[SMM Flash] Zambia Approved Two Copper Producers to Resume Sulphuric Acid Exports to DRC

Published: May 15, 2026 10:33

Zambia banned sulphuric acid exports in September 2025 and subsequently implemented a licensing policy in March this year.

Zambia's Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Chipoka Mulenga told Reuters on Thursday that the government had authorized Chambishi copper smelter and Mopani copper mine to resume sulphuric acid shipments after local inventory had been replenished.

Mulenga also said Zambia could expand export licenses if supply conditions continued to improve.

Documents seen by Reuters showed that the Ministry of National Defense also authorized chemical trader Alliswell Investment Limited to ship 5,000 mt of sulphuric acid.

An industry source said Mopani had not yet received an export license.

Mopani, Chambishi, and Alliswell did not respond to requests for comment.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or for more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn
For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn
Related News
Data: SHFE, DCE market movement (Jul 15)
2 hours ago
Data: SHFE, DCE market movement (Jul 15)
Read More
Data: SHFE, DCE market movement (Jul 15)
Data: SHFE, DCE market movement (Jul 15)
The following table shows the ferrous and nonferrous metals movement on the SHFE and DCE on 15 Jul , 2026
2 hours ago
On the last trading day, the high backwardation structure persisted, and overall trading was sluggish [SMM Shanghai spot copper]
2 hours ago
On the last trading day, the high backwardation structure persisted, and overall trading was sluggish [SMM Shanghai spot copper]
Read More
On the last trading day, the high backwardation structure persisted, and overall trading was sluggish [SMM Shanghai spot copper]
On the last trading day, the high backwardation structure persisted, and overall trading was sluggish [SMM Shanghai spot copper]
[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Looking ahead to tomorrow, the open interest for the SHFE copper 2607 contract is currently less than 2,000 lots, and the 2607 contract maintains a high backwardation against the 2608 contract. After the contract rollover, the market will officially price around the 2608 contract. Supply side, social inventory has been continuously declining recently. Arrivals of domestic and imported materials at some warehouses have been low, and the tightness of available spot supply is unlikely to ease significantly in the short term. LME data shows that the ratio of cancelled warrants on the LME has been rising continuously; coupled with the opening of the import window, subsequent import supply growth is expected to see some improvement. According to SMM, some warrants have been cancelled from LME and shipped to the Chinese market, expected to arrive at the end of this month or early next month. Demand side, downstream buyers' acceptance of high premiums is limited, market transactions are light, and suppliers have been continuously lowering their offers to secure deals. Since SMM always quotes against the front-month contract, spot premiums have been rapidly recovering due to the backwardation structure. Overall, with the support of the backwardation structure and weakening downstream consumption, Shanghai spot copper premiums against the 2608 contract are expected to remain at a premium tomorrow.
2 hours ago
Copper Prices Retreat After Rapid Rise, and Copper Scrap Suppliers Sell on Rallies [SMM Secondary Copper Daily Review]
3 hours ago
Copper Prices Retreat After Rapid Rise, and Copper Scrap Suppliers Sell on Rallies [SMM Secondary Copper Daily Review]
Read More
Copper Prices Retreat After Rapid Rise, and Copper Scrap Suppliers Sell on Rallies [SMM Secondary Copper Daily Review]
Copper Prices Retreat After Rapid Rise, and Copper Scrap Suppliers Sell on Rallies [SMM Secondary Copper Daily Review]
3 hours ago