SUNSHINE RecycleFlash Weekly: August 25-29, 2025

August 29, 2025

Gold Drops on Profit-Taking, Traders Await US PCE Release

The Gold price (XAU/USD) edges lower during the early European trading hours on Friday. The yellow metal retreats from near a five-week high of $3425 in the previous session amid some profit-taking. Additionally, the upbeat US economic data, including the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and weekly Initial Jobless Claims data, provide some support to the US Dollar (USD) and weigh on the USD-denominated commodity price. Nonetheless, rising bets that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates in the September meeting and dovish remarks from New York Fed chief John Williams might underpin the precious metal. Lower interest rates could reduce the opportunity cost of holding Gold. The release of the US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index report for July will take center stage later on Friday. The headline PCE is projected to show an increase of 2.6% YoY in July, while the core PCE is estimated to show a rise of 2.9% during the same period. (Source: FXStreet)

Iron Ore Rises as Sentiment Improves

Iron ore futures climbed to around CNY 787 per tonne on Friday, reaching a two-week high as sentiment strengthened amid steady fundamentals and ongoing scrutiny of China’s 2025-2026 steel industry work plan. Reports indicate Beijing intends to curb steel production this year and next to address persistent overcapacity. In March, the world’s top steelmaker pledged to restructure its vast industry, though details on the scale and pace of output cuts remain unclear. Official data showed China’s crude steel production fell 3.1% in the first seven months of the year to 594.47 million tonnes. (Source: Trading Economics)

Rare Earth Prices Hit Two-Year Peak After MP Materials Stops China Shipments

Prices of two rare earth elements needed for super-strong magnets have surged to their highest in more than two years after U.S. miner MP Materials stopped raw material exports to leading magnet maker China amid rising demand. China dominates the global supply chain for rare earths, accounting for 90% of refining capacity and around 70% of mined output, but the U.S. has pushed back, signing a deal with its biggest producer MP in July to refine its output domestically. MP’s shipments had in the past three years fed 7%-9% of China’s oxide production from mine output of rare earths neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) - vital to magnets that power electric vehicles, wind turbines and defence equipment - consultancy Adamas said. The Chinese price of NdPr oxide, regarded as a benchmark, has jumped to 632,000 yuan per metric ton or $88 per kg, the strongest since March 2023, from $63 on July 9. Its 40% rally after several years of weakness will boost prospects for mine projects seeking investment outside China as the West seeks to wean off reliance on Beijing. (Source: Reuters)

Arcwood Environmental Expands Northeast Operations with Acquisition of Innovative Recycling Technologies

Arcwood Environmental, a leader in sustainable waste management solutions, announced its acquisition of Innovative Recycling Technologies (IRT), a Lindenhurst, New York-based provider of hazardous waste collection, lab packing, and field services. The move strengthens Arcwood’s service reach in the Northeast markets and creates new operational efficiencies across the region. “This acquisition deepens our footprint in New York, North Jersey, and Connecticut,” said Ernie Walker, “By welcoming Innovative Recycling Technologies into Arcwood, we’re reinforcing our role as the key to smarter waste solutions by delivering safe, sustainable services that protect both people and the planet.” Founded in 1992, IRT has built a reputation for safe, compliant, and dependable waste management services. The company offers a full suite of hazardous and non-hazardous waste management services. IRT’s experienced team is OSHA 40-hour certified and supports clients across multiple sectors, including remediation firms, manufacturers, hospitals, universities, and government agencies. (Source: Arcwood Environmental)

Mura Technology Announces Expansion into Singapore with New Advanced Recycling Facility

Mura Technology, a company that focuses on next-generation advanced plastic recycling solutions, has announced plans to develop a 50 kilotonnes per annum (kta) facility in Singapore. This marks a significant milestone in the company’s expansion across Asia, joining existing facilities operated under license from Mura by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation in Japan and currently being commissioned by LG Chem in South Korea, which when combined with Mura’s own UK facility in Wilton, Teesside, UK, will total 60kta of liquid circular hydrocarbon output capacity by the end of 2025. The new facility will be located on Jurong Island within the Singapore Essential Chemicals Complex (SECC), where Mura has recently secured rights to a site from PCS Pte. Ltd. (PCS). Mura has also opened a Singapore office to support this strategic expansion. (Source: Mura Technology)

Circularix Launches New Facility in Ocala, Florida and Initiates Expansion Plans at Original Hatfield, Pennsylvania Site

Circularix, a U.S.-based producer of food-grade recycled PET (rPET resin), announced the successful completion and commercial start-up of its new recycling facility in Ocala, FL. The site complements Circularix’s flagship facility in Hatfield, PA and significantly expands the company’s ability to deliver high-quality food-grade recycled PET resin to leading consumer brands. In addition to the Ocala launch, Circularix has initiated plans to expand capacity at its Hatfield, PA facility by taking over the adjacent industrial space. Once complete, this expansion will further increase output and strengthen Circularix’s ability to meet customer demand. (Source: Circularix)

Critical Metals Corp Secures 10 Year TANBREEZ Off-Take Agreement with Department of Defense Funded Rare Earth Processor Ucore Rare Metals

Critical Metals announced that it has signed a letter of intent for an offtake agreement with Ucore Rare Metals Inc., a leader in rare-and critical-metal resources, extraction, beneficiation, and separation technologies. Under the terms of the multi-year offtake arrangement, Critical Metals Corp expects to supply up to 10,000 metric tons annually of rare earth concentrate from its Tanbreez Project, which represents approximately 10% of the project’s initial projected production. After hydro-metallurgical processing, the concentrate will be used as feedstock for Ucore’s rare earth element processing facility, which is focused on heavy rare earths and broke ground in May, in Alexandria, Louisiana and Ucore’s facility in Kingston, Ontario. The Louisiana facility, which received support and funding from the state government and the U.S. Department of Defense, will produce high-purity rare earth oxides from mixed rare earth carbonates or oxides, which Critical Metals Corp expects to produce at Tanbreez. (Source: Critical Metals)

PureCycle Receives Association of Plastic Recyclers’ PCR Certification

PureCycle Technologies, Inc. announced that it has successfully completed a third-party audit and achieved the Association of Plastic Recyclers’ (APR) Post-Consumer Resin (PCR) Certification for the Company’s primary grade of PureFive™ resin, HPP15-100. This certification provides verification that it was manufactured from post-consumer sources. The HPP15-100 grade of PureFive™ resin is the primary material produced at the Company’s Ironton Facility. It is also the base recycled content used in all blends of PureCycle’s compounded resin grades. These grades have been of high interest to customers looking for a one-pellet solution that can work in applications where it has historically been difficult to introduce recycled content. APR PCR Certification provides third-party validation, from ISO-accredited certifying bodies, that a company has met the necessary requirements to ensure its resin comes from post-consumer sources. This provides transparency to both buyers and sellers and supports a reliable, robust post-consumer resin market. (Source: PureCycle Technologies)

INEOS Styrolution Expands Its Supply of Recycled Polystyrene for Dairy Packaging across German Supermarkets

INEOS Styrolution has launched its latest circular packaging breakthrough: sour cream cups made with 30% recycled polystyrene, available in ALDI SÜD stores across Germany since the beginning of this year. Developed in collaboration with development partner ALDI SÜD and Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller, this marks a major step forward in scaling sustainable food packaging for mass-market use. In July 2025, these sour cream cups were recognised with the German Packaging Award in the “Sustainability: recycled content” category. This is the second commercial roll-out of food-grade recycled polystyrene by INEOS Styrolution with a leading German retailer, reinforcing its position as a frontrunner in the race to decarbonise packaging. (Source: INEOS Styrolution)

Comstock Announces the Purchase of All Equipment for Industry Scale Facility

Comstock Inc. announced that on August 15, 2025, immediately following the Company’s previously announced successful public equity offering, that it had immediately placed all of the purchase orders and paid deposits totaling $5.1 million toward the purchase of all of the equipment for its 100,000 ton per year, certified zero-landfill industry-scale solar panel recycling facility to be located in Silver Springs, Nevada. The total purchase price for all the equipment is approximately $10.5 million. The Company also plans on spending an additional $1.5 million for expanded storage capacity, utility upgrades and commissioning of the facility. (Source: Comstock)

Recon Hits Milestone: Chemical Recycling Plant Construction Finished as Project Nears Production Launch

Recon Technology Ltd. announced that the main manufacturing plant for Shandong Recon Renewable Resources Technology Co., Ltd.’s 40,000-ton-per-year waste plastic chemical recycling project was successfully topped out. This marks a key breakthrough in the project’s construction, as it officially enters the equipment installation and commissioning phase. To date, the Company has invested over $15 million in this project. The project is expected to be fully completed by November 2025, and a required one-month trial operations production phase will commence in December 2025, in accordance with domestic regulatory laws, rules, and regulations. The Recon Plastic Chemical Recycling Project spans an area of approximately 50 acres. Upon completion and commencement of operations, the main construction components of the project will include six pyrolysis units, two distillation units, and corresponding environmental protection facilities. The project is expected to produce 30,000 tons of plastic pyrolysis oil and 6,000 tons of carbon residue annually, generating an estimated $30 million in annual returns and achieving the high-value conversion of waste plastic resources. (Source: PR Newswire)

Vietnam Eliminates State Monopoly on Gold Production

Vietnam has officially removed the state monopoly on gold bullion production, marking a significant shift in the country’s gold market dynamics. On August 26, the Government issued Decree 232/2025/ND-CP, repealing Clause 3, Article 4 of Decree 24, thereby eliminating the state monopoly on gold bullion production, raw gold exports, and raw gold imports for bullion production. Accordingly, the decree regulates gold trading activities, including the production and processing of gold jewellery and art, trading of gold jewellery and art, production of gold bullion, trading of gold bullion, export and import of gold, as well as other gold trading activities such as account-based gold trading and gold derivatives. The decree also revises the definition of gold bullion. Gold bullion is now defined as a gold product stamped into bars, marked with weight and quality, and bearing the trademark of enterprises and commercial banks authorised by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to produce it. Additionally, the SBV will organise gold bullion production during specific periods. (Source: Vietnam News )

US Interior Department Proposes Adding Copper to Critical Minerals List

The U.S. on Monday proposed adding copper and potash among others to the draft critical minerals list for 2025, for their importance to the economy and national security. The Geological Survey, a branch of the U.S. Department of the Interior, released the draft list in the Federal Register and it will be open for public comment for 30 days. Inclusion on the list, which is typically updated every three years, can make projects eligible for federal funding, subject to a streamlined permitting process, or more competitive due to fees placed on imports, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. Copper is widely used in transportation, defense, and the U.S. power grid, which needs revamping amid the first rise in electricity demand in two decades on the rise in data centers and artificial intelligence. Potash is a potassium-rich salt mostly used to make fertilizer. Silver, lead, and silicon were also added to the draft list. The draft list provides a roadmap to reduce U.S. dependence on imports and expand domestic production, said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. Executive orders signed by President Donald Trump this year directed the Interior Department to see whether coal used to make steel, also known as met coal, and uranium, the fuel for nuclear power plants, should be put on the list. Those were not put on the draft list, but Interior said public comment was welcomed on inclusion of met coal and uranium on the final list. (Source: Reuters)

US Affirms Anti-Dumping Duties Against 10 Trading Partners

The US Department of Commerce issued affirmative determinations of anti-dumping and countervailing duties against 10 trading partners on Tuesday after investigations into corrosion-resistant steel products. The determinations cover USD 2.9 billion in imports from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam, the Commerce Department said in a statement. “Commerce made its final determinations that imports of corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) into the US from ten trading partners were being dumped and/or subsidized,” the department said, as Reuters reported. Corrosion-resistant steel is used to build automobiles, appliances, and buildings. The International Trade Commission will now make its own determination of injury to the domestic steel industry, the department said. (Source: Trading Economics)

Indonesia Secures US Tariff Exemption Deal on Commodities

The United States has agreed in principle to exempt Indonesian exports of cocoa, palm oil and rubber from the 19 percent tariff imposed by President Donald Trump since August 7, Indonesia’s top trade negotiator said on Tuesday. The exemption will take effect once both sides reach a final agreement, but no timeline has been set because the US is busy in tariff talks with other countries, Airlangga Hartarto, who is also the chief economic minister, told Reuters. The two countries also discussed potential US investment in fuel storage in Indonesia in partnership with the Southeast Asian nation’s sovereign wealth fund Danantara and state energy firm Pertamina, Airlangga said in an interview. (Source: Kuwait Times)