CM Group

What CM Group does

CM Group is a privately owned, independent commodity research and advisory firm founded in 1999 and headquartered in Adelaide, Australia, with a Beijing representative office led by Chief Representative Officer Dan Lou. The firm specialises in non-ferrous metals market intelligence, with recognised world-leadership positions in the global bauxite and magnesium markets, and additional coverage spanning alumina, primary aluminium, tungsten, nickel (NPI), scandium, and China-centric industries including electric vehicles, graphite, zinc, molybdenum and tin. Its client base consists of sophisticated professional and institutional investors, world-leading mining and project management companies, and investment firms requiring authoritative bottom-up analysis of opaque commodity markets.

The company operates an integrated research platform built on three service pillars: Advisory (tailored consulting), Field Work (targeted on-the-ground primary research), and Regular Publications (daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly reports). Its technical foundation centres on the proprietary CBIX ViU-adjusted Bauxite Price Index — a Value-in-Use assessment methodology benchmarked at thebauxiteindex.com — and on China-specific databases refined over nearly two decades, supported by approximately 10 FTEs in China who collect and analyse bauxite and alumina data daily and leverage established "guanxi" across the global aluminium community. The product catalogue includes the China Bauxite Market Monthly Update, the Global Bauxite & Alumina Quarterly Update, a monthly magnesium market review, multi-year outlook reports (e.g., Global Primary Magnesium to 2035, Global Scandium to 2031), and the flagship China's Aluminium Value Chain Map.

CM Group monetises through a mix of one-time report licences, professional services advisory engagements, recurring subscriptions to regular publications, and bespoke field work projects. Distribution is direct via its website and contact-led sales targeting enterprise and institutional clients; pricing is not publicly disclosed and reports require direct enquiry. The firm is privately held under the legal entity "The CM Group," governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia, with no external funding rounds, parent company, M&A activity, partnerships or compliance certifications disclosed in the source material.

Name

CM Group

Legal name

The CM Group

Website

https://cmgroup.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CM Group is a privately owned, independent commodity research and advisory firm founded in 1999 and headquartered in Adelaide, Australia. It specialises in non-ferrous metals intelligence — particularly bauxite, alumina, aluminium, magnesium, tungsten and scandium — serving sophisticated institutional investors, mining companies, and project management firms globally, with deep China expertise anchored by a Beijing office and its proprietary CBIX price index.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Glenelg

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Research Reports: CM publishes commodity research reports on various metals industries including bauxite, alumina, aluminium, magnesium, tungsten, nickel, scandium and others. Reports are available for purchase and include comprehensive market analysis, outlook reports, and industry maps.
2. Advisory Services: Essential analysis and tailored delivery. CM works closely with each client to tailor deliverables for seamless integration into existing systems or into larger projects or analytical frameworks.
3. Regular Publications: CM offers a concise range of regular publications designed to service specific industry needs, on a daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly basis. These include China Bauxite Market Monthly Update and Global Bauxite & Alumina Quarterly Update publications.
4. Field Work Services: CM conducts targeted and precise field studies leveraging their industry networks and 'guanxi' (network) across the global aluminium community. Field work is part of their primary research capability.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

CM Group is an independent commodity research company providing advisory services, field work, and regular publications covering global non-ferrous metals markets including bauxite, alumina, aluminium, magnesium, tungsten, nickel, scandium, and China-centric industries. The firm sells tailored consulting deliverables, periodic market reports (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly), and specialized long-form research reports such as the CBIX ViU-adjusted Bauxite Price Index and China's Aluminium Value Chain Map.

Product overview

CM Group is a privately owned, independent, global commodity research company specializing across base metals, minor metals, and minerals industries. The company operates as a single integrated research platform with three core service pillars: Advisory Services (tailored consulting engagements), Field Work (primary on-the-ground research), and Regular Publications (periodic market reports). The product portfolio centers on CM's proprietary CBIX ViU-adjusted bauxite price index and encompasses a range of specialized research reports covering the global aluminium value chain (bauxite, alumina, primary aluminium), magnesium, tungsten, nickel, scandium, and China-centric industries including electric vehicles and graphite. CM's reports are distributed through direct client engagement and include periodic publications such as the China Bauxite Market Monthly Update and Global Bauxite & Alumina Quarterly Update, alongside ad-hoc research reports targeting specific commodity markets or regions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CBIX (CM Bauxite Price Index) Proprietary bauxite price index providing Value-in-Use (ViU) adjusted price assessments for the global bauxite market, used by mining companies, traders, and institutional investors as a benchmark.
• Advisory Services

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Wood Mackenzie: Global commercial research and consultancy covering energy, renewables, and metals supply chains. Comparable to CM because it sells subscription commodity research and advisory to mining companies and investors, though at vastly larger scale and broader scope than CM's bauxite/aluminium focus.
• CRU Group: Privately held commodity research and consultancy business covering mining, metals, fertilizers, and battery materials. Comparable business model (subscription research + bespoke advisory) and overlapping aluminium/bauxite coverage, but with a much wider commodity portfolio than CM.
• Argus Media: Global price reporting agency and commodity intelligence provider across energy and metals. Directly comparable because Argus publishes benchmark prices (analogous to CM's CBIX index) and subscription reports covering alumina, aluminium and minor metals.
• Fastmarkets (formerly Metal Bulletin): Price reporting agency and metals intelligence platform serving the global metals and mining industry. Comparable to CM as a competitor publishing benchmark prices and subscription research across aluminium, bauxite, alumina, and minor metals.
• S&P Global Commodity Insights (Platts): Division of S&P Global publishing benchmark commodity prices (Platts) and analytics across energy, metals, and agriculture. Comparable in that it monetizes proprietary price assessments and subscription research that compete directly with CM's CBIX and bauxite/alumina publications.

Emerging players

• Benchmark Mineral Intelligence: Specialist price reporting and intelligence firm focused on lithium, battery raw materials, and EV supply chains. Comparable to CM because it uses proprietary methodology and primary research to publish benchmark prices in a narrow commodity vertical.
• Adamas Intelligence: Research and advisory firm focused on EV materials, battery metals, and rare earths. Comparable niche commodity research model and primary data approach, though focused on battery materials rather than bauxite/aluminium.

Regional players

• Shanghai Metals Market (SMM): China-based commodity information platform covering non-ferrous metals including aluminium, alumina, and minor metals. Comparable as a primary source of Chinese metals market data and prices, directly overlapping CM's bauxite/alumina China research franchise.
• Asian Metal: China-rooted information service publishing daily prices and market reports across non-ferrous metals. Comparable in offering subscription pricing data and research on overlapping metals including aluminium, magnesium, tungsten, and scandium.
• Mysteel: China-based commodity pricing and intelligence platform with deep coverage of steel, iron ore, and non-ferrous metals. Comparable in business model (subscription benchmark prices plus research) and in being a primary Chinese source for the same commodities CM covers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cmgroup-net

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CM Group