SUNSHINE RecycleFlash Weekly: July 28-August 1, 2025

August 01, 2025

Gold Holds Losses Below $3,300 as Trump Sets Baseline Tariff Rate of 10%

The Gold price (XAU/USD) trades in negative territory near $3,285 during the early Asian trading hours on Friday. The precious metal loses ground amid the rebound in the US Dollar (USD) after US President Donald Trump announces fresh tariff deals with trade partners. The White House late Thursday stated that Trump will set a baseline tariff rate of 10%, resisting prior suggestions he could raise the floor to 15% or higher, per Bloomberg. Additionally, Trump has signed an executive order increasing the tariff on Canada from 25% to 35%, effective on August 1, 2025. Trump extended Mexico’s current tariff rates for 90 days to allow more time for trade negotiations. (Source: FXStreet)

Silver Price Forecast: XAU/USD Seems Vulnerable; Ascending Channel Breakdown in Play

Silver (XAG/USD) struggles to capitalize on the overnight modest rebound from the $36.20 area, or a nearly four-week low, and trades with a negative bias during the Asian session on Friday. The white metal currently trades around he $36.65-36.60 region, down 0.15% for the day, though it lacks follow-through selling as traders opt to wait for the release of the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report. From a technical perspective, this week’s breakdown below a nearly two-month-old ascending channel support, which coincided with the 200-period Simple Moving Average (SMA) on the 4-hour chart, was seen as a key trigger for the XAG/USD bears. Moreover, oscillators on the daily chart have just started gaining negative traction, suggesting that the path of least resistance for the commodity is to the downside. (Source: FXStreet)

Copper Price Collapses by 20% as US Excludes Refined Metal from Tariffs

Copper prices collapsed by 20% on Wednesday afternoon after US President Donald Trump excluded the most widely imported form of copper from his planned import tariffs. In its statement, the White House confirmed that the 50% import tariff will only apply to semi-finished products such as copper pipes, wires, rods, sheets and tubes, and to copper-intensive goods like pipe fittings, cables, connectors and electrical components. The most actively traded COMEX copper futures fell by 19.6% to $4.5235/lb. as of 4:15 p.m. ET, the lowest since early May, following the announcement. Prior to that, US copper prices had been trading as high as 28% above the benchmark futures in London, as traders anticipated the tariff would be applied to all refined metal imports. The decision is the latest surprise from Trump to upend the copper market. When the US president first launched a probe into copper tariffs earlier this year, US copper prices skyrocketed relative to the rest of the world and set off a race to ship the metal into US borders to beat the tariffs. (Source: Bloomberg)

Torex Gold to Acquire Prime Mining

Torex Gold Resources Inc. and Prime Mining Corp. are pleased to announce that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Torex will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Prime Mining pursuant to a plan of arrangement. The Transaction will result in Torex owning a 100% interest in Prime Mining’s multi-million ounce Los Reyes gold-silver project. The Los Reyes Project is located in Mexico, a jurisdiction in which Torex has successfully worked since 2010 and built unrivalled local expertise in terms of operational excellence, project development, project permitting, community relations, and stakeholder engagement. The Los Reyes Project is a highly prospective, advanced exploration/development-stage asset hosting a combined underground and open-pit mineral resource of approximately 1.5 million ounces gold and 54.0 Moz silver in the Indicated category and 538 thousand ounces gold and 21.6 Moz silver in the Inferred category. (Source: Torex Gold)

Esports Mogul Limited Acquires Solar Panel Recycling Technology and Advances Lithium Refinery

Esports Mogul Limited has acquired global rights to a new photovoltaic solar panel recycling technology developed by Macquarie University, which uses microwave technology to improve the recovery of critical minerals from solar cells. This acquisition aligns with the company’s strategy to enhance mineral processing technology and infrastructure for the circular economy. Additionally, the company is advancing its Bécancour Lithium Refinery project, with a positive financial investment decision and ongoing discussions with spodumene concentrate producers. The project is economically viable, with competitive operating costs and significant revenue potential, positioning the company to benefit from a future rebound in the lithium market. (Source: TipRanks)

BASF Battery Materials and CATL Sign a Framework Agreement for Cathode Active Materials

BASF and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) have signed a framework agreement for cathode active materials. Under the agreement, BASF will cooperate with CATL on a global scale. CATL has selected BASF as its important supplier. BASF will support CATL’s global layout through its global production network. “We are proud to work with CATL, a global market leader in battery technology. Our diversified and local production footprint for innovative cathode materials will support CATL’s global business development,” said Dr. Daniel Schönfelder, President of BASF’s Battery Materials division. “We are committed to the global battery industry and continue leveraging partnerships like the one between CATL and BASF Battery Materials.” (Source: BASF)

Syensqo and Cylib Achieve Breakthrough in Lithium Recovery from Spent EV Batteries

Syensqo and cylib have achieved a breakthrough in circular battery materials processing, successfully producing high-purity lithium hydroxide from end-of-life EV batteries. By extracting and purifying lithium from shredded electrode “black mass” of both NMC and LFP chemistries on a single production line, this pilot-scale process streamlines recycling, boosts versatility, and could lower capital expenditures. Using cylib’s lithium-rich effluent and Syensqo’s proprietary CYANEX® 936P solvent co-developed with Tenova Advanced Technologies the partners demonstrated an end-to-end workflow of extraction, purification, conversion, and crystallization that yields battery-grade lithium hydroxide meeting, and in some cases exceeding, top cathode‐active‐material specifications. This milestone also supports EU Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 targets, which mandate recovery of at least 50% of lithium from battery waste by 2027 and 80% by 2031. (Source: Syensqo)

Agilyx to Acquire 44% of Greendot Plastic Recycling Platform

Agilyx ASA has entered into a binding and fully financed agreement to acquire 44% of GreenDot Global S.à r.l. This transformative investment significantly strengthens Agilyx’s presence in the European market, creating a global platform for sourcing and supplying feedstock to the advanced recycling industry. GreenDot is the leading circular plastic recycling platform in Europe and the third-largest recycling company in Germany. Licensed across 29 countries, it is the most recognized recycling brand in Europe. GreenDot processes more than 1 million tons of packaging waste annually, including over 400,000 tons of plastic. The company is expanding its advanced recycling feedstock supply capabilities by investing in sorting facilities in Austria and Italy. For 2025, GreenDot’s operations are expected to generate approximately EUR400 million in total sales and double-digit EBITDA. (Source: Agilyx)

tozero Builds Commercial Demonstration Plant in Gendorf

The Munich-based DeepTech startup tozero is establishing a commercial demonstration plant for lithium-ion battery recycling at the GENDORF Chemical Park. The company recently signed a lease agreement for an existing building, which will be used to construct a demonstration facility. The new facility is expected to go into operation later this year. It will serve as the technological foundation for the commercial production planned for 2026. The unique feature of tozero’s chemical battery recycling process is the efficient recovery of high-purity lithium and graphite, which can then be reused in the manufacture of new battery cells. Unlike conventional recycling processes, which typically retain only metals such as copper or aluminum while losing other valuable substances, tozero’s approach enables the recovery and reuse of significantly more critical raw materials. (Source: tozero)

Freepoint Eco-Systems and Source One Agree to Enter into Long-Term Collaboration to Develop Pretreatment Infrastructure for Advanced Recycling of Plastic Waste

Freepoint Eco-Systems International Ltd and Source One GmbH have agreed to enter into a long-term collaboration agreement to develop multiple pretreatment facilities to treat plastic waste streams, such as post-consumer waste (PCR), to support the growth of pyrolysis infrastructure across Europe. Under the agreement, Freepoint Eco-Systems plans to build a network of pretreatment installations in key European markets, with Source One acting as the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor. These facilities will convert mixed plastic waste into high-quality feedstock suitable for both advanced and mechanical recycling. Source One has developed a high-standard pretreatment concept that has already been proven in commercial-scale operation to be capable of producing feedstock that meets the requirements of both pyrolysis and mechanical processing. Designed to handle complex waste streams, such as mixed plastic packaging and flexible films, the system reduces energy use and environmental impact and sets a benchmark for quality, operational efficiency, and compliance with evolving regulatory expectations. (Source: Freepoint Eco-Systems)

Trump Shocks Markets with Scaled-Back Copper Tariff

The United States will impose a 50% tariff on copper pipes and wiring, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, but details of the levy fell short of the sweeping restrictions expected and left out copper input materials such as ores, concentrates and cathodes. The surprise move dragged down US copper prices more than 17% on the Comex exchange and unwound a premium over the London global benchmark that had grown in recent weeks, with shipments diverted there in anticipation of higher domestic prices. “Markets are now busily repricing refined copper much lower after Trump’s epic backflip on his own import tariff policy,” said Tom Price, an analyst at the London brokerage Panmure Liberum. (Source: Bloomberg)

NAW Takes Legal Action Against Oregon’s Overreach on Recycling Mandate

The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors filed a lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and others in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon challenging the constitutionality of Oregon’ s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act. The Act creates an “extended producer responsibility” (EPR) program intended to encourage a circular economy and modernize the state’s recycling program. Unfortunately, as enacted the act misses the target and threatens the viability of the wholesale distribution industry nationwide – the cornerstone of America’s supply chain. NAW’s lawsuit alleges that with this law Oregon unconstitutionally: Delegates control over the EPR program, including the setting of fees wholesaler-distributors must pay to a private, third-party group (the Circular Action Alliance (CAA)), with a financial interest in the program without clear rules or oversight; Unfairly targets out-of-state producers, disrupts national markets, and tries to control business outside of Oregon—violating the U.S. Constitution’s limits on state regulation of interstate commerce; Mandates producers sign contracts with a single approved private organization (CAA) giving up their economic freedom and due process rights; Subjects producers to fees and rules set by CAA without a real chance to object or appeal or transparency in the process. (Source: NAW)