[SMM Silicone Weekly Review: Silicone Product Prices Increased, New Orders Were Mainly Driven by Rigid Demand] This week, domestic silicone DMC market prices rose, with the quotation range of mainstream quotations raised to 14,000-14,300 yuan/mt, up 250 yuan/mt WoW. By region, monomer enterprises in Shandong quoted 14,000 yuan/mt, up 200 yuan/mt from the previous period, while mainstream monomer enterprises in other regions quoted 14,300 yuan/mt, up 300 yuan/mt from the previous period.

[Frequent Supply Disruptions; Imported TCs Continued to Decline]: Weekly data showed that the average weekly TC for SMM Zn50 domestic remained flat at 1,550 yuan/mt in metal content, while the SMM Imported Zinc Concentrate Index fell by $8.37/dmt MoM to $15.38/dmt...

[SMM Lead Morning Meeting Minutes: Mixed Macro News, Lead Prices Continued to Consolidate] Premier Li Qiang delivered the Government Work Report: China’s 2026 economic growth target was 4.5%–5%, with the deficit ratio at around 4%. At present, the impact of the Chinese New Year holiday on the domestic market has largely dissipated, except that maintenance at some lead smelters has yet to resume…

[Industrial Silicon Prices Fluctuated; Polysilicon Price Sentiment Was Weak]: This week, the silicon metal market fluctuated significantly on news, falling first and then rising. As of March 5, SMM east China oxygen-blown #553 silicon was at 9,000-9,100 yuan/mt, with the transaction center moving down WoW; some suppliers quoted at 9,200 yuan/mt. The futures market fell first and then rose, with large fluctuations; amid disruptions from news such as expectations for Xinjiang electricity prices and environmental protection, futures prices recovered from the bottom. As futures prices rose, trading firms engaging in both spot and futures market raised their quotes accordingly; silicon enterprises held quotes steady or increased them by 100 yuan/mt. Low-priced supply in the market shifted from spot-futures to silicon enterprises, and downstream users purchased as needed, selecting lower-priced offers.

[SMM Silicon-Based PV Morning Meeting Minutes] Silicon metal: Yesterday, SMM oxygen-blown #553 silicon in east China was at 9,000-9,200 yuan/mt, and 441# silicon was at 9,200-9,500 yuan/mt. Yesterday afternoon, silicon metal futures prices fluctuated sharply due to macro disruptions; the most-traded contract fell below 8,200 yuan/mt at its low and closed at 8,205 yuan/mt in late trading. Some silicon enterprises in northern China lowered their quoted prices, but they still did not match the price advantage of spot-futures traders, and downstream users mainly bought the dip. Polysilicon: N-type recharging polysilicon was quoted at 46-53 yuan/kg, the polysilicon price index was 49.17 yuan/kg, and polysilicon prices have declined significantly recently, mainly due to pressure from wafer price cuts and the impact of related meetings. At present, as the wafer segment has yet to stop falling, market sentiment is weak, and there may still be some downside room going forward.

[SMM Silicone Weekly Review: Post-Holiday Downstream Operations Not Fully Resumed, Overall Market Trading Remains Sluggish] After the holiday, domestic silicone DMC market prices started steadily, with mainstream quotations maintaining the range of 13,800-14,000 yuan/mt, unchanged from pre-holiday levels. Regional quotations continued to show a divergent pattern, with monomer enterprises in Shandong quoting 13,800 yuan/mt, while mainstream monomer enterprises in other regions quoted 14,000 yuan/mt. Post-holiday, the overall market inquiry atmosphere remained sluggish.

February 25, 2026— AMG Critical Materials Inc. announced adjusted EBITDA of $235 million for the year 2025, representing a 40% increase from $168 million in 2024, primarily driven by strong performance in its antimony and engineering businesses. The company concluded the year with a robust balance sheet, highlighted by total liquidity of $484 million as of December 31, 2025. The refinery in Bitterfeld has continued to ramp up its production, producing in specification battery-grade lithium hydroxide and progressing with customer qualification as planned.AMG has dispatched kilogram samples to all cathode active materials (CAM) manufacturers with a footprint in Europe at the end of 2025, initiating the first stage of qualification. Based on customer feedback, it is anticipateed that it will move on to the next stage of qualification involving the shipment of tons in the first half of 2026, and expect to reach full production capacity in the second half of 2026. AMG Lithium is starting engineering on a 5,000-ton lithium carbonate to lithium hydroxide conversion plant at its Bitterfeld site. This plant will be designed to accept recycled lithium carbonate, and convert it to technical-grade hydroxide for use in Bitterfeld’s main upgrading facility. The plant’s capital cost is expected to be $50 million, and as announced in December 2025, 20% of the costs of the plant will be supported by a funding grant from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The fourth quarter 2025 adjusted EBITDA decreased 87% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, primarily due to the lower lithium concentrate volumes in the current quarter and higher mining costs related to poor quality ore. Full year 2025 adjusted EBITDA decreased from $24 million to $12 million, driven primarily by the 16% decrease in annual average lithium prices in 2025 compared to 2024, as well as the lower lithium concentrate sales volumes in the current period. During the fourth quarter of 2025, a total of 28,326 dry metric tons (“dmt”) of lithium concentrates were sold, 84% more than the 15,409 dmt in the third quarter of 2025, but 15% less than the 33,492 dmt in the fourth quarter of 2024. During the quarter, poor quality ore caused recoveries to drop, reducing production volumes. During 2025, a total of 69,180 dmt of lithium concentrates were sold, 22% less than the 88,966 dmt in 2024, due primarily to the failure of one piece of equipment in the second quarter of 2025 associated with our expansion project. The average realized sales price was $689/dmt CIF China for the fourth quarter of 2025, and the average realized sales price for the year was $632/dmt CIF China. The average cost per ton for the current quarter was $489/dmt CIF China. The average cost per ton increased from $290/dmt in the fourth quarter of 2024 due to the lower volumes and higher cost of mining activities in the current quarter. The average cost per ton for full year 2025 was $488/dmt CIF China compared to $458/dmt CIF China for 2024.

[TCs Rose in Some Regions in March, Focus on Subsequent Negotiation Results]: On a weekly basis, the SMM Zn50 domestic weekly TC average increased by 50 yuan/mt in metal content from the pre-holiday level to 1,550 yuan/mt in metal content, while the SMM imported zinc concentrate index decreased by $0.6/dmt from the pre-holiday level to $23.75/dmt...

[SMM Silicone Weekly Review: Overall Market Gradually Enters Holiday Season, All Product Prices Remain Stable] This week, domestic silicone DMC prices continued to remain stable, with the mainstream transaction range at 13,800-14,000 yuan/mt, flat WoW. By region, monomer enterprises in Shandong quoted 13,800 yuan/mt, while other major monomer enterprises quoted 14,000 yuan/mt. Demand side, as the Chinese New Year holiday approaches, midstream and downstream enterprises increased holidays, market transactions generally decreased, and new order activity was overall sluggish.

[SMM Analysis: Weekly Operating Rate of DMC Slightly Rebounds, Further Supply Reduction Still Expected] This week, the operating rate of domestic monomer enterprises slightly rebounded, with some monomer enterprises in east and central China resuming operations after reducing load. However, nearly 1.6 million mt of domestic capacity remains under maintenance, and some monomer enterprises still have maintenance plans in the near future, leading to low operating rates recently.