[Future Price Trend Insights: 2026 Zinc Ingot Long-Term Contract Price Summary] At the beginning of the new year, the signing of 2026 long-term contracts has been largely completed, and a new execution cycle has commenced. The market is paying close attention to the performance of zinc smelters regarding long-term contract execution this year. SMM has compiled and communicated the long-term contract price details for some enterprises in 2026 as follows:

In recent years, the development of secondary zinc has drawn significant attention. The Government Work Report delivered at the 2025 National Two Sessions explicitly called for "strengthening the recycling of waste materials, vigorously promoting the use of recycled materials, and advancing the circular economy." Against this backdrop, market focus on secondary zinc raw materials has continued to intensify. Accordingly, SMM has introduced monthly production data for secondary zinc oxide and secondary zinc calcine to provide key dynamic references for the industry, helping market participants more accurately gauge supply-demand changes and optimize production and trade decisions.

SMM Analysis：On December 25, SMM recorded the guidance price for domestic zinc concentrate TCs in January 2026 at 1,200–1,600 yuan/mt in metal content, with an average price of 1,400 yuan/mt, down 600 yuan/mt MoM. Throughout the year, domestic zinc concentrate TCs rose first and then fell. In Q4, domestic zinc concentrate TCs largely repeated last year's pattern, with domestic zinc concentrate TCs seemingly set to return to historically low levels. However, recently, sentiment in the domestic zinc concentrate market has shown signs of warming up. Why is this......

[Zinc Sustains All Things: SMM Launches Monthly Secondary Zinc Production Data to Support Sustainable Blueprint for Zinc Resources] In recent years, as the capacity of zinc smelters using mined ore continuously increased, the demand for zinc concentrates rose. However, the growth in zinc concentrate supply struggled to keep pace, leading to a supply deficit of zinc ore resources. Consequently, TCs declined, constraining both raw materials and profits for smelters. Meanwhile, the 2025 Government Work Report delivered during the Two Sessions explicitly stated, "Strengthen the recycling of waste materials, vigorously promote the use of recycled materials, and foster the development of a circular economy." The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Finance issued relevant policies to implement special actions for promoting the application of recycled materials. As a result, market attention on the development of secondary zinc has been growing. Accordingly, SMM introduced monthly secondary zinc production data for market reference.

SMM Analysis：According to the latest customs data, China imported 519,000 mt in physical content of zinc concentrates in November 2025, up 52.27% MoM (an increase of 164,500 mt in physical content) and up 13.84% YoY. Cumulative zinc concentrate imports from January to November totaled 4.8679 million mt in physical content, up 33.74% YoY.......

The SMM Imported Zinc Concentrate Index for this week is $50.13/dmt, with a 11.8% WoW decrease. Meanwhile, SMM Zn50 zinc concentrate domestic weekly average TC runs at around 1600rmb/dmt. The SMM Imported Lead Concentrate average spot TC for this week is still at $-135/dmt, unchanged WoW.

SMM Analysis：According to the latest customs data, China imported 519,000 mt in physical content of zinc concentrates in November 2025, up 52.27% MoM (an increase of 164,500 mt in physical content) and up 13.84% YoY. Cumulative zinc concentrate imports from January to November totaled 4.8679 million mt in physical content, up 33.74% YoY.......