[SMM Weekly Review] Hydrometallurgical Recycling Market This Week: Pure Cobalt and Ternary Black Mass Payables Fell Steadily, LFP Prices Mostly Fluctuated (Sep. 7, 2026 - Sep. 10, 2026)

On September 8th, Core Lithium has produced first spodumene concentrate from the recommissioned Finniss processing plant in the Northern Territory, marking a milestone in the company's staged restart of the operation. Core Lithium restarted mining at the Grants openpit in May and recommissioned the crushing circuit in August to build sufficient crushed ore stockpiles for processing. First concentrate was achieved within six months of the company's final investment decision to proceed with the Finniss restart. The company has undertaken targeted upgrades to debottleneck the processing circuit and optimise recoveries, including screen refurbishments, rolls crusher enhancements and improvements to the ferrosilicon distribution system. Crushing and dense media separation operations have been consolidated into a single control room. These upgrades are expected to increase plant throughput capacity by about 20% to 1.2 million t/y. Finniss began initial spodumene concentrate production in February 2023 before being placed on care and maintenance in mid-2024 amid a downturn in lithium prices. The project has since been repositioned as a lower-cost, long-life operation with a 20-year mine life and average production of 214,000 t/y. Finniss is the only major hard-rock lithium mine operating outside of Western Australia.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is accelerating geological mapping, airborne surveys and digitisation of historical records to build a national geological databank covering its critical minerals, including lithium, according to Raoul Wazenga Vitima, director general of the National Geological Survey of Congo (SGNC). A $180 million contract with geodata firm Xcalibur began in January and is surveying more than 700,000 sq km using airborne geophysics and data analytics to identify exploration targets across the country's largely unexplored territory. The programme is one of several ongoing mapping initiatives funded by the government, mining revenues and international partners, with results feeding into the national databank, which is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2026. SGNC estimates systematic exploration currently covers barely 20% of the country, meaning large areas holding potential lithium deposits remain unmapped. Congo hosts lithium deposits alongside other critical minerals, though exploration activity to date has been concentrated mainly in the country's copper-cobalt belt, leaving lithium-prospective ground comparatively underexplored. Unlike jurisdictions such as Australia, Congo plans to retain state control over access to the databank. Vitima said the system will operate on a tiered basis, with basic geological information available free of charge and access to more sensitive datasets fee-based, with revenues intended to fund continued exploration and mapping. He did not specify the fee structure or which data categories would be charged. Vitima said the database is not intended to favour any single trading partner and that access rules would apply equally to all companies regardless of origin. He said Congo also has geological survey partnerships with France's BRGM, South Africa's Council for Geoscience, KoBold Metals, Atlas Park, Japan's Solafune and Belgium's AfricaMuseum, and that Saudi Arabia is separately using Xcalibur for its own national geological mapping, with Congo sharing exploration experience with the kingdom.

On september 9th, Sigma Lithium has stated it has not received any legal communication regarding a preliminary judicial ruling that reportedly suspended environmental licences at its Grota do Cirilo mine in Brazil. The company said mining and industrial activities continue uninterrupted, with production targets unchanged at 240,000 mt of lithium oxide concentrate over the next 12 months, rising to 330,000 mt in the 2027 financial year. Sigma said the ruling was issued without due process and that it will begin its legal defence when courts resume normal operations on September 8, following a three-day national holiday recess. The company said it has consistently provided technical, environmental and quantitative data to authorities. The ruling stems from a civil suit brought by a Quilombola community federation, which argued the Grota do Cirilo project falls within the direct area of influence of the Bau Quilombola territory, a designation that would trigger a requirement for free, prior and informed consultation. The presiding judge cited studies placing the territory 2.7 km from the project's directly affected area, within an 8 km threshold that activates the more extensive licensing process, and pointed to blasting and earthmoving activity near the community as grounds for risk of harm. Sigma has argued the project lies outside the impact zone. The court has ordered an independent georeferencing review to determine the exact distance between the project and the Quilombola territory. Beyond the alleged suspension of environmental licences, the ruling bars Minas Gerais state from issuing new licences to the project and sets a fine for continued operations.