Ivanhoe Mines says that the first copper anodes were produced by Kamoa-Kakula’s 500,000 t/a direct-to-blister copper smelter on December 29, 2025, approximately five weeks after the commencement of the smelter’s heat-up and one week after the first feed of concentrate.
Three German subsidiaries of the Belgian chemical group DOMO Chemicals have filed for insolvency, following weak demand in the European chemicals sector, high energy costs and a significant increase in imports of polyamide resins from outside the European Union, in particular from China. Court appointed administrator Prof. Lucas F. Flöther said that day-to-day operations would continue for the time being. Around 585 employees are affected across the three companies; DOMO Chemicals GmbH and DOMO Caproleuna GmbH in Leuna and DOMO Engineering Plastics GmbH in Premnitz.
Mosaic has started activities to idle single super phosphate (SSP) production at its Fospar and Araxá facilities in Brazil due to the recent sharp increase in sulphur prices, the company said 16 December. The company said it has also suspended future purchases of sulphur, and it may review these decisions after 30 days. Sulphur spot prices in Brazil were assessed by CRU at $515/t c.fr at the time, representing the highest level since June 2022, and a staggering 180% increase from the figure of $182/t c.fr at the start of 2025. Prices for SSP, however, have been relatively stable, with only slight increases in recent weeks. CRU's assessment for 18-20% SSP was at $200-245/t c.fr Brazil in December, up from $190-240/t in November, though it remains below the $230-265/t of June.
Sulphur prices have risen rapidly in recent months as the market moves into a period of deficit which is likely to last until 2028.
The Chinese ammonium sulphate industry continues to see rapid growth, with exports rising to record levels, against increasing demand coming from Brazil and India.
At the end of December, the Russian government extended its ban on the export of technical sulphur until at least the end of March 2026. The move prolongs the initial restrictions, which were first reported on 4 November and which were set to expire at the end of 2025. The initial ban was widely expected and followed early September drone strikes on the Astrakhan and Orenburg natural-gas plants. The official justification for the extension remains to “stabilise shipments of raw materials to the domestic market” and maintain production volumes for mineral fertilizers, according to the government’s press service Interfax.
CIMC Enric Holdings Ltd says that it has commissioned China’s first large-scale biomethanol facility in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, marking a major step forward in the decarbonisation of global shipping and clean fuel supply chains. The project, developed by CIMC Enric and its subsidiaries, is designed as a fully integrated closed-loop system converting forestry residues into green methanol for use as marine fuel. With an initial annual capacity of 50,000 t/a, it is the country’s first commercial scale green methanol plant, and is backed by the port of Zhanjiang and abundant local forestry wastes.
Acron’s fertilizer complex at Veliky Novgorod was reported to be on fire following a Ukrainian drone strike on December 10th. At least five explosions were reported at the facility, according to Ukrainian media. Novgorod Governor Alexander Dronov confirmed the attack and said the air defence system intercepted 19 drones over the region. Earlier, on December 4, Ukrainian drones struck the Nevinnomyssk Azot plant in Russia’s Stavropol region, a major facility that produces over 1 million t/a of ammonia and 1.4 million t/a of ammonium nitrate annually.
Woodside Energy says that its Beaumont New Ammonia (BNA) facility in southeast Texas has begun production of ammonia following the completion of systems testing, representing the first phase of operations commissioning of the facility. Commercial production of ammonia from BNA is expected to begin following the handover to Woodside Energy from OCI Global in early 2026. Production of lower-carbon ‘blue’ ammonia is targeted to start in the second half of 2026. Woodside says it has also finalised agreements with leading global customers to supply significant volumes of conventional ammonia from the BNA facility. Deliveries will commence in 2026 and continue through year-end, under contracts that reflect prevailing market prices. Additional agreements are being advanced to align with expected BNA output, including for lower-carbon ammonia.
Nutrien says that it underwent “a controlled shut down” of its Trinidad Nitrogen operations at the Point Lisas’ facility from October 23rd, 2025. The company said that the shutdown was in response to port access restrictions imposed by Trinidad and Tobago’s National Energy Corporation (NEC) and “a lack of reliable and economic natural gas supply that has reduced the free cash flow contribution of the Trinidad Nitrogen operations over an extended period of time”. Nutrien says that it will continue to engage with stakeholders and assess options with respect to its operations in Trinidad. Ammonia and urea sales volumes from Nutrien’s Trinidad operations were approximately 85,000 tonnes per month and 55,000 tonnes per month, respectively. Nutrien expects to be within its 2025 annual nitrogen sales volume guidance range of 10.7 to 11.2 million tonnes due to the continued strong performance of its North American Nitrogen operations.