Silicon social inventories flat on week amid quiet trades

【SMM Tantalum & Niobium Express】On July 1,2026, the regional government of Galicia, Spain, officially approved the transfer of the Class C mining concession for the Penouta Mine in the province of Ourense to Energy Transition Minerals (ETM), an Australia-based company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. The mine thus becomes the only domestic primary tantalum and niobium supply base within the European Union. The finalization of this mining right marks the completion of asset revitalization for the Penouta Mine, freeing it from the bankruptcy liquidation predicament of its former operator, Strategic Minerals Spain, which suspended mine production in October 2024. Global niobium resources are mainly produced in Brazil, while tantalum ores are concentrated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, making traceability control of minerals from these regions extremely difficult; meanwhile, the tantalum and niobium smelting and processing industry is highly concentrated in China. As critical core metals for the semiconductor, aerospace alloy, and new energy industries, the supply of tantalum and niobium is significantly affected by fluctuations in the China-Africa supply chain, and recent tantalum prices have hit a multi-decade high. The Penouta Mine will provide the European Union with a locally compliant, traceable and transparent supply channel for critical minerals, fully aligning with the requirements of the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act — which mandates reducing reliance on a single foreign mineral source to below 65% by 2030 and rebuilding a domestic mining and processing industrial chain. ETM completed the acquisition of the mine for 5.2 million euros, and concurrently secured a strategic capital injection of 10 million Australian dollars from its shareowners. The mining area retains an open-pit stope and a complete mineral processing production line, with historical infrastructure investment totaling 28 million euros. The enterprise has finalized a full-process operation plan, and aims to achieve full commercialized monetization and production of tantalum, niobium and tin concentrates by 2027.

【SMM Tantalum & Niobium News Flash】Following the approval by the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to include multiple metals in its strategic minerals list, the royalty fees for lithium mining companies are likely to triple. A decree adopted by the Council of the Minister of Mines has added tantalum, niobium, tungsten, uranium and rare earths to the strategic minerals list. According to the country's Mining Code, the royalty rate for strategic minerals stands at 10%, while the benchmark rate for common non-ferrous metals is 3.5%. Cobalt, germanium and coltan were already included in the strategic minerals list previously. This move is designed to fully tap into the geostrategic value of the country's strategic mineral resources and maximize the revenue generated from local resources.

Customs data showed that in July 2026, silicon metal exports were 56,500 mt, down 12% MoM and down 24% YoY. In January-July 2026, cumulative silicon metal exports were 436,000 mt, up 5% YoY. In July, the top three destinations for silicon metal exports were Japan, India, and South Korea, accounting for about 46.4% in total. Compared with June, India fell from the largest destination to the second, while Japan returned to the top. Japan is a "ballast stone" for China's silicon metal exports, with monthly imports remaining stable at 10,000-14,000 mt, with relatively small fluctuations. The average export price to Japan was about $1,498/mt, higher than the overall average. India was the export market with the largest growth in H1 2026 (up 34.4% YoY in H1), but its monthly fluctuations were very large. The average price for India was relatively low (about $1,276/mt), and it was highly price-sensitive.