Indonesia’s Forestry Task Force last week seized ~148 hectares of land occupied by PT Weda Bay Nickel in Halmahera, North Maluku, citing a lack of relevant permits. The move marks the first high-profile enforcement in the nickel sector since President Prabowo Subianto vowed to step up action against illegal mining in August. Officials said the […]
> Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal consultation on changes to the sustainable lithium and sustainable nickel grades in its Lithium Price Assessment and Nickel Price Assessment Methodologies. Benchmark proposes to change the frequency of updates to its list of eligible producers, whose material can contribute to these grades, from quarterly […]
> Nickel prices spent much of Q3 2025 trading at five‑year lows even as intermediates surged, highlighting the deepening split between China‑led chemical demand and a structurally oversupplied global metal market. Nickel sulphate EXW China climbed 7% across the quarter to RMB 27,800–28,020/t ($3,920–3951/t), its highest since March. Precursor and cathode producers rebuilt inventories in August and […]
> In the third quarter of 2025, 18 of the largest 25 copper miners reported quarter-on-quarter decreases in their output, including the top four miners. The total Q3 copper production reported by the top 25 miners hit 3.72Mt. “In the third quarter, many companies saw lower production compared to the previous quarter. However, most did not […]
> China’s dominance over global rare earths mining and refining comes with severe environmental and ecological costs, the Benchmark Rare Earths Global Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) shows. In 2025, Chinese producers are set to account for 71% and 90% of the global mined and refined rare earths supplies, respectively, according to Benchmark’s Rare Earths Forecast. Bayan […]
> US President Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have signed a landmark Critical Minerals Framework to bolster both nations’ access to rare earths and other critical minerals, in an effort to counter China’s dominance over strategically important supply chains. The framework indicates that the two governments will utilise a range of policy instruments to […]
> Benchmark has tracked over $50 billion of energy transition funding, throughout 2025 in its Energy Transition Capital database, with the largest share allocated to the battery supply chain. The role of debt, grants, and equity Debt The EV, battery, and battery materials markets have matured rapidly over the past few years. As a result, debt is playing an increasingly […]
> Payables for nickel in mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) have remained at elevated levels (84–86%) since April, according to the Benchmark Nickel Price Assessment. This is despite structural oversupply and macroeconomic uncertainty weighing on nickel prices more broadly. Payables initially rose to a three-year high following extensive flooding at the Morowali Industrial Park, which caused a […]
> Lithium chemical prices spiked in China on Monday following a bullish speech by the chairman of Ganfeng – the world’s third-largest lithium producer – in which it was suggested that lithium demand growth could reach 30% in 2026. In a keynote speech on 16 November at the 10th International Summit on Power Battery Application in […]