Zichang Guoyuan Achieves 6N+ Ultra-High-Purity Rubidium and Cesium Breakthrough, Leading Industry Advancements

【SMM Vanadium Flash News】Starting from September 1,2026, China will resume the consumption tax on all-vanadium flow energy storage batteries, with an initial tax rate of 2%; the tax rate will be raised to 4% starting from September 1,2027. The taxable object of this levy is the terminal product of finished all-vanadium flow energy storage batteries, which is collected at the ex-factory production stage, and does not apply to intermediate raw materials such as vanadium raw materials, vanadium pentoxide and vanadium electrolyte. Sodium batteries and solid-state batteries are exempt from consumption tax before the end of 2028. The taxation will slightly push up the cost of terminal vanadium battery projects, but in the long run, with the growth of long-duration energy storage demand and the maturity of vanadium battery technology, the cost transmission capacity is expected to gradually increase.

[ADC12 Price Daily Review: Futures Rise on Position Reduction, Spot Prices Driven Up by Costs, Demand Recovery Still Slow] The aluminum alloy 2610 contract opened at 23,340 yuan/mt today, pulled back to support at 23,245 yuan/mt during the session before bulls pushed prices higher, shooting up to 23,485 yuan/mt and closing the morning at 23,465 yuan/mt, up 0.69%. The contract traded above the average price line throughout the session, with buying sentiment recovering. Trading volume was released, while open interest pulled back slightly, with the session dominated by a repair rally on reduced positions.

South Africa's Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources has instructed Samancor to stop depositing tailings at any of its dams at the Dikwena Chrome facility in Brits, North West, while an investigation continues into the August 13 collapse of a sidewall at the mine's Dam 1B tailings storage facility. The failure released the bulk of the dam's stored waste, damaging mine infrastructure, a railway line and Eskom power infrastructure, and sending sludge into a nearby wetland and toward the neighboring Eland Mine's Maroelabult shaft area. No injuries or fatalities were reported. Minister Gwede Mantashe, accompanied by Deputy Minister Phumzile Mgcina, Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister David Mahlobo and chief inspector of mines David Msiza, conducted a joint on-site and aerial oversight visit to the facility on August 17. Mantashe said the incident underscored that tailings dam management is a mining issue tied directly to operational and structural accountability rather than a water-management matter alone, and raised concern that Samancor had not decisively addressed seepage reportedly identified at the facility roughly three months before the collapse. Samancor has taken responsibility for the investigation, clean-up and rehabilitation, with CEO Desmond McManus confirming the company is repairing damaged electrical infrastructure and access roads and will appoint an independent professional to assess the facility. The Department of Water and Sanitation has deployed teams to conduct water quality sampling and environmental risk assessments, while Mahlobo said an aerial inspection indicated the spillage had been contained, though the facility's exact groundwater impact remains under review. The tailings facility is operated by contractor One Chrome, which also runs the site's Inyoni Platinum PGM recovery plant, and investigations into the technical and operational causes of the failure remain ongoing.