Congo creates strategic cobalt reserve to influence supply and prices, regulator says

According to Reuters on April 16, negotiations between India and Zambia on critical mineral cooperation have stalled, mainly because Zambia has failed to provide India with firm assurances over mining rights. India had previously been allocated 9,000 square kilometers of exploration areas in Zambia for cobalt and copper, and had sent a geological team to complete sampling. It had planned to bring in private companies for development after three years of exploration. The specific reasons why Zambia is withholding guarantees on mining rights remain unclear; India is seeking to restart talks, but the outlook is uncertain. In recent years, India has been competing for critical mineral resources through government-to-government cooperation in Africa, Australia and Latin America.

On April 16, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) released its investor relations activity record. It mentioned that in the first quarter of 2026, CATL's combined sales of power and energy storage batteries exceeded 200GWh, of which power batteries accounted for approximately 75% and energy storage batteries accounted for 25%, marking a significant increase compared to previous quarters. Against the backdrop of declining sales in the domestic passenger car industry, the company's power battery shipments continued to maintain relatively fast growth, driven primarily by two key factors: first, the continuous expansion of market share; second, the steady increase in battery capacity per vehicle.