The progress of the recall incident this week is as follows:

The progress of the recall incident this week is as follows:

Glencore recently stated in its earnings guidance that due to the cobalt export ban imposed by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a significant portion of its cobalt production from that country may be unsellable until the end of 2025. While the company acknowledges that this will cause substantial shipment disruptions, it also emphasizes that the overall financial impact for the year is expected to be “limited.” This assessment reveals two key points: first, Glencore believes the market is currently in an oversupply phase, and the export suspension can effectively ease this pressure; second, the company expects such intervention to accelerate inventory reduction and subsequently support a price rebound, which will be beneficial for future sales.

At the Kalgoorlie Mining Forum, the company announced record FY2024-25 production of 755,000 tonnes from its Pilgangoora project in Western Australia. Despite pricing headwinds, PLS completed a A$1 billion self-funded expansion cycle and currently holds A$1.6 billion in liquidity.

As of this Friday, at northern ports: Australian lump ore was priced at 40.7-41.2 yuan/mtu, unchanged from last Friday; South African semi-carbonate ore was priced at 34.9-35.4 yuan/mtu, unchanged from last Friday; Gabonese ore was priced at 39.8-40.6 yuan/mtu, unchanged from last Friday; South African high-iron ore was priced at 29.5-30 yuan/mtu, unchanged from last Friday; South African medium-iron ore was priced at 35.2-35.7 yuan/mtu, unchanged from last Friday. At southern ports: Australian lump ore was priced at 40.2-40.9 yuan/mtu, unchanged from last Friday; South African semi-carbonate ore was priced at 35.5-36 yuan/mtu, unchanged from last Friday; Gabonese ore was priced at 40.3-40.8 yuan/mtu, unchanged from last Friday; South African high-iron ore was priced at 30.6-31.1 yuan/mtu, up 0.65% WoW from last Friday; South African medium-iron ore was priced at 36.6-37.1 yuan/mtu, up 1.38% WoW from last Friday.

China has abundant reserves of phosphate ore resources, but the overall grade is medium. Phosphate ore is mainly used in the agricultural sector (such as phosphate fertiliser production), while new energy (such as LFP) is becoming the core driving force for future demand growth. In the short term, the supply and demand of phosphate ore will still be in a tight balance, with prices supported by new energy demand. In the long term, attention needs to be paid to resource sustainability and technological upgrades.

[SMM Weekly Review] This week, the spot price of cobalt intermediate products maintained an upward trend, with some enterprises reporting a small volume of transactions for mainstream brands around 13. On the supply side, mainstream miners maintained their refusal to budge on prices. After the price increase, traders resumed offering quotes but controlled the pace of shipments. On the demand side, some smelters began purchasing intermediate products in the market, but due to the high prices, the trading volume remained relatively limited for the time being. Overall, affected by the DRC's extension policy, China's cobalt intermediate products will still face raw material shortages in the future, and there is upward momentum in prices. However, attention needs to be paid to the inhibition of downstream demand caused by the increase in raw material prices during this process.

[SMM Weekly Review] This week, the spot price of cobalt sulphate rose slowly. On the supply side, influenced by the continuous rise in production costs, mainstream smelters maintained their refusal to budge on prices, with some enterprises quoting prices at 54,000 yuan/mt. Traders held a bullish sentiment, halting quotes for old cargo and following the upward trend in new cargo quotes. On the demand side, there was not much old cobalt sulphate cargo in the market. When purchasing, enterprises needed to gradually start buying new, higher-priced cargo from smelters or traders. Some ternary cathode precursor enterprises reported that they could currently accept prices around 5.0. Due to a certain price gap between buyers and sellers, overall market transactions remained relatively sluggish this week. It is expected that under the influence of the continuous rise in raw material costs, cobalt sulphate prices may continue to maintain a strong trend in the short term. However, during this process, it is still necessary to observe the actual purchase situation of downstream enterprises.