Recycling Industry Events This Week (November. 17-21)

Progress on This Week's Recycling Incidents Was as Follows:

November 21 news: North China ports: South African high-iron ore at 29.6–30.1 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African semi‑carbonate ore at 34.1–34.8 yuan/mtu, up 0.29% WoW; Gabon ore at 39.7–40.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Australian lumps at 39.9–40.6 yuan/mtu, flat from last Tuesday; South African medium-iron ore at 35.4–35.9 yuan/mtu, flat WoW. South China ports: South African high-iron ore at 30.8–31.3 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African semi‑carbonate ore at 36.9–37.8 yuan/mtu, up 0.27% WoW; Gabon ore at 40.5–41.2 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Australian lumps at 40.2–40.9 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African medium-iron ore at 37.3–37.8 yuan/mtu, flat WoW. Overall, the current manganese ore market shows a supply-demand pattern characterized by "tight supply and diverging demand." In the short term, supply-side pressure is relatively limited, and the market is expected to hold up well overall.

Toyota has been deeply engaged in sulphide solid-state batteries, achieving an energy density of 450-500 Wh/kg, with fast charging enabling a 1,200-km driving range in 10 minutes. Mass production and installation in vehicles is planned for 2027, and Toyota is collaborating with Sumitomo and Idemitsu Kosan to overcome material and cost bottlenecks.

(Yicai) Nov. 13 -- With China’s policy of exempting new energy vehicles from purchase tax set to be changed next year, automakers are offering to cover the charge for those buyers who place orders now.

This week, the cobalt sulphate market generally stabilized, but showed a pattern driven by both cost factors and marginal improvements in demand. On the supply side, supported by raw material production costs, smelters showed strong willingness to hold prices firm: quotations for MHP and scrap-derived cobalt sulphate remained in the range of 88,000-90,000 yuan/mt, while quotations for intermediate product-derived cobalt sulphate approached a high of 95,000 yuan/mt. On the demand side, purchase willingness strengthened, with some enterprises opting to accept low-priced old inventory from traders, while others began to take on high-priced new material from smelters. This split purchasing behavior collectively pushed the transaction price center slightly higher. The market is currently still in a critical phase of negotiation between sellers and buyers, with price discrepancies persisting between upstream and downstream players. In the short term, cobalt sulphate prices are expected to remain generally stable with a slight rise. Once downstream customers gradually digest the current price levels and initiate a new round of concentrated procurement, cobalt salt prices are likely to gain stronger momentum and resume an upward trend.

The cobalt intermediate products market held up well this week, with limited overall changes. On the supply side, sellers held prices firm, with the lowest market offers stabilizing around $24.0/lb, establishing a solid price floor. Demand remained generally stable; although some smelters had purchasing intentions, significant losses emerged as raw material costs substantially exceeded cobalt salt selling prices. Coupled with firm seller quotations, actual transactions remained sluggish, resulting in a clear "price without market" pattern. Currently, export approval procedures in the DRC have not yet been completed, and actual exports of intermediate products have not resumed. Considering the approximately three-month shipping period to China, domestic cobalt raw material supply is expected to remain structurally tight until Q1 2026, providing continued support for intermediate product prices.

This week, the domestic spot market for refined cobalt showed a slight upward trend. Supply side, supported by raw material costs, producers and suppliers maintained firm offers, while traders also raised their quotations following the rebound in futures. Demand side, marginal improvements were observed; although downstream buyers primarily made purchases based on rigid demand, inquiries and purchase willingness from some enterprises rebounded after prices stabilized, leading to an overall improvement in market transactions compared to the previous period. Currently, the price spread between refined cobalt and cobalt salts has returned to a reasonable range. Further price increases for refined cobalt will require stronger support from the cobalt salt market.