According to Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), a leading Chinese metals industry data provider, China produced 551,500 metric tonnes of refined zinc in May 2025, marking a 2% increase compared to May 2024 but a 1% decline from April 2025. The cumulative output for the first five months reached approximately 2.658 million tonnes, representing a modest...
READ MOREChina’s exports of unwrought aluminum and assorted aluminum products have faced downward pressure in 2025, with total exports for the first quarter falling by more than 7% to 1.37 million tons. This structural decline persists despite short-term rebounds driven by favorable price arbitrage, as deep-seated international trade barriers and powerful domestic consumption continue to reshape...
READ MOREThe Indonesian government is launching a new drive to attract investment into its downstream copper sector, aiming to transform the nation from a primary processor into a manufacturer of high-value, secondary products for the global electronics and electric vehicle industries. An official from the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming confirmed that the government is preparing...
READ MOREChina’s East Hope Group, a diversified industrial conglomerate controlled by billionaire Liu Yongxing, has secured government backing for a $12 billion vertically integrated aluminum production complex in Kazakhstan. The project, announced following a meeting between Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and East Hope Group founder and CEO Liu Yongxing, will establish the country’s first large-scale...
READ MOREThe Indonesian government has revoked the mining permits of four nickel companies in the ecologically fragile Raja Ampat archipelago, a UNESCO Global Geopark renowned for its marine biodiversity. The decision, announced by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia, follows a high-profile public campaign by Greenpeace Indonesia that exposed significant environmental damage from mining activities....
READ MOREToshiba, a Japanese electronics and industrial conglomerate, has begun delivering samples of its new rechargeable lithium-ion battery, the ‘SCiB Nb’, to manufacturers. Developed in partnership with Brazilian niobium producer CBMM and Japanese trading company Sojitz Corporation, the battery utilizes a niobium-titanium oxide (NTO) anode to deliver an estimated service life of 15,000 cycles and an...
READ MOREPlatinum prices in recent months have been volatile, driven by a combination of industrial demand, global macroeconomic conditions, and market sentiment. Prices are currently hovering around $1,210 per ounce, rebounding from May lows caused by US dollar appreciation and weak demand from the automaker segment. One of the leading drivers of current prices is the...
READ MOREThe Palladium Global Science Award, launched in March 2025, supports pioneering research in palladium-based materials. Open to scientists, startups, and research teams, the award seeks proposals for novel applications of palladium. Submissions are due by July 31, 2025. The initiative aims to recognize and fund breakthrough ideas in the development of palladium materials with unique...
READ MOREConstellium, a global aluminum products manufacturer, has entered a collaboration with Nikon Advanced Manufacturing, a digital manufacturing solutions company, and America Makes, a US public-private partnership for additive manufacturing, to broaden the use of its Aheadd CP1 aluminum alloy in the United States defense and aerospace sectors. The $2.1 million project is funded by the...
READ MOREHunan Zhongke Electric, one of China’s leading lithium-ion battery anode material suppliers, has committed to investing $1.1 billion (8 billion yuan) in a manufacturing facility at Oman’s Sohar Port and Freezone, marking the largest battery materials investment in the Middle East. The project will establish an integrated production base with annual capacity of 200,000 metric...
READ MOREEuropean aluminium scrap exports to the United States have surged 273% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year, threatening to create critical shortages for European recyclers as US tariffs drive unprecedented demand for scrap metal. The crisis stems from the US doubling Section 232 tariffs on aluminium imports from...
READ MOREThe Indonesian Nickel Miners Association has received government approval to establish a domestic metal exchange targeting a first-half 2026 launch, as the world’s largest nickel producer seeks greater influence over global pricing after nickel ended 2024 at four-year lows. The exchange will initially focus on nickel pig iron futures contracts before expanding to other nickel...
READ MOREA chlorine gas leak at Kazakhstan’s Ust-Kamenogorsk Titanium and Magnesium Plant has raised concerns about potential supply disruptions that could drive global titanium prices up at least 15-20%, according to observers’ forecasts. The incident at UKTMP, which supplies 11% of global titanium production and 18% of aerospace-grade metal, highlights the concentrated nature of titanium supply...
READ MOREEmirates Global Aluminium, the UAE’s largest industrial company outside the energy sector and the world’s biggest premium aluminum producer, has expanded its solar-powered aluminum supply agreement with Hyundai Mobis, South Korea’s automotive parts manufacturer. The expanded contract will nearly double annual deliveries of CelestiAL solar aluminum from 8,000 tonnes this year to 15,000 tonnes by...
READ MOREThe world’s second-largest aluminum producer by volume Rusal’s shareholders voted against providing extensive internal documentation to Sual Partners, the aluminum producer’s largest minority shareholder, during an extraordinary general meeting held in Russia. The decision blocks Sual Partners from accessing decades of correspondence, board communications, and investment records that the company had demanded by May 30,...
READ MOREAnne Oxley, co-founder and Chief Technical Officer of Brazilian Nickel, has been elected Chairperson of the Nickel Institute, the global trade association representing leading nickel producers worldwide. The appointment, announced on June 3, 2025, positions Oxley to lead the industry’s efforts in promoting responsible nickel production and supporting the metal’s role in the transition to...
READ MOREValterra Platinum, formerly Anglo American Platinum, commenced trading on the London Stock Exchange on June 2, 2025, marking the completion of its demerger from global mining company Anglo American. This move is a key component of Anglo American’s broader strategy to restructure its portfolio and concentrate on core assets, following the rejection of a $50...
READ MORESolus Advanced Materials, a South Korean copper foil manufacturer operating Europe’s only battery-grade copper foil production facility, and CATL, China’s largest battery manufacturer with 40% global market share, have entered a supply agreement for copper foil deliveries to CATL’s European battery manufacturing operations. The partnership will see Solus supplying copper foil produced at its Hungarian...
READ MOREVale, Brazil’s largest mining company and a major global iron ore and nickel producer, and Brazil’s National Electric System Operator, the country’s power grid management authority, have reached an impasse over electricity allocation that threatens a $555 million nickel expansion project. ONS rejected Vale’s request to increase power consumption to 200 megawatts at its Onca...
READ MOREBHP Group, the world’s largest mining company and biggest iron ore producer, and Rio Tinto, a British-Australian multinational and the world’s second-largest mining company, have experienced share price pressure despite projections of massive demand increases for critical minerals. The International Energy Agency forecasts copper demand will increase 50%, nickel demand will more than double, and...
READ MOREGlencore withdrew approximately 15,000 tonnes of Russian copper from London Metal Exchange warehouses in Rotterdam over three trading sessions, planning to deliver the metal to China amid severe supply tightness in the world’s largest copper market. The withdrawals pushed LME copper inventories to their lowest level in a year, highlighting the growing desperation among traders...
READ MOREFrench mining group Eramet is evaluating lithium extraction opportunities in Kazakhstan’s Aral Sea region while examining rutile and zirconium sand deposits across the country. Aerospace manufacturer Safran is simultaneously exploring potential rhenium supply agreements with Kazakhstan, according to Industry and Construction Minister Ersayin Nagaspayev during the Kazakh-French Investment Forum held in Astana on May 28....
READ MOREKAZ Minerals reported a decrease in copper production in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year. The Kazakhstan-based producer attributed the decline primarily to lower ore grades across its operations, though output remained slightly above the level produced in the previous quarter. The company experienced reduced by-product volumes due to...
READ MOREGerman copper producer Aurubis recorded a net profit of 76 million euros ($83.6 million) in the first quarter of 2025, representing a 28% decline from the same period last year. The company attributed the profit reduction to higher energy costs and decreased remuneration payments from mining partners for smelting and refining services. Despite profitability challenges,...
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