Zinc to Fluctuate at High Levels This Week, SMM Foresees

A Queensland silver-lead underground mine has added the final Caterpillar R2900G units ever sold to its remote-operated fleet, completing the last installation of Epiroc-owned RCT’s AutoNav system on this loader model. The operation combines underground hard-rock mining with a surface processing facility and operates its LHD fleet from multiple AutoNav control centres above and below ground. The mine has used RCT remote-operation technology since the late 1990s and upgraded to RCT’s digital communications system in 2025. The deployment is an equipment-automation and safety-efficiency upgrade; no mine name, lead-silver production, plant throughput or concentrate-supply impact was disclosed.

Glencore Canada has agreed to sell 21.5 million Osisko Metals common shares to a third party for C$34.3 million. Following the transaction, Glencore’s holding will decline from about 128 million shares, or 14.3% on a non-diluted basis, to about 106 million shares, or 11.9%. Osisko owns the past-producing Pine Point and Gaspé copper-zinc mines in Canada and intends to bring them back into operation. The transaction represents a shareholder-level ownership adjustment only; no update was provided on project financing, construction, restart timing, resources or prospective zinc supply.

Russia has officially lifted its rail transport ban on sulfur originating from Kazakhstan transiting through Russian territory for export. The Federal Agency for Railway Transport (Roszheldor) imposed the ban on May 24, 2026, suspending the shipment of Kazakh sulfur to Russian seaports and railway checkpoints. The restriction forced exporters to reroute shipments via alternative corridors, with logistics costs for Tengiz and Kashagan sulfur roughly doubling through the port of Batumi, according to sources. The lifting order was signed on July 24, 2026, following instructions from First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov. Russian Railways (RZD) has notified its subsidiaries to resume accepting railcars carrying Kazakh sulfur, with shipments directed to port stations on the Oktyabrskaya, Severnaya, Kaliningradskaya, Severo-Kavkazskaya, Privolzhskaya and Dalnevostochnaya railways. Kazakhstan is a major sulfur producer and exporter, with annual exports exceeding 4 million tonnes, the bulk of which traditionally flows through Russian ports. The lifting of the ban is expected to restore normal export routes for Kazakh sulfur.