〔Overnight Brief〕Copper Hits Record, ETF Up ~20% in August, Shanghai Zinc Slides 1.02% — LME Supply Tightness vs Andes Cross-Border Revival

1. Overnight Session: Copper Record, Shanghai Mixed

• **[NEW] Copper record:** Copper hit a fresh record, with one ETF tracking the metal up nearly 20% in August and on pace for its best month on record ^[1].
• **[NEW] Shanghai night session:** International copper rose 0.22%, Shanghai copper rose 0.18%, Shanghai aluminum rose 0.52%, Shanghai lead rose 1.02%, Shanghai tin rose 0.39%, while Shanghai zinc fell 1.02%, Shanghai nickel fell 0.40%, stainless steel fell 0.99%, alumina rose 0.08%, and aluminum alloy fell 0.13% ^[2].
• **[ONGOING] Zinc pullback:** Zinc slipped from the highest level in more than four years, tracking losses in other metals, with traders monitoring LME supply tightness ^[3].

2. Supply Signals: LME Tightness and Tin's New Baseline

• **[NEW] LME supply tightness:** LME spreads point to tighter supply, even as zinc eases from the four-year high ^[3].
• **[NEW] Tin LCA:** The International Tin Association published an updated Life Cycle Assessment baseline, completed with 100% participation from member companies representing approximately 51% of global refined tin production, using 2024 as the reference year ^[4]. The study is the second industry-wide LCA undertaken by ITA, updating the industry's previous baseline ^[4].

3. Corporate and Policy: Tianqi Lithium's Surge, Andes Framework

• **[NEW] Tianqi Lithium:** Tianqi Lithium reported H1 2026 revenue of 12.242 billion yuan, up 153.32% year-on-year, and net profit of 4.242 billion yuan, up 4925.46% year-on-year ^[5].
• **[NEW] Andes framework:** Argentina and Chile are reviving a cross-border mining framework aimed at unlocking billions in investment, allowing companies to share infrastructure and resources across the Andes ^[6].

4. Bauxite's Cost Battle

• **[NEW] Bauxite cost battle:** In bauxite, high freight costs are intensifying the cost game, with the bid-ask spread widening; the open question is whether spot trading can break through ^[7]. This item comes from a headline-only briefing dispatch, so treat it as thin sourcing ^[7].