Smelting Capacity Emerges as a Key Supply Chain Challenge

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Copper price center shifted upward during the day, and downstream enterprise consumption weakened. According to SMM, Shanghai spot copper remained around 106,500 yuan/mt. End-user cargo pick-up slowed down, and some copper semis processing enterprises in east China planned to shut down furnaces and cut production due to finished product inventories buildup, indicating that high prices further intensified the suppression of demand. In addition, entering the delivery month, although copper prices remained at a relatively high level, the inter-month Contango price spread between futures contracts stayed at 160-100 yuan/mt, and suppliers' willingness to ship to delivery warehouses increased somewhat. They held prices firm and held back from selling, providing some support for spot discounts. As a result, both buying and selling sentiment pulled back during the day, and actual transactions were sluggish. Overall, supported by the widening price spread between futures contracts that encouraged suppliers to hold prices firm, combined with high copper prices suppressing demand, Shanghai spot copper prices against the SHFE copper 2606 contract are expected to remain at a discount tomorrow, with limited room for the discount to widen further.

Jinchuan International reported Q1 2026 production of 18,021 tonnes of contained copper in cathode and concentrate, up 29.5% year-on-year, while cobalt hydroxide production rose to 2,139 tonnes from 71 tonnes a year earlier. The company attributed the increase primarily to contributions from the Musonoi mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which commenced commercial production in November 2025. Musonoi hosts approximately 606,000 tonnes of copper reserves and 174,000 tonnes of cobalt reserves, with copper and cobalt grades of 3.4% and 0.9%, respectively. As Musonoi ramps up production, Jinchuan International expects annual copper output capacity to increase from around 60,000 tonnes to approximately 100,000 tonnes.

Jinchuan International said an independent investigation found that approximately US$145 million was misappropriated at its Ruashi copper-cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 2019 and 2024 through fake procurement contracts, cash payments and fabricated invoices. The probe identified suspicious payments involving multiple suppliers and intermediaries, highlighting weaknesses in procurement and financial controls. The company has reported the case to local prosecutors, suspended cooperation with several implicated suppliers, and initiated a comprehensive review of procurement and payment procedures. Ruashi is one of Jinchuan International’s key copper-cobalt assets in the DRC, and the market is closely monitoring potential implications for future operations.