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    Sulphur 421 Nov-Dec 2025

    21 November 2025

    SMAC to list on Toronto stock exchange

    SMAC to list on Toronto stock exchange

    Queensland-based SMAC (Strategic Minerals Acid Critical) Developments says that it plans to list on the Toronto Stock Exchange in December to raise $1.3 million to fund a final feasibility study. The company is attempting to develop sulphuric acid production in northern Queensland to supply local industries. The company plans to initially build a 180,000 t/a sulphur burning acid plant at a site at Cloncurry, followed by a second phase which would involve developing a pyrite roasting plant to generate 550-600,000 t/a of sulphuric acid.

    Queensland faces a shortage of acid if the Glencore Mount Isa copper smelter closes down. Mount Isa produces around 1 million t/a of acid. Glencore says that the smelter is losing tens of millions of dollars per month, and in spite of an A$600 million bridging loan from the Queensland government, it is slated to close in 2028. The smelter is the main supplier of acid to Dyno Nobel’s Phosphate Hill facility, which uses up to 1.2 million t/a of acid. Aside from the Mount Isa supply, the balance comes from Sun Metals’ zinc smelter in Townsville. More acid could be required by the expanding vanadium industry in the state and copper leaching operations. Explosives company Dyno Nobel has said that it may cease operations at its fertiliser plant in September 2026 if a buyer is unable to be secured by March next year.

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    Price Trends

    The global sulphur market has entered a holding pattern, as a wave of bearish sentiment has so far failed to move stubbornly high spot prices. The departure of a significant volume of product from the Middle East has emboldened buyers and shifted market sentiment firmly towards bearish, but at time of writing this has so far failed to translate into lower prices. With sellers in no hurry to lower prices and spot availability still tight, the market has stalled as both sides wait for the other to blink first.

    Restart for Hongda smelter

    Hongda's 100,000 t/a zinc smelter, in China's Sichuan Province, completed scheduled maintenance and equipment upgrading and officially resumed production on 21st June, the company said. The smelter had been shut down for planned maintenance since January, during which time a modernisation project for the electrolytic zinc smelting system was also carried out. Following the nearly six-month revamp, the resumption of production is expected to improve overall operational efficiency, reduce unit production costs, and increase the utilisation rate, The company said. The stable supply of sulphuric acid generated by the zinc smelter will effectively leverage the synergies of the "sulphur-phosphorus" industrial chain in the company, an help alleviate cost pressures on the company's phosphorus chemical business segment.