A commission convened by Panama’s government to decide how to manage the country’s controversial Cobre Panama copper mine has recommended 25 years of operation but without expanding the site’s physical footprint. The mine, run by First Quantum Minerals, was closed in 2023 after it was ruled unconstitutional following protests against its operation. The report also recommends steadily shrinking the existing footprint over this time, before eight years of “active closure” and 30 years of post-closure monitoring. Other non-negotiable criteria for reopening the site include compliance with existing Supreme Court rulings and laws around the project, ownership by the state, and the project must be financially self-sustaining. The report also calls for data transparency and supervision of the site to international standards, and priority given to concerns among affected Panamanian communities and businesses.

Adam Webb , Head of Battery Raw Materials , Benchmark Mineral Intelligence; David Dickson, CEO , Lake Resources; Alawi Swabury , CEO , Africa Battery Initiative (ABI); Daniel Li , Director of Public Relations , Tinci

Both lithium chemical and feedstock prices fell notably across Q3 2026, extending the lithium price correction that began in Q2. A volatile decline through July gave way to a notable August rally, before a sharp September reversal that erased the quarter's gains in a matter of days.

Benchmark’s Manganese Sulphate (32%) EXW China prices moved within a tight band through Q3 2026. This followed a Q1 surge driven by high sulphuric acid prices and the cancellation of export tax rebates on NCM precursors and cathode materials, and a small Q2 correction as off-season downstream operating rates slowed and idled capacity restarted. Manganese sulphate ended Q3 at RMB 7,116/tonne ($1,060/tonne), up 1.1% from the end of Q2. It hit a quarter low of RMB 7,043/tonne ($1,042/tonne) in mid-July and a high of RMB 7,178/tonne ($1,062/tonne) later in the month. Daisy Jennings-Gray, head of prices at Benchmark, said that “overall, seasonal restocking, tight supply and firm feedstock costs held prices steady in a quiet quarter, suggesting the next move is more likely to come from cost pass-through than from any shift in cathode chemistry demand.”