Iron ore seaborne arrivals to expand at Chinese ports

On September 21, Korea Zinc announced that its $7.4 billion US manufacturing project had passed the environmental impact assessment. The facility is scheduled to begin trial operations in 2029 and commercial production the following year, producing 11 critical minerals, 12 non-ferrous metals and semiconductor-grade sulfuric acid. In April, Korea Zinc said it had completed the acquisition of a local zinc smelter and other related companies. The company plans to implement the project by expanding and upgrading the existing facilities.

On September 9, 2026, Australia initiated its second sunset review of anti-dumping measures on galvanized steel sheet from India, Malaysia and Vietnam, and separately launched a sunset review of countervailing measures on imports from India. The review covers July 2025-June 2026, with the final report expected by February 11, 2027. As galvanized steel is the largest end-use sector for zinc, the measures directly affect export costs and competitiveness, potentially impacting Australia’s domestic zinc demand and supply chain. Maintaining the duties would provide some protection for domestic steel and coating capacity, while termination could increase low-priced imports and affect regional zinc consumption. The final outcome remains subject to the authorities’ determination.

The 300,000 mt/year copper cathode expansion project of JCC Hongyuan Copper, a subsidiary of Jiangxi Copper Corporation, entered the pre-approval public notice stage of its environmental impact assessment on September 4, with a total investment of approximately 1.416 billion yuan. The project is planned to start construction in September 2026 and be completed in December 2027. Upon completion, JCC Hongyuan's total capacity will jump from 250,000 mt to 550,000 mt.