[Hyundai Motor Group and Huayou Cobalt Jointly Built a Power Battery Recycling System in Indonesia] Recently, Hyundai Motor Group signed a cooperation agreement with Zhejiang Huayou Recycling Technology Co., Ltd. (a subsidiary of Huayou Cobalt) to jointly build an EV power battery recycling system in Indonesia. The cooperation covered the recycling and utilization of battery production scrap and end-of-life batteries, aiming to achieve a closed-loop resource system throughout the entire battery life cycle.

A landslide occurred in the Saffi copper-cobalt mining area in the DRC, and at least 12 artisanal miners were tragically killed. According to the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Assistance and Supervision Service, heavy rainfall destabilized the ground, triggering the landslide that buried workers at the mining site. As of press time, 9 bodies had been recovered, and rescue teams were still searching for other victims who might have been trapped beneath the debris.

[SMM Daily Brief Review of Coking Coal and Coke] In terms of supply, coking costs at coke producers increased, profit per mt of coke narrowed somewhat, and coke producer inventories still needed to be drawn down, weighing on their production enthusiasm. However, downstream demand improved somewhat, and coke producers were actively making shipments. Demand side, the country's important meetings have concluded, and blast furnaces previously subject to production restrictions resumed production one after another, increasing rigid demand for coke. However, uncertainty still remained in finished steel consumption, and most steel mills remained cautious in their coke procurement. In summary, the supply-demand imbalance in the coke market eased somewhat, and cost support strengthened. In the short term, the coke market may temporarily remain stable.

[SMM Daily Brief Review of Coking Coal and Coke] In terms of supply, as the Two Sessions ended, coke producers previously subject to production restrictions gradually resumed production. With losses per mt of coke remaining within an acceptable range, production enthusiasm was moderate, and coke supply increased steadily. On the demand side, as the country's important meetings ended, steel mills previously subject to production restrictions were expected to resume production, leading to some increase in coke demand. However, as no clearly positive policies emerged from the Two Sessions, market wait-and-see sentiment remained strong, and steel mills maintained a cautious attitude toward coke, mainly purchasing as needed. In summary, the coke market may remain temporarily stable in the short term.

[SMM Analysis] Freight Rates Surge, Making Deals Difficult for Steel Expor ters Affected by the US-Iran conflict, tight energy supply and sharply higher fuel costs, compounded by exchange rate fluctuations, have continuously pushed up China's export offers in recent days. Compared with the beginning of the month (March 6), SMM HRC prices have been raised by $9/mt; galvanizing prices rose by $11/mt; CRC rose by $5/mt; billet rose by $6/mt; and rebar rose by $6/mt. However, looking back at market transaction performance, deals weakened again recently. According to the SMM survey, ocean freight rates surged sharply, with current freight to the Middle East as high as $50-60. Most outside China clients remained on the sidelines; shipowners also refused to commit tonnage while waiting for the market to stabilize. For China exporters, there were offers but no market, making shipments difficult. Meanwhile, market sources said Hadeed, the GCC's only flat steel producer, raised its May hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices, still related to shipping restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz. HRC cargoes previously booked from China and other origins were also being redirected to the west coast, mainly heading to Jeddah Port, bringing high inland transportation costs. As for global steel prices, in India, in addition to rising raw material costs and rupee depreciation, a sudden LNG energy shortage further pushed up production costs, forcing steel mills to maintain a strong willingness to hold prices firm despite the traditional domestic off-season and blocked exports. In the Southeast Asian market, price increases were accepted entirely passively, mainly due to the rigid pass-through of high ocean freight rates by overseas suppliers. Although Southeast Asian buyers hesitated to take orders, they had no choice but to passively accept the increases against the backdrop of persistently high geopolitical logistics costs. At the same time, CIS export offers also rose significantly, benefiting from the intensifying geopolitical conflict in the Middle East and the resulting short-term global supply tightens. In the Middle East market, meanwhile, as war tensions continued to escalate, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz completely disrupted transportation, while freight rates and delivery uncertainty pushed the sheets & plates import markets in the UAE and Saudi Arabia into a complete standstill. Copyright and Intellectual Property Statement: This report is independently created or compiled by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "SMM"), and SMM legally enjoys complete copyright and related intellectual property rights. The copyright, trademark rights, domain name rights, commercial data information property rights, and other related intellectual property rights of all content contained in this report (including but not limited to information, articles, data, charts, pictures, audio, video, logos, advertisements, trademarks, trade names, domain names, layout designs, etc.) are owned or held by SMM or its related right holders. The above rights are strictly protected by relevant laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China, such as the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, as well as applicable international treaties. Without prior written authorization from SMM, no institution or individual may: 1. Use all or part of this report in any form (including but not limited to reprinting, modifying, selling, transferring, displaying, translating, compiling, disseminating); 2. Disclose the content of this report to any third party; 3. License or authorize any third party to use the content of this report; 4. For any unauthorized use, SMM will legally pursue the legal responsibilities of the infringer, demanding that they bear legal responsibilities including but not limited to contractual breach liability, returning unjust enrichment, and compensating for direct and indirect economic losses. Data Source Statement: (Except for publicly available information, other data in this report are derived from publicly available information (including but not limited to industry news, seminars, exhibitions, corporate financial reports, brokerage reports, data from the National Bureau of Statistics, customs import and export data, various data published by major associations and institutions, etc.), market exchanges, and comprehensive analysis and reasonable inferences made by the research team based on SMM's internal database models. This information is for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice. SMM reserves the final interpretation right of the terms in this statement and the right to adjust and modify the content of the statement according to actual circumstances.

In January-February, raw coal production of industrial enterprises above designated size (hereinafter referred to as industrial enterprises above designated size) remained stable, crude oil production turned from decline to growth, natural gas production maintained steady growth, and the growth rate of power generation accelerated. I. Production of Raw Coal, Crude Oil, and Natural Gas and Related Information The decline in raw coal production narrowed. In January-February, raw coal production of industrial enterprises above designated size was 760 million mt, down 0.3% YoY, with the rate of decline narrowing by 0.7 percentage points from December 2025; daily average production was 12.93 million mt. Crude oil production turned from decline to growth. In January-February, crude oil production of industrial enterprises above designated size was 35.73 million mt, up 1.9% YoY, compared with a decline of 0.6% in December 2025; daily average production was 606,000 mt. Crude oil processing maintained growth. In January-February, crude oil processed by industrial enterprises above designated size totaled 122.63 million mt, up 2.9% YoY; daily average processing was 2.079 million mt. Natural gas production maintained steady growth. In January-February, natural gas production of industrial enterprises above designated size was 44.6 billion m³, up 2.9% YoY; daily average production was 760 million m³. II. Power Generation The growth rate of power generation of industrial enterprises above designated size accelerated. In January-February, power generation of industrial enterprises above designated size was 1,571.8 billion kWh, up 4.1% YoY, with the growth rate 4 percentage points faster than in December 2025; daily average power generation was 26.64 billion kWh. By type, in January-February, thermal power generation of industrial enterprises above designated size turned from decline to growth, hydropower growth accelerated, while the growth rates of nuclear power, wind power, and solar power generation slowed. Specifically, thermal power generation of industrial enterprises above designated size was up 3.3% YoY, compared with a decline of 3.2% in December 2025; hydropower was up 6.8%, with the growth rate accelerating by 2.7 percentage points; nuclear power was up 0.8%, with the growth rate slowing by 2.3 percentage points; wind power was up 5.3%, with the growth rate slowing by 3.6 percentage points; solar power generation was up 9.9%, with the growth rate slowing by 8.3 percentage points.

Refined Cobalt: This week, spot refined cobalt fluctuated rangebound around 430,000 yuan/mt. On the supply side, mainstream smelters slightly lowered ex-factory prices, while traders' spot-futures price spread remained stable: regular brands were at discounts of 2,000 yuan/mt to parity, and high-end brands at premiums of 5,000–8,000 yuan/mt. On the demand side, cost pass-through downstream remained sluggish, with market participants mainly staying on the sidelines. Only sporadic rigid-demand restocking emerged, and transactions had yet to gain volume. Fundamentally, the arrival period for cobalt intermediate products remained unclear, and the structural tightness in raw materials was unchanged, leaving support at the bottom still in place. Looking ahead, as restocking demand is gradually released, refined cobalt prices are still expected to have upside room. Cobalt Intermediate Products: This week, cobalt intermediate product prices continued to hold steady. On the supply side, miners' export progress was slow, holders temporarily held back offers, and spot cargo available for circulation was scarce. On the demand side, raw material shortages at smelters worsened. Although purchase willingness remained, both buyers and sellers stayed cautious due to unstable supply and unclear downstream orders, and the market continued to see "offers but no trades." Overall, export delays cast doubt on the timing of bulk arrivals, and the structural tightness in raw materials in China may worsen further; once downstream orders are finalized and procurement restarts, intermediate product prices are still expected to have upward momentum. Going forward, attention should be paid to export progress in the DRC and the pace of demand recovery. Cobalt Sulphate: This week, spot cobalt sulphate prices held steady. On the supply side, supported by tight raw materials, most smelters kept offers firm in the 95,000–98,000 yuan/mt range; small smelters and traders under capital pressure had already completed cashing out from last week to early this week, and low-price offers in the market narrowed. On the demand side, uncertainty over downstream orders persisted, with most enterprises remaining on the sidelines. Post-holiday stockpiling willingness had yet to start, with only sporadic rigid-demand restocking and priority given to lower-priced cargoes. In the short term, the market remained in a period of social inventory digestion, with rangebound adjustments dominating; however, the raw material supply bottleneck in the DRC remained unresolved, domestic supply tightened periodically, and cost support still existed. After low-priced inventory is depleted, prices are expected to resume their rise.

This week, the cobalt chloride market atmosphere was even more sluggish WoW, and the price stalemate continued. Although top-tier enterprises remained firm in their willingness to hold prices firm, with mainstream quotations still staying above 117,000 yuan/mt and the highest quotations reaching 120,000 yuan/mt, downstream procurement sentiment did not improve WoW and remained relatively cautious. Constrained by weak end-use demand and the relatively ample raw material inventory at material plants, market inquiries decreased noticeably, and actual transactions were mainly sporadic restocking, with the transaction center at 115,000 yuan/mt. Low-priced sales by some small traders were insufficient to move the broader market. Overall, market activity declined, and buyers and sellers fell into a game of tug-of-war. Prices are expected to remain stable in the short term, lacking the momentum to break the stalemate. SMM New Energy Research Team Wang Cong 021-51666838 Ma Rui 021-51595780 Feng Disheng 021-51666714 Lyu Yanlin 021-20707875 Zhou Zhicheng 021-51666711

After a strong start, the price of gold slipped twice to around $5,060 during this trading week. Now, it appears that gold prices might manage to stay just above $5,100 heading into the weekend, continuing the persistent sideways movement of the past five weeks.

Electra Battery Materials (NASDAQ, TSXV: ELBM) has signed a fresh deal with LG Energy Solution that would see the company supply battery-grade cobalt to the South Korean firm through at least 2029. The parties on Tuesday signed a new term sheet outlining Electra’s commitment to supplying 60% of the cobalt sulfates produced at its Ontario refinery, which is currently under construction. The supply agreement is valid through 2029, plus a three-year extension option. This agreement follows an initial three-year agreement signed in 2022 and the subsequent five-year extension announced in July 2023, reflecting Electra’s updated production timelines under the contract.