Chile lithium

态势 · 矿产

The DRC government reinstated a ban on copper concentrate and cobalt concentrate exports on August 6, sending copper to an all-time price record and compounding a simultaneously reported sulfuric acid supply collapse affecting smelter operations. The DRC holds approximately 70% of global cobalt reserves; CMOC, the world's largest cobalt producer, operates primarily there. The ban follows the 2026 DRC cobalt quota imposed earlier this year and is a reinstatement of an earlier restriction rather than a novel policy. Chinese smelters dependent on DRC concentrate face immediate sourcing disruption; the move escalates a pattern of export nationalism following Indonesia on nickel and Zimbabwe on lithium, reshaping how processing capacity is allocated globally.

The International Energy Agency warned on July 16 that full implementation of China's rare earth export restrictions could disrupt US$6.5 trillion of downstream production outside China, the most comprehensive market-risk assessment yet of Beijing's export-control regime. China's commerce ministry launched a cash-reward programme July 1 for informants reporting illegal rare-earth exports, adding a civilian enforcement layer to an architecture already spanning the Mineral Resources Law (June 15) and a 46-firm defence-procurement ban. MP Materials and USA Rare Earth were blacklisted June 22; MOFCOM Announcement No. 26 took effect July 1. India and Japan signed the UNICORN defence-materials deal July 2, the clearest allied response so far. NdPr metal ran 160% in four months to US$137/kg before correcting; European ex-China rare earth prices are at six times domestic Chinese levels. MP Materials is producing NdFeB magnets at Fort Worth under a US$400m DoD equity stake. Battery metals: lithium nearly doubled in Q1 2026; China suspended graphite export licences until at least November 2026, covering 97% of spherical graphite. Gallium reached US$2,269/kg in the West versus US$246/kg in China. The US Trump administration announced US$3 billion in government investment across domestic and allied critical minerals projects on August 7, explicitly linking the spending to rebuilding weapons stockpiles depleted during the US-Israel war on Iran and reducing dependence on Chinese processing; CNBC framed it as a defense-necessity measure; The National placed it within a broader multipolar realignment as multiple governments diversify away from Chinese supply chains.

Watch: whether CMOC and Glencore comply with the DRC ban or seek exemptions; which specific projects receive the US$3B and in which allied countries; whether the US investment triggers matching G7 minerals commitments; cobalt and copper spot price moves after the DRC ban; whether Chinese smelters invest in DRC-based refining capacity; IEA US$6.5T figure and allied procurement timelines; CRMA permitting pace; US 45X FEOC implementation.

Chile holds the world's largest lithium reserves in the Atacama Desert; its 2023 state-majority nationalization model, pairing Codelco with SQM, defines the global critical-minerals sovereignty debate.

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Resource nationalism: five producing states using export controls to capture battery-metal value

As battery-metal demand accelerates, Indonesia, the DRC, Guinea, Chile and Zimbabwe are using export quotas, bans and permit revocations to keep more mineral value at home.

·4 视角 ·7月3日

SQM (Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile)

Chile's dominant lithium brine producer and the world's second-largest, SQM operates the Salar de Atacama under a 2023 state JV transferring control to Codelco by 2031.

·4 视角 ·7月3日

锂价翻倍带动SQM一季度营收增长70%；天齐减持股份，科德科合资公司向智利国家支付5.3亿美元

2026年一季度锂业营收17.6亿美元，同比增长69.8%，超出市场预期；平均实现价格从2025年四季度每公斤10美元回升至18美元；天齐于2月出售1.25%股权，SQM将2026年产量指引上调至增长15%以上

谁的钱 ·9 视角 ·7月9日

智利最高法院为SQM与Codelco锂业合资项目扫清障碍，结束两年法律不确定性

1月26日的裁决消除了对智利国有化模式的最后一项法律挑战；2026-2030年整合阶段开启，Codelco持有过半加一股份，SQM继续运营阿塔卡马盐沼（Salar de Atacama）

谁说了算 ·5 视角 ·7月7日

简报，直达邮箱