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  • China's Antimony Curbs Expose U.S. Critical Mineral Supply Chain Vulner

    From ltlee1@21:1/5 to All on Sun Aug 25 13:54:06 2024
    "More than a year after China rattled the West by imposing export
    controls on gallium and germanium, two powerful chipmaking inputs,
    Beijing flexed its muscles again this month by announcing curbs on
    another key, yet often overlooked, metal: antimony.

    Antimony may seem like an obscure material, but it is vital in the
    defense industry, with critical uses in nuclear weapons, infrared
    missiles, and night-vision equipment. No country maintains as dominant a
    grip on the metal’s global trade as China, which accounts for nearly
    half of all production and more than 60 percent of U.S. imports.
    Beginning Sept. 15, Beijing will require exporters to apply for a
    license for certain antimony products as well as require permission for
    related smelting and separation technology exports.

    For Washington and its European partners, this latest move has only
    reinforced the importance of diversifying away from Chinese-dominated
    mineral supply chains. Yet it has also underscored an uncomfortable
    reality: No matter how eager Western powers are to slash their
    dependence on China, they will likely remain vulnerable to such measures
    in the immediate future, given the many challenges in securing
    alternative sources and the necessary financing.

    “Everyone knows that you can’t rely on China,” said Gracelin Baskaran,
    an expert in critical mineral security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank. But the
    United States is “caught in an impasse” between its political and
    national security interests and a challenging market environment,
    including whipsawing commodity prices and high capital costs, she said."

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From ltlee1@21:1/5 to All on Sun Sep 22 17:28:49 2024
    "A supply shortage has triggered the steepest rally in price “ever recorded” in the global antimony market since April, according to
    FastMarkets who began recording prices from January 1980.

    In May, prices reached US$17,588.88 per metric ton of antimony ingot, up
    54% in 2024, according to the Shanghai Metals Exchange; prices in Europe reached US$22,700 a ton on June 14, up more than 75% on 2023.

    And now China has announced it will impose export limits on antimony
    because of “national security.”

    The reason: an extreme shortage of supply from China, Russia, and south
    east Asia, while demand from solar power soars.

    “Antimony is becoming a crazy dangerous market… It is hurting the
    industry, causing irreparable damage” — a trader told Argus, noting that consumers are getting hit by the higher prices and reduced availability
    ..
    Supply
    China

    Total global antimony mine production in 2023 was approximately 83,000
    tonnes. The largest producer, by far, is China — but this is steadily decreasing.

    in 2000, China produced 100,000 tonnes, out of a global total of
    121,000 tonnes
    in 2024, China produces 40,000 tonnes, out of a total of 83,000
    tonnes

    Not only is China’s percentage falling, but supply elsewhere is not
    acting as a substitute for the fall in China production."

    https://theoregongroup.com/energy-transition/market-trends/why-are-antimony-prices-exploding/

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)