[SMM data] Social inventory of zinc increased in three places under the arrival of some domestic goods

Indium Corporation will present its DFLT bismuth-free, indium-containing low-temperature solder for large BGA assemblies at IMAPS Symposium 2026, which opens September 29. The dual-powder solder supports step soldering, hot-bar soldering, rework and board-level assembly, with peak reflow temperatures as low as 210°C. The company said DFLT can mitigate warpage-related defects and improve drop-shock and electromigration performance versus BiSnAg alloys, with overall performance comparable to or exceeding SAC305. Indium content, customer qualification and commercial shipment volumes were not disclosed.

Hudbay released an updated plan for Snow Lake, Canada on September 28, extending its reserve-supported mine life by another two years to 2043. Gold production is forecast to average 185,000 ounces annually during 2026–2030. The 1901 zinc-gold deposit is expected to reach full production in late 2027, while Stall throughput is planned to rise to 3,000 tonnes per day by 2030. Forecast cumulative zinc production for 2026–2043 is 325,000 tonnes.

As of September 25, LME zinc stocks (registered plus cancelled warrants) stood at 123,400 tonnes, up 8,750 tonnes from September 21. However, the bulk of the increase stemmed from the conversion of LME off-warrant (non-registered) inventories, leaving limited growth in near-month deliverable tonnage. Against this backdrop, the LME zinc 0–3 backwardation reversed its earlier narrowing trend, widening once again from $52.80/t on September 22 to $101.69/t on September 28. With inventories rising yet the backwardation expanding instead of easing, continued vigilance is warranted over LME's structural risk.