Zangge Mining has released its 2026 operational targets, highlighting significant expansions in lithium carbonate production. The company is advancing a 6,000-ton/year expansion at the Chaerhan Salt Lake, which will bring its total capacity there to 16,000 tons/year. Meanwhile, the highly anticipated Mamicuo Salt Lake project (Phase I: 50,000 tons/year) is scheduled to commence production in Q3 2026. Additionally, the Mamicuo Mining entity, in which Zangge holds a 26.95% indirect stake, plans to produce 20,000 to 25,000 tons of lithium carbonate in 2026, bolstering the company's equity resource portfolio.

Rusal's financial report showed that, affected by its capacity optimization plan, full-year 2025 primary aluminum production fell 1.9% YoY to 3.918 million mt (2024: 3.992 million mt). Alumina production, meanwhile, rose 6.7% YoY to 6.858 million mt. In addition, benefiting from the Guinea expansion project and increased equity interests in refineries in China and India, bauxite production increased 16.2% YoY to 18.453 million mt.

SMM Morning Meeting Summary: Overnight, LME copper opened at $12,714.5/mt and climbed to $12,715/mt at the start of the session. Copper prices then saw the center move straight downward, before fluctuating rangebound and eventually closing at $12,340/mt, down 3.44%. Trading volume reached 33,600 lots, and open interest stood at 288,300 lots, down 4,872 lots from the previous trading day, mainly due to long position liquidation. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE copper 2605 contract opened at and touched a high of 98,000 yuan/mt, after which the center of copper prices moved straight downward to a low of 95,920 yuan/mt, then fluctuated upward and finally closed at 96,340 yuan/mt, down 2.58%. Trading volume reached 103,000 lots, and open interest stood at 198,000 lots, up 9,911 lots from the previous trading day, mainly due to increased short positions.

[SMM Newsflash] According to the announcement of Wuxi Yoshioka Precision Technology Co., Ltd., to implement the company’s international development strategy and accelerate its expansion into markets outside China, the company, together with its wholly owned subsidiary Yoshioka Seiki Co., Ltd., increased capital in its wholly owned subsidiary YOSHIOKA SEIKI (THAILAND) CO., LTD. to build a Thailand production site, with a view to developing the Southeast Asian market and responding to order demand from clients outside China.

[SMM Express] According to XPeng Motors, on March 13, the first car model jointly developed by Volkswagen and XPeng Motors—Yuzhong 08—officially rolled off the mass production line at Volkswagen Anhui in Hefei. It took the two parties only 24 months from signing the joint development technical cooperation agreement to mass production rollout. In 2023, Volkswagen Group and XPeng Motors reached a long-term strategic partnership, focusing on product development and technological innovation and jointly developing two pure EV models. The mass production rollout of the first jointly developed car model marked the delivery of tangible results from the technical cooperation between the two sides. Following Yuzhong 08, the second model jointly developed by the two parties will also be launched this year.

According to the China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association, in early March, production by key monitored coal enterprises reached 64.44 million mt, with daily average production of 6.44 million mt. The 10-day daily average increased by 380,000 mt, up 6.3% MoM from late February, and by 90,000 mt, up 1.4% YoY.

Chile’s state-owned copper giant Codelco has reported a sharp drop in production to start this year, leading copper industry analysts and former Codelco executives to question its reports of surging output at the end of 2025 that helped the company meet its annual production target.

[SMM Nickel Flash] March 18 News, Supply side, although production costs remained elevated, some upstream traders' offers loosened under pressure from weak end-user demand. Demand side, stainless steel finished product prices generally fell, and amid losses faced by steel mills, bid prices for high-grade NPI procurement declined again, capping upside room for high-grade NPI prices. Overall, high-grade NPI prices still found support at the bottom, but market offers loosened under pressure from the end-user market.

[SMM Tungsten Express] Almonty Industries has completed Phase 1 commissioning at South Korea's Sangdong tungsten mine, restarting production after a 30-year hiatus. The mine processes ~640,000 tpa ore, producing ~2,300 tpa tungsten concentrate. Phase 2 expansion targeted for 2027 will double throughput to 1.2Mtpa and output to ~4,600 tpa, representing ~40% of ex-China global tungsten supply. Project investment exceeds US$100 million with 45+ year mine life.

Jiujiang Tinci High-Tech Materials has received regulatory approval for its 500,000-ton/year electrolyte project. With a total investment of 542 million yuan, the facility will be located in the Jiujiang Hukou High-Tech Industrial Park, Jiangxi. The project features a dual-track production layout: 450,000 tons/year for lithium-ion batteries and 50,000 tons/year for sodium-ion batteries. Construction is scheduled to commence in March 2026 and reach completion by December 2026, signaling a significant scale-up in the sodium-ion battery supply chain.