Baosteel settles May manganese buy tender

[SMM Weekly Review: Pre-holiday PV Prices Hold Steady Across Multiple Segments Amid Wait-and-See Sentiment, Expectations for October Polysilicon Production Cuts Intensify] This week, the polysilicon price index stood at 41.08 yuan/kg, with N-type recharging polysilicon quoted at 39.6-42.5 yuan/kg and granular polysilicon at 39-40 yuan/kg. Market quotes edged up this week, mainly driven by large-order transactions from a few top-tier players in the latter half of the week. Trading activity remained subdued, with both upstream and downstream participants maintaining a wait-and-see sentiment. Expectations for polysilicon production cuts in October are significant, with production expected to drop nearly 20% MoM, primarily due to production-cut meetings and the dry season. The reductions are mainly concentrated in the Southeast, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang.

Chromium ores and concentrates accounted for 17.2% of Zimbabwe's exports to the European Union in August 2026, with ferrochromium contributing a further 11.3%, according to trade figures released by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat). Combined with tobacco, partly or wholly stemmed or stripped, at 66.3%, the three products made up about 95% of Zimbabwe's total exports to the EU that month. Zimbabwe's total exports to the EU in August stood at US$19.1 million, meaning chromium ores, concentrates and ferrochromium together accounted for roughly US$5.5 million of that total. This EU figure represents a small fraction of Zimbabwe's overall chrome and ferrochrome export earnings, which flow predominantly to China and other Asian markets rather than Europe, and it sits within a broader August trade release in which Zimbabwe's total exports across all destinations reached US$1.679 billion, driven overwhelmingly by semi-manufactured gold.

5N Plus plans to expand its St. George, Utah facility by approximately 50%, with completion targeted for H2 2027. The site transforms indium antimonide and other specialty materials into semiconductor materials, wafers, substrates and selected components, with recovery, purification and crystal-growth capabilities. New equipment will be installed progressively, but InSb-specific capacity was not disclosed; the 50% figure refers to the facility expansion, not indium demand.