August 31 News: According to SMM statistics, aluminum billet inventory in mainstream consumption areas in China totaled 134,000 mt on August 28, up 1,000 mt from Monday and 9,500 mt WoW. This week, aluminum billet inventory showed a slight buildup trend, interrupting the continuous decline over the past two weeks, with inventory trends fluctuating. The weekly inventory increase was mainly driven by higher arrivals of billets from north China to warehouses in south China, while inventories in other regions remained stable. Notably, supply in Nanchang remained tight, maintaining a small decline. Regarding outflows from warehouses, SMM data showed total aluminum billet outflows reached 48,000 mt during 8.18-8.24, down 1,000 mt WoW.

BHP was founded in 2001 through the merger of BHP (Broken Hill Proprietary) and Billiton. Founded as two small mining companies in the mid-19th century, it has grown into a leading global integrated resources company. It is a renowned multinational corporation primarily focused on oil and mineral resources. BHP Billiton is currently divided into three business units: Minerals Australia and Minerals Americas, each geographically distinct, and Petroleum. Mineral resources mined include iron ore, coal, nickel, copper, lead, silver, molybdenum, uranium, zinc, and gold . The company's major mining projects include iron ore in Brazil and Australia , copper mines in Peru, Australia, and Chile, potash projects in Canada, and coal mines in Australia, the United States, and Colombia. The company also explores, produces, and sells oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Algeria, the United States, and the United Kingdom. BHP Billiton is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. According to the company's financial report, BHP Group's operations are divided into five business units: oil, copper, iron ore, coal , and group and other businesses. BHP Billiton's iron ore business is second only to Rio Tinto iron ore production in Australia, making it the second-largest iron ore producer in Australia and the third-largest in the world .

Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. FMG was founded in 2003 by Australian Andrew Forrest through the acquisition and renaming of ASX-listed Allied Mining & Processing. FMG is a global leader in the iron ore industry, boasting a unique corporate culture and technological innovation. It has developed world-class infrastructure and mining assets in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, a prime iron ore producing region. It is Australia's third-largest iron ore producer and the fourth-largest globally , after Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton . Compared to the diversified portfolios of Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Vale, FMG focuses exclusively on iron ore .

SMM Analysis：In the complex and ever-changing market environment, inventory, as a crucial indicator of supply-demand relationships, serves as a key reference for investors to judge price trends. Against the backdrop of SMM’s well-established tracking of visible lead-zinc inventories, the market has turned increasing attention to the existence of hidden inventories.....

SMM August 29 News:  According to SMM data, in August 2025, the domestic molybdenum concentrate output decreased by 8% month-on-month and 10.8% year-on-year. The total output of molybdenum concentrate from January to August 2025 decreased by 0.3% year-on-year.

According to the project restart strategy, the Finniss lithium project holds 10.7 million tonnes of ore reserves (averaging 1.29% Li₂O) and 48.5 million tonnes of mineral resources (averaging 1.26% grade). A restart study released in May 2025 indicates that the project can achieve an annual production capacity of 205,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate (SC6), with FOB operating costs estimated at A$690-785 per tonne. The operation will adopt a purely underground mining method across three orebodies—BP33, Grants, and Carlton—with BP33’s mining cost projected at just A$63-72 per tonne.

RKAB Approval Approaching to an End, NPI Prices Keep Rising

According to the latest monthly survey by SMM, China's total aluminum rod production in July 2025 reached 360,500 mt, down 29,600 mt from June. Against the backdrop of continuous aluminum rod capacity expansion, after excluding the impact of calendar days, the operating rate of aluminum rod plants in July was only 53.2%, down 6.89% MoM and 6.7% YoY.