No Significant Improvement in Industry Demand, Operating Rates Remained at Low Levels [SMM Enamelled Wire Market Weekly Review]

On May 20, Sinomine Resource Group Co., Ltd. and Peru Kingda Mining Co., Ltd. signed a cooperation agreement at Sinomine Resource Group's headquarters on the La Haya copper mine project. Under the agreement, Peru Kingda Mining will re-register the mining rights of the La Haya copper mine located in Peru under a joint venture jointly established by both parties and controlled by Sinomine Resource Group. Sinomine Resource Group will provide funding, technology, and industry chain resource support to jointly advance the development of this copper ore resource. In the initial phase, the project will carry out Phase I exploration work, with drilling advancing simultaneously.

Tongguan Mine Construction announced that it recently received a bid-winning notification from Xingyao Icarus Limited, winning the bid for the mine construction and mining engineering of the Cuia-Mavoio copper mine in Uíge Province, Angola, with a contract value of approximately $230 million. The infrastructure construction period is 18 months, and the production period is 60 months. Regarding the project background, the Cuia-Mavoio copper mine is located in Uíge Province, Angola, approximately 300 kilometers from Luanda, and includes both open-pit and underground mining. According to information previously released by Angola's Secretary of State for Mineral Resources, the project has a total investment of $250 million, with $205 million in committed funding already secured, covering two exploration license areas (approximately 3,000 square kilometers and 7,000 square kilometers, respectively). Exploration began in 2010, with the first production phase targeting open-pit ore processing of 2,500 mt per day and a total mining capacity of 4,000 mt/day; the underground mine plans to commence in H2 2026.

Chile's Second Environmental Court recently revoked the environmental permit for the "Infrastructure and Capacity Enhancement" project at Collahuasi, one of the world's largest copper mines. The project planned to invest over $3.2 billion, with the core objective of building a seawater desalination plant to extend the mine's lifespan. The court ruled that the mining company had failed to adequately consult with affected indigenous communities and that the assessment of environmental impacts on the marine environment was insufficient. The mining company stated that existing water sources could support short-term production and would not immediately affect production.