[SMM Chromium Flash] Global Chrome Ore Departures Fall 30.66% WoW to 479,700 mt, Richards Bay and Beira Both Halt

As of September 11, 2026, China's total chrome ore inventory at ports rose to 5.318 million mt, up 98,600 mt (+1.89%) from 5.219 million mt on September 4. Tianjin Port, China's dominant chrome ore hub, held 4.6854 million mt, up 111,700 mt (+2.44%) week-on-week, lifting its share of the national total to 88.1% from 87.6% the prior week. Qinzhou Port, the country's key southern discharge point, held 412,200 mt, down 8,100 mt (-1.93%), while the remaining smaller ports slipped a further 5,000 mt to roughly 220,000 mt. Tianjin's build alone outpaced the national total gain, meaning the rest of the port network, led by Qinzhou, gave back roughly 13,100 mt even as the overall pool of ore grew. This divergence tracks the underlying north-south split in ferrochrome production. Tianjin feeds Inner Mongolia's smelting base, which accounts for the bulk of national output and has kept operating rates elevated even as high-carbon ferrochrome prices eased about 100 yuan/mt in August on oversupply and soft retail sales. With producers there running lean, hand-to-mouth ore purchases ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, incoming cargoes have piled up at the port rather than being drawn down quickly. Qinzhou, by contrast, serves the smaller but more responsive southern cluster across Guangxi, Sichuan and Guizhou, where producers have been drawing more actively on local stocks to feed active furnace schedules. The build at Tianjin also reflects the pipeline of South African and Zimbabwean cargoes still working through the system. South Africa alone supplied nearly 80% of China's chrome ore in H1 2026, with shipments up almost 30% YoY, while Zimbabwean supply surged 44.3% YoY over the same period. Global chrome ore departures from major export ports jumped 83.99% week-on-week to roughly 691,800 mt in the most recent week tracked, with Maputo and Richards Bay both rebounding, a signal that arrivals into China, concentrated at Tianjin, should continue at a healthy clip in the coming weeks even as southern ports draw down on stronger local consumption.

India has secured an annual 1.64 million mt country-specific quota for steel exports to the European Union under the India-EU free trade agreement, comprising 946,616 mt under the existing most-favoured-nation quota and an additional 694,853 mt under the FTA. The combined quota would cover about 68% of India's 2025 steel exports to the EU, up from roughly 39% under the existing quota alone, while shipments above the quota remain subject to the EU's 50% out-of-quota tariff. The agreement still requires the relevant approval and ratification processes before taking effect, expected by the end of 2026. The quota spans a wide range of steel product categories, including non-alloy and alloy hot-rolled sheets and strips, cold-rolled sheets, metallic-coated sheets, stainless steel products, and various long products such as bars, rebar and wire rod. The single largest allocation is for hot-rolled sheets and strips at 509,605 mt, a flat carbon steel category that does not use ferrochrome as an input. The available breakdown does not specify how much of India's expanded quota applies specifically to the stainless steel category, the product grade most directly relevant to chromium demand, leaving the scale of any stainless-specific benefit unclear from the disclosed figures. Separately, the expanded quota does not exempt Indian steel from the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which applies to all steel imports into the bloc regardless of quota status. Global Trade Research Initiative analysis estimates CBAM-related carbon costs could average around 35% of export value once the mechanism is fully phased in, a cost that could offset a meaningful share of the benefit from the wider quota access. For the chromium market, the expanded access could provide additional support to India's stainless-steel exports and, consequently, ferrochrome consumption, to the extent Indian mills increase stainless output to utilise their portion of the quota. India is also expanding its ferrochrome capacity, meaning stronger downstream steel export opportunities could improve utilisation of domestic alloy capacity and potentially increase competition for ferrochrome markets in Europe and Asia. However, the actual impact on ferrochrome demand will depend on the pace of the FTA's implementation, how much of the quota gain is captured by stainless versus carbon steel categories, the extent to which CBAM costs erode the competitiveness of the expanded access, and Indian stainless-steel production levels overall.

[SMM Flash] The Democratic Republic of Congo produced approximately 868.94 tonnes of coltan in H1 2026, according to statistics from the country's Cellule Technique de Coordination et de Planification Minière (CTCPM) reported by La Guardia. Artisanal operations accounted for 803.73 tonnes, or approximately 92.5% of total output, while industrial production contributed 65.21 tonnes. Reported artisanal output increased sharply to 648.08 tonnes in Q2 from 155.65 tonnes in Q1. Haut-Lomami emerged as the leading reported artisanal coltan-producing province, contributing 490.67 tonnes during the period and overtaking Tanganyika. Industrial production remained highly concentrated, with MMR reportedly accounting for approximately 63 tonnes of the 65.21-tonne total. The figures highlight the continued dominance of artisanal mining in DRC coltan supply and the growing importance of Haut-Lomami to regional trade flows, traceability and aggregation. SMM has not independently verified the underlying 2026 CTCPM statistical publication.