According to foreign media reports, Resolution Copper has awarded approximately $110 million in drilling and underground development contracts as work advances at its proposed copper mine in Arizona, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper deposits. Major Drilling America will undertake deep-hole directional diamond core drilling over the next two-and-a-half years, including drilling from the surface and from approximately 6,800 feet underground. Four large surface drilling rigs are planned for the programme, with two already on site and another two expected by the end of 2026. Redpath USA Corporation will undertake the first phase of underground development, including converting two existing shafts, each approximately 7,000 feet deep, for development activities. The contractor will also install underground infrastructure, construct a mine station at around 6,800 feet below surface and develop approximately 1,500 feet of new tunnels and supporting facilities. The contracts form part of an early phase of Resolution Copper’s planned $500 million investment programme, following completion of key environmental review and land-exchange processes earlier this year. The project is jointly owned by Rio Tinto with a 55% stake and BHP with 45%. If developed, Resolution Copper is expected to have the capacity to meet up to a quarter of annual US copper demand. However, a final investment decision remains subject to further data collection, permitting and partner approvals. From a copper-market perspective, the latest contract awards mark another step in advancing a potentially significant source of long-term US mine supply. While commercial production remains dependent on an eventual investment decision and further development, progress at Resolution is increasingly relevant as the US seeks to strengthen domestic copper supply amid rising requirements from power infrastructure, manufacturing and electrification.

According to foreign media reports, India's state-owned Hindustan Copper is exploring plans to supply copper concentrate sourced from Chilean state miner Codelco to domestic producers Hindalco Industries and Adani, as India seeks to secure raw materials for its expanding copper industry. Hindustan Copper, Coal India and NTPC Mining are reportedly assessing opportunities involving four copper mining blocks held by Codelco in Chile. Hindustan Copper signed a preliminary cooperation agreement with Codelco in 2025, followed by a non-disclosure agreement in May 2026, with due diligence now underway. The move comes against a widening gap between India's copper consumption and domestic supply. India currently produces around 573,000 mt of refined copper annually, while domestic demand is estimated at approximately 1.8 million mt. Government estimates suggest that the country could eventually depend on imports for 91%-97% of its copper concentrate requirements by 2047. India has been expanding domestic copper smelting and refining capacity as electricity infrastructure, renewable energy, manufacturing and transport increase demand for the metal. However, expanding processing capacity without a corresponding increase in domestic mine supply increases the country's exposure to the international concentrate market. Securing access to Chilean resources could therefore provide Indian smelters with greater long-term supply security while reducing reliance on spot concentrate purchases. Market Impact: India's push into overseas copper resources could introduce additional competition for internationally traded concentrate at a time when mine supply growth is struggling to keep pace with expanding global smelting capacity. As India builds out its copper processing industry, its growing requirement for imported feedstock could increasingly influence Asian concentrate trade flows and competition for long-term supply contracts.

【SMM Copper Scrap Flash】 The price difference between primary metal and scrap has historically been the "thermometer" for the secondary copper industry, and its widening typically effectively boosts copper scrap consumption. According to SMM, after end-June 2026, copper prices rose, and the price spread between primary metal and scrap expanded from less than 1,000 yuan/mt to around 4,400 yuan/mt, at a historically relatively high level. However, copper scrap consumption did not show a synchronized strong uptrend, and the indicator showed a "divergence," mainly disrupted by tax compliance factors: First, after the implementation of reverse invoicing, the circulation of uninvoiced copper scrap was hindered. The number of compliant individual accounts is limited, and the additional compliance cost is difficult to pass on downstream. Scrap utilization enterprises can only pass the pressure upstream by lowering the purchase price of copper scrap. Second, the supply of domestically produced, tax-inclusive copper scrap is scarce, and enterprises scramble for input VAT invoices. The invoice tax rate rose from 10.5% to 11.5%-12%, while the finished secondary copper rod sector faced fierce competition and could not raise prices, prompting enterprises to further depress raw material purchase prices. In summary, the rapid expansion of the price difference between primary metal and scrap in this round was not driven by demand; rather, it resulted from tax costs being passed upstream along the industry chain to the copper scrap side.

[Magnesium Market in the Doldrums, No Notable Fluctuations at Week’s Start] Today, magnesium ingot prices remained in the doldrums overall. Producers in major production areas held prices firm, but downstream demand follow-through remained weak. The market is expected to continue moving sideways in the short term.

Hindustan Copper is conducting due diligence and is open to partners for the JV, such as Coal India and NTPC Mining.

SMM August 10 News: Futures side, the most-traded SHFE lead 2609 contract opened and consolidated on a strong note during the day, breaking above the recent consolidation range. Bears closing positions pushed the price center higher, and it held up well near the close. The high was 15,890 yuan/mt, and it finally settled at 15,870 yuan/mt, up 140 yuan/mt from the previous trading day's closing price of 15,730 yuan/mt, a gain of 0.89%. Intraday trading volume was 60,214 lots, and open interest decreased by 4,006 lots to 60,186 lots. Overall, the most-traded SHFE lead 2609 contract formed small bullish candlesticks on the daily chart for two consecutive days, indicating some short-term strength in futures. However, spot market follow-through was relatively limited, with suppliers actively selling and downstream users cautious and wait-and-see due to high prices. Supply-side tightness in some cargoes and secondary lead cost side provided some support, while insufficient procurement volume on the demand side limited further upside room for prices. Lead prices may continue to consolidate on a strong note in the near term, with attention on inventory changes before delivery, downstream acceptance of higher prices, and the recovery of secondary lead supply.

[July 2026 Hydrometallurgical Black Mass Procurement Volume Down 6% MoM, Sluggish Transactions and Destocking Dominated] According to SMM's latest survey data, in July 2026, the scrap procurement volume (in black mass equivalent terms) of China's mainstream hydrometallurgical plants fell approximately 6% MoM from the June high. However, as market conditions stabilize and demand expectations improve, August procurement volume is expected to rebound 10%. Looking back at the July market, both supply and demand sides and price gaming showed notable structural divergence. The expectation misalignment between grinding enterprises and hydrometallurgical plants was the core factor leading to sluggish market transactions.

[Vietnam] Vietnam’s domestic steel market came under further pressure as weak demand prompted major mills to lower prices. Formosa Hà Tĩnh (FHS) cut its HRC price by around 8 USD/tonne for September 2026 delivery, with finished SAE1006 HRC now priced at approximately 522 USD/tonne CFR Ho Chi Minh City for orders exceeding 20,000 tonnes, down from 530 USD/tonne for August sales following Hòa Phát’s price reduction earlier this month. Competitive imports from countries like India are adding further pressure on domestic producers, indicating continued downside risks for Vietnam’s HRC market. Meanwhile, construction steel prices remained stable, with rebar hovering at around 533 USD/tonne, protected by trade-remedy measures, tighter technical barriers and project linked sales

SMM learned that a computing cluster in South China released the rental resources of 2 IB-networked A100 80G servers, with a monthly rent of 35,000 yuan per unit and a minimum one-year lease (long-term agreement). These resources are aimed at high-bandwidth interconnection needs such as large model training, and IB networking can support low-latency communication for multi-machine distributed training. SMM believes that the release of a small batch of high-end GPUs in the form of a long-term agreement reflects the resilience of training computing power demand in South China.

[India] Affected by monsoon weather, sentiment in India's domestic steel and scrap market remained cautious, with buying activity largely dominated by need-based procurement. Demand from the infrastructure and manufacturing sectors continued to underpin the market, while steel mills and secondary steel producers remained watchful of finished steel demand and profit margins before initiating fresh purchases. In terms of prices, the ex-yard price of ship-breaking melting scrap in Alang fell by 3.15 USD/tonne from last Friday to 341.13 USD/tonne (32,500 INR/tonne). In northern Mandi Gobindgarh, the price of HMS 1&2 (80:20) scrap edged down by 1.05 USD/tonne (100 INR/tonne). Meanwhile, Bellary sponge iron PDRI price dipped slightly by 2.10 USD/tonne to 274 USD/tonne (26,100 INR/tonne), while Mumbai rebar prices inched up by 1.05 USD/tonne to 492 USD/tonne (46,900 INR/tonne).