In June 2026, Chile’s lithium carbonate exports stood at 21,600 mt and lithium sulfate exports at 14,900 mt.

SMM Cobalt Morning Brief: This week, the cobalt industry chain continued to consolidate on a weak note overall. Refined cobalt traded around 380,000 yuan/mt. Although smelters slightly raised their offers, high inventory and weak end-use demand limited price recovery. The trading center of cobalt intermediate products moved lower. Cobalt sulphate ground lower on a weak note. Transactions of cobalt chloride and Co3O4 were sluggish. Cobalt powder remained under pressure due to the traditional off-season. The pullback in raw material prices dragged down ternary cathode precursors and ternary cathode materials. LCO remained stable with a weak bias. Future market trends still require attention on Q3 restocking and end-use demand recovery.

Han's Laser expects H1 2026 net profit to increase 156%-177% YoY. The company said revenue from its lithium battery equipment business rose about 45% in the first half, supported by capacity expansion at major customers and demand for localized production lines overseas.

Zijin Mining said its lithium business is progressing steadily, with the Manono lithium project in the DRC commencing dense media separation operations in May 2026, about one month ahead of schedule. The first-stage refining project is expected to be completed by December 2026, while the 3Q Salt Lake, Laguocuo Salt Lake and Xiangyuan hard-rock lithium projects continue ramping up production.