This week, ternary cathode precursor prices declined slightly. Raw materials, nickel sulphate prices edged up today, cobalt sulphate prices declined again, and manganese sulphate prices held steady.

1. Procurement Conditions The purchaser of this procurement project, the Beiying Mine High Manganese Steel Castings and Other Items Project (BG2026020036) (BGBCGFHGXHD260228270076), is the Equipment Spare Parts Procurement Department of the Procurement Center of Bensteel Group Sheets & Plates Co., Ltd. The project funds are self-raised, and the project has met the procurement conditions. Now, a public request for quotation and comparison is being conducted. 2. Project Overview and Procurement Scope 2.1 Project Name: Beiying Mine High Manganese Steel Castings and Other Items Project (BG2026020036) 2.2 Alternative procurement method in case of procurement failure: Negotiated procurement 2.3 The procurement content, scope, and scale of this project are detailed in the attachment "Material List Attachment.pdf". 3. Bidder Qualification Requirements 3.1 Joint bidding is not allowed for this procurement. 3.2 This procurement requires bidders to meet the following qualification requirements: (1) Production-oriented business license 3.3 This procurement requires bidders to meet the following registered capital requirements: Production-oriented registered capital: 500 (10,000 yuan) or more 3.4 This procurement requires bidders to meet the following performance requirements: See the attachment for details. 3.5 This procurement requires bidders to meet the following capability requirements, financial requirements, and other requirements: Financial requirements: See the attachment for details. Capability requirements: See the attachment for details. Other requirements: See the attachment for details. 3.6 For projects that must be tendered according to the law, bids from discredited persons subject to enforcement are invalid. 4. Obtaining Procurement Documents 4.1 Interested bidders are requested to log in to the Ansteel Smart Tender and Bid Platform at http://bid.ansteel.cn from 08:00 on March 1, 2026, to 08:00 on March 10, 2026 (Beijing Time, the same hereinafter) to download the electronic procurement documents. Click to view tender details:

This week, ternary material prices edged slightly downward. From a raw material perspective, nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate, and manganese sulfate prices remained relatively stable with no significant fluctuations. The primary downward pressure on prices came from lithium sulfates: spot prices of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide saw notable declines in early week, weakening the cost support for ternary materials. Despite the pronounced decline in lithium sulfate prices early this week, ternary cathode material manufacturers showed relatively limited restocking interest. There are two main reasons for this: First, prior to the price adjustment, most cathode manufacturers had already finalized March orders with downstream battery cell makers and are currently in the order delivery phase , maintaining relatively sufficient raw material inventories. Second, manufacturers generally maintain a " buy on rising, not on falling " mentality, viewing this adjustment primarily as short-term volatility influenced by international situations, with no expectation of sustained lithium sulfate price declines. In terms of pricing, although lithium carbonate futures prices experienced adjustments, cathode manufacturers' quotations did not see significant declines, mainly because their raw material costs remain higher than current futures prices . Spot market transactions were also quite subdued this week, with market activity dominated by long-term contract supplies. On the demand side, the EV market showed seasonal recovery, but downstream customers' order fulfillment pace remained slow due to Q1 new energy vehicle sales falling short of expectations . In contrast, e-mobility and consumer electronics markets saw relatively notable growth, primarily driven by some consumer batteries facing "export rush" demand , leading to forward order placements.

Post-holiday, the domestic manganese ore market at northern and southern ports showed divergent trends. By port: Transaction prices for manganese ore at Tianjin Port remained firm, with stable market operations; Qinzhou Port, however, performed sluggishly, with few inquiries and overall sluggish transactions.

Feb. 26: The SM2605 contract opened at 5,748 yuan/mt and closed at 5,918 yuan/mt, up 2.85%, with the highest price at 5,968 yuan/mt and the lowest at 5,740 yuan/mt. Trading volume was 722,600 lots, and open interest stood at 451,708 lots. Futures showed an upward trend. Cost side, frequent news from manganese mines continues to stimulate the manganese ore market to hold up well. Regional divergence in electricity costs is significant, becoming a key factor affecting the competitiveness of alloy plants in different production areas. Electricity prices in northern production areas are expected to remain low, offering notable cost advantages, while the main production areas in south China see no downside room for electricity prices. The coking coal and coke markets overall remain in the doldrums, exerting a mild impact on SiMn costs. Supply side, SiMn supply diverges between the north and south markets. On one hand, some alloy plants in Inner Mongolia still have expectations to start production or resume production, which will lead to an increase in SiMn capacity release and gradually highlight supply-side pressure, likely restraining price increases. On the other hand, most SiMn producers in the south face difficulties resuming production due to rising costs from raised electricity pricing policies. Demand side, the mainstream steel tender prices for February have not been announced, and the market is watching for the impact of tender pricing on the market.

This week, ternary cathode precursor prices increased. Today, nickel sulphate prices rose slightly, cobalt sulphate prices remained stable, and manganese sulphate prices edged up only marginally.

During the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, China’s manganese tetroxide market maintained a weak tone, characterized by sluggish trading, stable prices, and stalemated supply and demand. On the cost side, electrolytic manganese prices bottomed out at low levels with limited upward momentum. On the demand side, lithium manganate producers had completed pre-holiday restocking and focused on inventory digestion.

Recently, an ultra-high specific energy lithium-rich manganese solid-liquid battery was successfully installed in a vehicle by Zhongqi Xinneng Battery Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of FAW Group. This marks the industry's first installation of a lithium-rich manganese solid-liquid battery in a vehicle, achieving a significant breakthrough in battery energy density. The ultra-high specific energy lithium-rich manganese solid-liquid battery product installed in the vehicle was jointly developed by Zhongqi Xinneng and the academician team from Nankai University. The cell energy density exceeds 500Wh/kg, and the battery pack's energy capacity has increased by 67% year-on-year, reaching 142 kWh. After installation, the vehicle's driving range can exceed 1,000 kilometers.

During the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, the electrolytic manganese market stabilized at the bottom with sluggish transactions. Before the holiday, the market’s downward momentum slowed after a cumulative 600 yuan/ton drop, with mainstream prices approaching the 17,000 yuan/ton mark, supported by steel mills’ final pre-holiday stockpiling. During the holiday, prices remained stable at around 17,300 yuan/ton with almost no transactions.

During the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, the domestic manganese sulfate market continued its pre-holiday upward trend, with prices maintaining stable and firm operation without significant fluctuations. On the supply side, although some enterprises suspended production for maintenance during the holiday leading to short-term fluctuations, the industry's low inventory pattern remained unchanged.