SUNSHINE RecycleFlash Weekly: July 14-18, 2025

July 18, 2025

Citi Sees $40 Silver Soon, But Cautious on Gold

Analysts at Citigroup see silver prices rallying beyond $40 an ounce in the coming months due to tightening physical supplies and growing investment demand. In a note published Wednesday, analysts led by Max Layton raised their three-month silver price forecast from $38 to $40, citing the metal’s strong fundamentals. They also upgraded silver’s longer-term outlook, with a price target of $43 for the next six to 12 months. While a potential monetary easing would also support gold, Citi is more cautious on the traditional safe-haven metal, which has rallied over 27% in 2025 on strong central bank buying and exchange-traded fund inflows. “We continue to highlight our view that we may have seen gold price highs,” the analysts wrote in the note, referencing the record high of $3,500 an ounce achieved back in April. As such, the bank is maintaining its forecast of gold consolidating above $3,000 over the upcoming quarter before declining below that level next year. In the second half of 2026, analysts including Layton are predicting gold to fall further into the $2,500-$2,700 range. (Source: mining.com)

LBMA Analysts Forecast 15.49% Increase in Average Gold Price Through 2025

A group of 13 professional analysts, recently polled by LBMA, have upgraded their forecasts for the average price of gold through 2025 by almost 1 5.5%. Looking ahead through the second half of 2025, the average analyst forecast for the end-year price of gold was US$3,324.40 (some 27.3% above the end-2024 price), while no one suggested a price below that recorded on the first dealing day of this year (US$2,644.60). Opinions were, however, divided as to the gold price high of the year with US$4,000 being the highest and a fraction less than US$3,500 being the lowest (the current record LBMA London gold price is US$3,454.70 achieved at the Tuesday, 22 April a.m. auction). A significant number of analysts thought the price might actually be fading at year end with five from the 13 suggesting a December price of US$3,200 or below. (Source: LBMA)

Iron Ore Price Tops $100 for First Time Since May on China Sentiment

Iron ore rose above $100 a ton on improving sentiment over Chinese economic growth, and as Rio Tinto Group brought forward its timeline for the first shipment from a massive mine in Guinea. Futures were up more than 1%, heading into triple figures for the first time since May. The steel-making ingredient has recovered over the past few weeks as Chinese officials pledged to tackle excessive competition and outdated capacity, as well as deliver additional property-led policy measures. (Source: Bloomberg News)

Battery X Metals Taps U.S. Investment Bank to Accelerate Nasdaq Uplisting and Expand EV Battery Tech Across America

Battery X Metals Inc., a Canada-based energy transition and battery technology company, has announced a strategic engagement with a prominent U.S. investment bank to explore an uplisting to a major U.S. national securities exchange, with Nasdaq as the preferred destination. The agreement, outlined in a letter signed by both parties, designates the New York-headquartered bank as Battery X Metals’ exclusive financial advisor. The engagement includes strategic capital markets guidance, non-deal investor roadshows, and advice on structuring and financing, with the goal of enhancing the company’s visibility and access to U.S. investors. (Source: Emobilityplus)

Apple Expands U.S. Supply Chain with $500 Million Commitment to American Rare Earth Magnets

Apple announced a new commitment of $500 million with MP Materials, the only fully integrated rare earth producer in the United States. With this multiyear deal, Apple is committed to buying American-made rare earth magnets developed at MP Materials’ flagship Independence facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The two companies will also work together to establish a cutting-edge rare earth recycling line in Mountain Pass, California, and develop novel magnet materials and innovative processing technologies to enhance magnet performance. The commitment is part of Apple’s pledge to spend more than $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years, and builds on the company’s long history of investment in American innovation, advanced manufacturing, and next-generation recycling technologies. (Source: Apple)

Pact Group Commits to Eliminating Single-Use Plastic Packaging

Packaging solutions provider Pact Group has committed to net-zero emissions by 2050, with significant progress made by 2030, and to eliminate single-use plastic packaging, as part of its ambitious new environmental targets. Targets outlined in the group’s environmental roadmap, Impact 2030, include making 100 per cent of its portfolio recyclable, with 30 per cent average recycled content in all packaging by 2030. As well as a top quartile environmental, social, and governance (ESG) score – which is how Pact is measuring its commitments. The environmental targets are central to the company’s vision to lead the circular economy and operate more sustainably. Sanjay Dayal, Chief Executive Officer, Pact Group said, the new targets align the company’s sustainability ambitions with those of its customers and set Pact on the right path to meet government requirements. (Source: Pact Group)

Lockheed Martin Reboots Pacific Seabed Mining Plans

Lockheed Martin is back in the deep-sea mining game, holding talks with several mining companies about partnerships to access its long-held seabed licences in the Pacific Ocean. The US defence giant holds two licences in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a mineral-rich area of international waters in the eastern Pacific. These were granted by US regulators in the early 1980s during the first wave of interest in ocean mining but remained unused for decades. Lockheed appeared to exit the sector in 2023, when it sold its UK-based deep-sea mining subsidiary, UK Seabed Resources, to Norway’s Loke Marine Minerals. That firm filed for bankruptcy in April, prompting an asset auction that returned the two licences to Lockheed’s control. (Source: mining.com)

RTE and Nexans Launch a New Industrial Initiative to Recycle Aluminum from High- and Extra High-Voltage Cables in France

RTE, the French electricity transmission system operator is combining its expertise with Nexans, a leader in the design and manufacturing of cable systems and services as part of a process that began in 2024. The two companies are announcing the launch of a complete industrial aluminum recycling solution for the manufacturing of power cables. For the first time in France, cables from the electricity transmission network will be recycled for reuse on RTE’s high and extra-high voltage lines. Based entirely in Europe, this activity will recycle 600 metric tons of aluminum per year, from 1,000 metric tons of cables (equivalent to half of the power cables to be dismantled by RTE in 2025). It will also cut CO2e emissions by at least 400 metric tons per year2 owing to the lower carbon impact of recycled aluminum. Implementing a recycling loop for network equipment in France and Europe is a strategic component of the network development plan (SDDR 2025) presented by RTE on February 13. The challenge is twofold: to use French and European sources for the production and supply of raw materials, and to reduce the carbon footprint of the supplies required for network maintenance and development. Nexans is also committed to the circular economy and the recycling of metal in order to support the growing demands of the electrical industry in a more virtuous way. (Source: Nexans)

BHP Explores Opportunities with CATL in Battery Technology and Electrification

BHP has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with battery technology pioneer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL). Recognising the need for innovative solutions to tackle Scope 1 and 2 emissions, BHP is working closely with CATL to explore the application of existing and emerging technologies across its operations. BHP and CATL will explore opportunities in battery development for mining equipment and locomotives including rapid charging infrastructure, as well as seeking to understand energy storage systems and battery recycling options for our BHP mining applications. These efforts are aligned with BHP’s long-term goal to achieve net-zero operational greenhouse gas emissions (Scopes 1 and 2 from its operated assets) by CY2050. (Source: BHP)

Algoma Steel Announces First Arc and First Steel Production from Its New Electric Arc Furnace Unit One

Algoma Steel Group Inc., a leading Canadian producer of hot and cold rolled steel sheet and plate products, announced that it has achieved its first steel production at Unit One of its new, state-of-the-art electric arc furnace (“EAF”) project. The milestone follows over ten days of successful electric arc testing and tuning, including individual and tandem tests of all nine Q-One transformer modules. The first arc and steel production marks a pivotal milestone in Algoma’s transformation and positions the Company to better meet the evolving needs of its customers through the production of green steel—with the potential to reduce carbon emissions by up to 70 percent. (Source: ALGOMA)

Kyrgyzstan Eases Plastic Ban to Comply with EAEU Standards

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has signed amendments to the law “On Limiting the Circulation of Polymer Film Bags and Plastic Items in the Territory of the Kyrgyz Republic,” easing some of the country’s planned restrictions on single-use plastics. The law was originally passed by parliament on June 17, 2025. Initially set to take full effect on January 1, 2027, the legislation included a sweeping ban on the production, import, and sale of several plastic products, including: Polymer film bags, All types of disposable plastic tableware, Disposable plastic food packaging, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles, Disposable plastic egg cartons, Plastic coffee capsules, and Grocery bags. Under the newly adopted amendments, PET bottles and disposable plastic food packaging have been removed from the list of banned items. Additionally, the original ban on disposable plastic tableware has been narrowed to apply only to non-recyclable products. (Source: The Times of Central Asia)

Beyond the Bag Initiative Releases Its Largest Study to Date on Single-Use Bag

The Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag, managed by Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, released a new in-depth analysis of single-use bag legislation in the U.S., setting a new standard in environmental policy research. The comprehensive policy white paper, “Legislation in Action: Measuring the Impact of U.S. Single-Use Bag Policies on Waste Reduction,” evaluates the efficacy and impact of various legislative mechanisms, including a comparison of bag fees and outright bans across diverse communities, revealing how different strategies influence bag waste reduction and consumer behavior. Amidst increasing bag policy implementation across U.S. states, the white paper also reveals never-before-seen primary research into New Jersey’s pioneering legislation, the Get Past Plastic Act, which eliminated both single-use plastic and paper bags in grocery and big box stores. The rigorous analysis offers elected officials, regulators, community leaders and community stakeholders an objective summary of legislation’s impacts and potential unintended consequences on a community, enabling officials to effectively tailor legislation to their constituents and desired outcomes. Building on these in-market findings and its in-depth policy analysis, the Consortium will launch a new consumer campaign this summer, encouraging consumers to bring their own reusable bags or choose not to take a single-use bag at all. Details of the campaign will be released in the next month. (Source: Closed Loop Partners)