at promoting the formalization, professionalization, and regulation of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in the DRC. Under the agreement, EGC will obtain mining rights to an exploitation area owned by ERG in Lualaba Province and will implement a pilot project to develop a more structured mining model.

The cobalt intermediate products market remained in a state of nominal pricing with thin trading this week, with prices holding steady in the range of $25.5–26.0/lb. News such as the US "stockpiling plan" and the acquisition of certain cobalt mining rights of overseas miners by US-funded enterprises heightened market concerns about cobalt raw material shortages in China in 2026, strengthening suppliers' willingness to hold prices firm. However, as the year-end approaches, some smelters have entered the stage of clearing production lines and preparing for shutdowns, leading to a noticeable decline in purchase willingness and resulting in sluggish actual market transactions. Overall, against the backdrop of large-scale arrivals of cobalt intermediate products remaining distant, increased geopolitical risks are expected to exacerbate the structural tightness of domestic intermediate products, maintaining upward pressure on prices.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the world’s top cobalt supplier (over 70% of global 2024 supply), imposed 2025 export bans/quotas, roiling cobalt prices. With large-scale exports unresumed, the U.S. launched "Project Vault" to secure critical minerals, adding DRC supply uncertainties and heightening geopolitical risks for Chinese cobalt procurement.

The US Department of the Interior said on Thursday that it was issuing a notice seeking information and interest to explore the potential for seabed mineral leasing offshore American Samoa. In a statement, the department said the move would initiate a 30-day public comment period and kick off formal actions that could lead to the first mineral leasing sale in federal waters in over three decades. US President Trump signed an executive order in late April aimed at boosting the deep-sea mining industry, his latest attempt to improve US access to nickel, copper, and other critical minerals widely used in the economy. The executive order seeks to initiate mining activities in both US and international waters. Deep-sea mining company Impossible Metals said in mid-April that it had asked US federal officials to launch a commercial auction to secure mining rights for nickel, cobalt, and other important minerals off the coast of American Samoa. Supporters of deep-sea mining say it would reduce the need for large-scale mining operations on land, which are often unpopular with local communities. Critics say more research is needed to determine how such practices affect ecosystems. US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said the move aimed to "unlock our vast offshore mineral resources and end our reliance on foreign supply chains." (Wenhua Comprehensive)

Western Gold (601069.SH) plans to invest 1.655 billion yuan to acquire 100% equity in Xinjiang Meisheng Mining Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Xinjiang Meisheng"), a subsidiary of its controlling shareholder. Upon completion of the transaction, the company will increase its gold ore resources in mines by nearly 2.5 times, and the mine is expected to commence production in the second half of this year. Western Gold issued an announcement this evening, stating that the company and its controlling shareholder, Xinjiang Nonferrous Metal Industry (Group) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Xinjiang Nonferrous Metal"), had signed the "Cash Purchase of Assets Agreement" on May 7. Today, the two parties signed the "Supplemental Agreement (I) to the Cash Purchase of Assets Agreement" to acquire 100% equity in Xinjiang Meisheng held by Xinjiang Nonferrous Metal using its own funds and loans, with a transaction consideration of approximately 1.655 billion yuan, representing a premium of 1,421.66% compared to the book value. The company stated that Xinjiang Meisheng is currently expected to commence production in the second half of 2025. To fulfill the commitments made by Xinjiang Nonferrous Metal earlier, properly address potential horizontal competition issues, and given Western Gold's optimistic outlook on the development prospects of the mine project, both parties agreed that Western Gold would acquire 100% equity in Xinjiang Meisheng held by Xinjiang Nonferrous Metal in cash. Financial data shows that Xinjiang Meisheng achieved operating revenues of 276,700 yuan and 0 yuan in 2024 (audited) and Q1 2025 (unaudited), respectively, with net losses of 35.943 million yuan and 14.1621 million yuan. The announcement revealed that after Xinjiang Nonferrous Metal acquired 100% equity in Xinjiang Meisheng in 2021, Xinjiang Meisheng obtained ownership of the Katebaasu Gold-Copper Polymetallic Mine Project in Xinyuan County. Since the completion of the acquisition by Xinjiang Nonferrous Metal, Xinjiang Meisheng has not engaged in production or business activities, and thus has not generated any operating revenue from such activities. In terms of asset valuation, the asset-based approach was adopted for this transaction. As of December 31, 2024, the book value of Xinjiang Meisheng's net assets was 109 million yuan, with an assessed value of 1.655 billion yuan, resulting in an appreciation of 1.546 billion yuan. The appreciation primarily originated from intangible assets, with a book value of 1.397 billion yuan and an assessed value of 2.946 billion yuan, representing an appreciation rate of 110.89%. Based on the asset valuation report for this transaction, the book value of the mining rights included in the valuation scope and recorded as intangible assets was 1.165 billion yuan, involving a total of two mining rights, including the mining right for the Xinjiang Meisheng Katebaasu Gold-Copper Mine and the exploration right for the Xinjiang Xinyuan County Katebaasu Gold-Copper Polymetallic Mine. In terms of ore reserves, the Xinjiang Meisheng Katebaasu Gold-Copper Mine has proven total ore reserves of 25.67 million mt (including 78.7 mt of gold resources). Upon completion and reaching full production, the project will achieve a production scale of 4,000 mt/day, with an annual output of 1.2 million mt of ore and approximately 3.3 mt of gold metal. In addition to gold resources, there are 48,800 mt of copper metal content, 125,544.92 kg of associated silver, and 1.6624 million mt of associated sulfur element. As of the end of 2024, the resource volume of captive mines of Westgold Resources Co., Ltd. was approximately 32 mt, with reserves of about 12 mt, and annual gold production from mines was approximately 1 mt.

》Check SMM aluminum product quotes, data, and market analysis 》Subscribe to view SMM's historical spot metal prices SMM News on June 12: Domestic Bauxite Market: This week, the domestic bauxite market remained calm, with stable operations prevailing. As of today, in Shanxi, the transaction price for bauxite with an Al/Si ratio of 5.0 and 60% alumina content, excluding VAT, for self pick-up at the crushing plant, was approximately 580-620 yuan/mt. In Henan, the transaction price for bauxite with an Al/Si ratio of 5.0 and 60% alumina content, excluding VAT, for self pick-up at the crushing plant, was around 550-590 yuan/mt. In Guizhou, the transaction price for bauxite with an Al/Si ratio of 5.5 and 58% alumina content, excluding VAT, for self pick-up at the crushing plant, was 410-450 yuan/mt. In Guangxi, the transaction price for bauxite with an Al/Si ratio of 6.0 and 53% alumina content, excluding VAT, for self pick-up at the crushing plant, was 320-335 yuan/mt. Imported Bauxite Market: According to data from June 6, the total weekly bauxite arrivals at domestic ports were 4.8204 million mt, a decrease of 40,000 mt from the previous week. The total weekly bauxite departures from main ports in Guinea were 3.5693 million mt, an increase of 395,500 mt from the previous week. The total weekly bauxite departures from main ports in Australia were 889,700 mt, a decrease of 249,500 mt from the previous week. In terms of prices, spot transactions of imported bauxite bulk cargo remained sluggish this week. Only one low-grade Guinea bauxite transaction was inquired, with a price below $75/mt for a grade of 45% alumina content and 3% silica content, driving down the SMM CIF index for imported bauxite and the average CIF price for Guinea bauxite. As of Thursday this week, the CIF price for Guinea bauxite was reported at $74.5/mt, a decrease of $0.5/mt from last Thursday. The SMM CIF index for imported bauxite was reported at $74.35/mt, a decrease of $0.59/mt from last Thursday. SMM Commentary: In the short term, both bullish and bearish factors coexist in the bauxite price market, with buyers and sellers engaging in a tug-of-war. On one hand, in the short term, the supply of imported bauxite is expected to remain high, with the fundamental market showing a surplus and inventory buildup in bauxite. Additionally, spot alumina prices have shown a certain downward trend, and alumina profit margins are expected to narrow, limiting the acceptance of high-priced bauxite. On the other hand, the rainy season in Guinea is approaching, and the previous mining rights issues have not yet been resolved, with subsequent bauxite shipments expected to decline. Sellers are reluctant to budge on prices. In the short term, bauxite prices are expected to fluctuate mainly. 》Click to view SMM's aluminum industry chain database