An investor asked on the interactive platform: What is the commissioning status of the Anhui Phase II project and the subsequent commissioning plan? On April 1, Shunbo Alloy stated that the Anhui Phase II project planned an annual production project of 630,000 mt of low-carbon, environmentally friendly aluminum alloy slab ingots and an annual production project of 500,000 mt of green, recycled, high-performance aluminum plate/sheet and strip. According to the Prospectus, from 2026 to 2028, the sales volume of aluminum plate/sheet and strip is expected to reach 120,000 mt, 240,000 mt, and 400,000 mt, respectively. The specific situation is subject to the company’s subsequent relevant announcements.

This week, the overall second-life battery market for lithium battery Grade B products remained stable, while prices for warehouse A and Grade A products rose. On the cost side, lithium carbonate first increased and then declined, with evident fluctuations; nickel sulphate edged down slightly, while cobalt sulphate prices remained stable. On the supply side, battery cell capacity continued to be released, the EV sector carried out orderly stockpiling, demand in the ESS sector remained robust, and order shipments stayed at a high level. On the demand side, following the implementation of the new power battery regulations on April 1, the exclusive concept of second-life application was removed and uniformly brought under comprehensive utilization supervision, with strict control over the circulation of non-compliant products; the market showed structural divergence, with average demand from the EV sector, but strong demand for compliant orders in energy storage and outside China. In terms of product-grade price spreads: quotations for leading Grade A products with warranties approached those of new battery cells, while circulation of recycled materials and Grade B products remained weak and prices held flat, as they struggled to meet compliant procurement standards.

[SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review: Rare Earth Prices Hold Up Well, and Market Inquiry Activity Increases] The Pr-Nd oxide market as a whole continued to hold up well. Under the impact of expectations of tighter supply and pronounced fluctuations in futures prices, upstream suppliers kept raising their offers, while low-priced cargoes tightened rapidly, pushing Pr-Nd oxide prices up to 722,000-728,000 yuan/mt.

[SMM Rare Earth Bulletin] US rare earth refiner ReElement Technologies announced that it had entered into a strategic partnership with Japan’s Mitsubishi Materials Corporation and received an equity investment. ReElement owns patented chromatographic separation technology that can efficiently process recycled materials, mine waste rock, and raw ore to produce high-purity critical minerals; Mitsubishi Materials will provide support in raw material sourcing and recycling infrastructure. The two parties plan to jointly assess commercialization opportunities for rare earth and critical minerals recycling solutions in the Japanese market. Mitsubishi Materials stated that rare earths are expected to become its third major pillar business after copper and tungsten.

SMM March 31 News: For Lithium battery recycling, the purchase volume of black mass by downstream hydrometallurgy recycling enterprises, up 48% MoM,

Recycling Industry Events This Week (December. 29-31)

[SMM Brass Bar Flash News] As of the week ending March 27, the weekly CIF China quotation for US brass scrap had risen to $7,750/mt. Recycled brass raw materials prices continued to stay high, and overall spot availability in the market remained tight. High raw material costs made brass billet enterprises more cautious in their procurement strategies, with stockpiling willingness weakening significantly.

[SMM Brass Bar Flash News] Recently, the brass bar industry has been facing the dual challenge of persistently high raw material costs and diverging market demand. According to SMM, although the industry's overall operating rate has rebounded slightly amid the continued rise in prices of recycled brass raw materials, enterprises' willingness to stockpile has declined markedly, and wait-and-see sentiment in the market remains strong.

Japanese copper smelters are cutting back concentrate processing due to falling treatment charges and rising global competition. Companies are shifting toward recycling-based operations, keeping scrap-derived refining lines while scaling down traditional smelting, highlighting the growing importance of recycled copper.

On March 26, a centralized signing ceremony for investment projects in Dianjiang County for the first quarter of 2026 was held. Among the signed projects, a project for the annual production of 50,000 tons of recycled aluminum and aluminum product processing is planned to construct 10 production lines for aluminum smelting and deep processing. After completion and operation, it is expected to achieve an annual output value of 1.25 billion yuan and tax revenue of over 10 million yuan.