Orient Zirconic Raises Prices of Zirconium Products Starting September 21

IQE reported H1 2026 revenue of £64.6 million, up 43% YoY, while Photonics revenue rose 45% to £38.5 million, supported by US defence funding releases and continued growth in AI and datacenter markets. The company said strong InP demand is driving volume growth and that existing tooling will be converted in H2 to increase InP capacity for significant AI and datacenter demand. IQE expects FY2026 revenue growth above 30%. SMM views simultaneous growth in InP volumes and capacity as direct support for medium-term high-purity indium demand. However, IQE did not disclose InP shipment volumes or indium feedstock consumption, preventing a quantitative estimate.

The Mongolian Stock Exchange said Erdenet Mining Corporation will auction 560 wet tonnes (499.408 dry tonnes) of molybdenum concentrate on September 24. The material contains at least 44% molybdenum, equivalent to no less than about 219.7 tonnes of contained metal. The opening price is $28,504.17 per dry tonne, about 0.7% above the opening level of the previous same-grade auction on September 10. As that sale closed 19.25% above its opening price, the new listing should not be treated as a transaction price. Delivery is scheduled for October–November on DAP Erlian terms.

Global chrome ore departures from major export ports totaled 624,900 mt in the week ended September 18, up 34.75% week-on-week, according to SMM's latest data. This marks a second consecutive weekly increase, extending the recovery from mid-September's low and pushing volumes to their highest level since early September's surge. Maputo drove the bulk of the increase, with departures rising to 555,600 mt from 438,700 mt, a 26.65% gain that lifted the port's share of total departures to roughly 89%. The continued build in Maputo's volumes reinforces its position as the dominant corridor through the recent stretch of volatility, with the port now accounting for the vast majority of active shipments for a third straight week. Mersin also posted a solid gain, rising to 69,300 mt from 25,200 mt, more than doubling its prior week's total. Richards Bay and Beira both recorded no departures for the week, extending their inactivity from the prior week and underscoring the increasingly narrow, Maputo-concentrated nature of regional export flows in recent weeks. With two of the four tracked ports now dormant for consecutive weeks, the latest data points to a continued reliance on Maputo as the primary conduit for seaborne chrome ore out of the region.