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2026 SMM London Metals Forum

2026 SMM AICE Asia Aluminum Conference

ASEAN Solar Storage Summit 2026

SMM CCAE 2026 15th COPPER INDSTRY ANNUAL CONFERENCE

2026 SMM GRMI RENEWABLE METAL INDUSTRY CHAIN SUMMIT（NINGBO）

ASCC 2026 SMM 8th Automotive Supply Chain Conference & Industry Collaboration Forum

2026 SMM (3rd) South China Non-Ferrous Metals Annual Conference

CLNB 2026 Asia Battery Material Cooperation Forum

Indonesia Critical Minerals Conference & Expo 2027

Shanghai Metals Expo 2026

[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.

In July 2026, procurement volume of hydrometallurgical black mass fell 6% MoM, with sluggish transactions and a focus on destocking [SMM Analysis]

According to Roll Call and other U.S. congressional media outlets on August 10, President Trump held a roundtable meeting with about 200 mining industry officials at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on August 7 local time to discuss ways to strengthen the U.S. critical minerals supply chain.
During the meeting, Secretary Lutnick directly mentioned Korea Zinc’s USD 7.4 billion U.S. critical minerals smelter project as a key example of supply chain investment by the U.S. government, emphasizing the need for cooperation with allied countries.

Korea Zinc Was Mentioned in U.S. Critical Minerals Supply Chain Discussion

[Sinomine Resource Group: Subsidiary’s Two High-Purity Lithium Chemicals Production Lines Resume Production] On August 10, Sinomine Resource Group announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Jiangxi Sinomine Lithium Industry, due to a mismatch between lithium concentrates transportation and production scheduling, temporarily shut down the "Annual 30,000 mt High-Purity Lithium Chemicals" and "Annual 35,000 mt High-Purity Lithium Chemicals" production lines for maintenance starting from June 30, 2026. With the maintenance now completed, the company has decided to resume production at the "Annual 30,000 mt High-Purity Lithium Chemicals" line on August 10, 2026, and plans to gradually resume production at the "Annual 35,000 mt High-Purity Lithium Chemicals" line in mid-August 2026.

Sinomine Resource Group: Subsidiary’s Two High-Purity Lithium Chemicals Production Lines Resume Production

[Black Mass Imports: Policy Channel Open, Yet Market Circulation Still Faces Multiple Bottlenecks] On June 1, 2025, a joint announcement by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the General Administration of Customs officially took effect, removing compliant waste lithium-ion battery powder from the Catalogue of Solid Wastes Forbidden from Import and subjecting it to import management as ordinary goods. This marked a long-awaited policy breakthrough for China’s lithium battery recycling industry—prior to this, the channel for raw materials from outside China had never been legally accessible, and the industry relied almost entirely on domestically retired power batteries and off-cuts from battery factories.

Black Mass Imports: Policy Channels Opened, Market Circulation Still Faces Multiple Bottlenecks [SMM Analysis]

On July 31, CMOC (603993.SH, 03993.HK) released a continuing connected transaction announcement, proposing to re-sign commodity purchase and sales framework agreements with CATL Group and its connected subsidiary, Hong Kong KFM Holding Limited (hereinafter referred to as "KFM"), respectively, and substantially raise the annual transaction caps for product purchases and sales, operational services, and interest on funds from 2026 to 2028.

The supply chain ties between the copper and cobalt leader and the power battery leader were deepened further. The revision was driven not only by the expectations of a production surge from KFM's technological transformation and capacity expansion, but also by the impact of price fluctuations caused by the DRC's cobalt export quota policy, and involved t

CMOC and CATL Strengthen Ties, Raise Transaction Caps Amid KFM Expansion and Cobalt Policy Changes

Recently, CATL's aviation power battery system developed for manned eVTOL aircraft successfully passed the adjacent cell thermal runoff non-propagation validation. This marks the world's first aviation power battery system utilizing 350Wh/kg high-energy-density prismatic cells to pass this test. This technological breakthrough and successful validation provide safer power assurance for the development of the low-altitude economy and represent another demonstration of CATL's continuous exploration of power battery safety boundaries. The entire process of cell and battery system production, inspection, and testing was conducted under the supervision of Civil Aviation Administration-designated representatives, laying a solid foundation for helping eVTOL aircraft meet civil aviation safety standards.

[Lithium Battery: CATL's 350Wh/kg Aviation Battery Passes Adjacent Cell Thermal Runoff Validation]

On August 10, the official website of the Hubei Provincial People's Government announced that the Yichang Chuneng Phase II 80GWh lithium battery industrial park project, with a daily cell production capacity exceeding 800,000 units, has commenced production. The project has a total investment of 22 billion yuan and took only 10 months from groundbreaking to production. Compared to Phase I, the production efficiency of a single line in Phase II has improved by over 60%, with daily cell production expected to exceed 800,000 units at full capacity. After commissioning, the total capacity of the Yichang base will rise to the top tier of global lithium battery production bases.

[Lithium Battery: Yichang Chuneng Phase II 80GWh Lithium Battery Industrial Park Project Commences Production]

[Solid-State Batteries: China Electronics Standardization Institute, JD.com, and Sunwoda Sign Agreement to Establish a Joint Laboratory for Robot Batteries] On August 7, 2026, the China Electronics Standardization Institute, JD.com, and Sunwoda signed a tripartite cooperation agreement in Beijing to establish a joint laboratory for robot batteries. The three parties will focus on standard development, product development, testing and verification, and typical applications for robot batteries. The China Electronics Standardization Institute led the drafting of China’s only existing robotic battery standard to date; JD.com leverages its logistics scenarios to provide large-scale application and iterative real-world testing; and Sunwoda will be responsible for customized battery cell development and mass production. The laboratory will target high-frequency fast charging and high C-rate discharge scenarios for warehouse logistics AGVs, humanoid robots, and other applications, conducting R&D on specialized power batteries. Following the signing ceremony, a discussion meeting on two robotic battery standards was held, attended by over 60 experts.

[Solid-State Battery: China Electronics Standardization Institute, JD.com, and Sunwoda Signed Agreement to Jointly Establish a Robot Battery Joint Laboratory]

The Future of Indonesia NPI and Asian Stainless Steel

Indonesia ESDM New HPM Formula & Nickel Market Updates

2025-2026 Global PV Market Review & Outlook: Navigating Geopolitics and Policy Shifts

SMM FREE WEBINAR: Sulfur Market: 2025 Review and 2026 Outlook

Impact of Iran Situation on Aluminum & Zinc Chains: A China-Based Market Outlook

SMM Africa Webinar: Strategic Sharing & Insights of Copper, Aluminium, New Energy, and Iron Ore Market

Lithium Is Moving Again — What It Really Means for BESS Costs and Procurement Strategy

Asia Copper and Aluminum Scrap 2025 Market Review and 2026 Outlook

SMM Aluminium Year-End Review: Indonesia 's Value Chain Acceleration - Tighter Quotas, Refinery Ramps & the Path to Aluminum Powerhouse Status

SMM Online Webinar: Nickel in Turmoil - Decoding Indonesia’s Policy Evolution & The Future of Global Supply

The 4th National Excellent PhD Student Forum on Magnesium Materials

Category	Price Description	Change	Date
Raw Materials	Battery-Grade Lithium Carbonate USD/tonne	+273.13	Aug 10
Raw Materials	Battery-Grade Lithium Hydroxide (Coarse Particles) USD/tonne	+308.92	Aug 10
Cathode material	China Lithium Ferrous Phosphate (Powder Compact Density 2.50g/cm³ min) USD/tonne	+83.82	Aug 10
Battery separator	China 9μm Wet-process Separator USD/m²	0	Aug 10
Electrolyte	China Lithium Hexafluorophosphate USD/tonne	+10.81	Aug 10
Electrolyte	China Electrolyte (for LFP Battery) USD/tonne	+2.78	Aug 10

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