Manganese flake production cost keeps firm

Participants reported to Asian Metal that manganese flake price went down to about RMB14,800-15,000/t (USD2,167-2,196/t) ex works last week, and however manganese production cost keeps firm these days. As manganese ore price and vitriol price keeps high, smelters are reluctant to sell.

A manganese flake smelter in Hubei, with an output of about 1,600tpm, revealed to Asian Metal that manganese flake price went down to about RMB14,800-14,900/t (USD2,167-2,182/t) ex works, and if the price continues to decrease to below RMB14,800/t (USD2,167/t) ex works, some smelters who depend on buying manganese ore have to halt production for negative profit, with the firm production cost.

"I singed an order of about 300t of manganese flake at RMB14,900/t (USD2,182/t) ex works last Friday, and most consumers are still holding a hesitant attitude about the future market. I think there is not much room for the price to decrease," said the source. Putting the export offer at RMB2,850/t FOB, he does not make any export deals these days.

Another manganese flake smelter in Chongqing, with an output of 900tpm, reported to Asian Metal that he sold about 300t manganese flake at RMB14,900/t (USD2,182/t) ex works to both steel mills and a trader last Thursday, and current manganese price is about RMB14,800-15,000/t (USD2,167-2,196/t) ex works. "Some smelters sell at RMB14,800/t (USD2,167/t) ex works to return the capital quickly, but most smelters are reluctant to sell at this price," said the source.

While manganese ore and vitriol price keeps high, and selenium dioxide price is about RMB500/kg (USD73.21/kg), manganese production cost still keeps firm, reported the source, thinking the price does not decrease continuously.

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Electrolytic manganese flakes suppliers optimistic about the market

Participants reported to Asian Metal that electrolytic manganese dioxide producers hold an optimistic attitude about the future market, while the production cost increased, and producers think electrolytic manganese dioxide price will rise a bit. Some producers want to raise the price in April.

A Hunan-based electrolytic manganese dioxide producer, with a capacity of about 12,000tpy, revealed to Asian Metal that price of electrolytic manganese dioxide used in alkaline battery grade is about RMB10,500-11,000/t (USD1,537-1,611/t) ex works and he made some deals at RMB10,500/t (USD1,537/t) ex works these two days. The source wants to raise the price to about RMB11,200/t (USD1,640/t) ex works early next month.

According to the source, manganese ore and vitriol price goes up these days, and the production cost of electrolytic manganese dioxide increases. The source thinks electrolytic manganese dioxide price will go up in the near future.

Another Hunan-based electrolytic manganese dioxide producer, with a capacity of about 12,000tpy, revealed to Asian Metal that the price of electrolytic manganese dioxide used in alkaline battery grade is about RMB11,000/t (USD1,611/t) ex works. He will expand a new project with a capacity of about 15,000tpy and it will be in operation late this year.

The source supplies regular volume of electrolytic manganese dioxide for battery consumers in domestic market, and the demand is relatively stable. However, the demand from foreign market is weak and no deals are concluded these days.

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Antimony price sees slight increase in the US market

Antimony traders in the US market state that antimony prices are on the rising gradually as the tight-availability of material continues pestering would-be buyers. Market participants have received increased offers in the range of USD7,200-7,300/t CIF US ports this week for antimony metal grade II. They expect to see a gradual increase in prices over the next few days.


A large trader based in New York shared with Asian Metal that he finalized a purchase for a container of antimony metal 99.65%min early on Monday at USD7,300/t CIF Baltimore for delivery in mid-April.


"It took a while to finalize this deal as prices are very likely to increase for the rest of the year as a result of the limit on [antimony] mining quota recently imposed by the Chinese government."


Another trader based also in New York agreed that the offers for antimony metal are increasing in the international market "I am making inquiries for a couple of  10t purchases this week for potential April and have so far received offers close to USD7,300/t CIF US."


Both traders mentioned the tight-availability of material available for April as major setback in concluding deals at this time.

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Hsikwangshan Twinkling Star Co., Ltd

Hsikwangshan Twinkling Star Co., Ltd.(HTS)is a large 
comprehensive enterprise integrated with mining, dressing, smelting, 
chemical industry production and scientific research, the biggest  factory for producing antimony products, the cradle of the country antimony industry, and the major exporting base area of antimony products. The company owns two mines, four smelters, one technology center and one inspection and measure center. Its annual production capacity is 55,000 metric tons of ores, 40,000 metric tons of antimony products and 40,000 metric tons of zinc ingots. It is famous all over the world for its rich anti-mony reserves and antimony products, and has been titled beautiful name "World Antimony Capital" for a long time. 
    Since the commencement of the mining in 1897, Hiskwangshan has had 
antimony industry for more than one hundred years of history, and 
accumulated abundant antimony production experience. The antimony 
products have good quality and various specifications, of which over 90% 
are exported far away to more than 50 countries and regions such as Japan,America, Europe, and are famous domestic and overseas. The products have won the National Silver Medal for many times. The product trademark "Twinkling Star" brand has been appraised as famous trademark for many times. The quality management system has obtained ISO9002 series quality Certification.
    At present, of its over 7000 employees, more than 800 are the 
different kinds of specialized technical personnel. So HTS can keep  ahead in the production and scientific research field of antimony industry in the country. The related standards of antimony quality and chemical analysis methods were drawn up by the company under the government s accreditation.With antimony uses incercreasingly extending, other than keeping on producing antimony ingots, antimony trioxide, antimony sulfide, etc., traditional products with high grade, the company has been researched and developed wide antimony series such as sodium antimonate, dust-free antimony trioxide, antimony pentoxide,
golden yellow antimony, antimony series flame-retardant masterbatch. 
Especially the antimony oxide line with high technology that was put into production in 2002 and listed as one of the national "Double High & One Top"items introduced computer control, and practiced lots of scientific payoffs developed in donkey's years, therefore, all kinds of chemical indexes and physical characters of the products are more stable and the outside package improved visibly. Now they could completely meet the requirements of all kinds of customers.
    In order to keep up with the market changes and enhance economic benefit, while focusing on producing antimony products, the company has been actively developing other products. Presently, it has established several product lines with the annual production capacity of 10,000 metric tons of chlor-alkali, 5000 metric tons of hydrogen peroxide, 40,000 metric tons of zinc ingots, and 70,000 metric tons of sulfuric acid, zinc sulfate, indium metal, cadmium metal, etc.. A new pattern, of which antimony production is the major but coexisting with other production, has taken shape and sufficiently shows the obvious  advantages and large potential of "World Antimony Capital."
    There is only one "Antimony Capital"around the world, and "Antimony Capital" will be worthy of its name. "Twinkling Star" is a symbol of high quality, and satisfying all reasonable requirements of the customers is Hsikwangshan' s aim.We will provide favorable service and cooperate sincerely with the domestic and overseas customers with reciprocity.

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Manganese metals flakes offers rise quickly in Europe

Manganese market gradually improves while buyers return to the market to replenish some stocks or place some orders. Sources reported that many suppliers raise their offers very quickly but buyers are unwilling to accept a price above USD2,900/t in warehouse Rotterdam.
Asianmetal(English) http://www.asianmetal.com DB58
A European trader reported to Asian Metal that manganese price follows after the price in China goes up and the current offer is above USD2,900/t CIF Rotterdam while suppliers have raised their prices to about USD3,000/t for prompt delivery, up from about USD2,850/t late last month. The source feels suppliers are optimistic about the future market as they think manganese supply stays low and more buyers would start to replenish stocks.
Asianmetal(English) http://www.asianmetal.com M773
"However, there is not much good news from the demand side for the moment while consumers only purchase in small quantities and feel not ready to accept the current high price," said the source. Meanwhile, the supply expects manganese supply to improve and this would hinder the price from going up further in both Chinese and European market.
Asianmetal(English) http://www.asianmetal.com 3112
A supplier who holds some stocks of manganese flake and briquette in warehouse Rotterdam told Asian Metal that as manganese price goes up in China, the price in Europe also rises. The source increases their offer to about USD3,000/t for manganese flakes for prompt delivery and USD2,600/t for manganese briquette while one week ago, the offer is about USD2,900/t and USD2,550/t respectively.
Asianmetal(English) http://www.asianmetal.com HON0
"There was a deal made at USD2,550/t for manganese briquette last week and more buyers would start to replenish some stocks for the coming months," believed the source, who feels optimistic about manganese market this month.

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Antimony price firm in Asian market

Antimony ingot and antimony trioxide prices remain firm in Asian market. Participants believe that antimony products prices will continue to hold steady or climb up slightly in the following few weeks owing to tight supply and expected warming demand.
Asianmetal(English) http://www.asianmetal.com 5JR4
A South Korean trader reported to Asian Metal that prices of both antimony ingot and antimony trioxide remain firm on tight supply. Although demand is still not strong, it is much better than it was in the same period of last year. Additionally, not much material is coming from China because many producers are just back from the Chinese New Year holiday.
Asianmetal(English) http://www.asianmetal.com 9CVA
The source usually trade one container of antimony ingot every month and also deals in antimony trioxide on request. "We were buying one container of antimony ingot 99.65%min for a consumer in alloy industry late February and received an offer of USD6,400/t CIF Busan for the material at that time, but unfortunately, we lost the deal. It is still not easy to get an offer of antimony ingot now because we were told that supply in China is still very tight," said the source, adding that offers he learnt in the market are USD30-50/t higher than those two weeks ago. "We know it very well that this cheap material is coming from some Hong Kong or Vietnam who trade smuggled material, because some other Chinese traders claimed that they would suffer a loss if they sell at below USD6,900/t FOB China," said the source.
Asianmetal(English) http://www.asianmetal.com V4F8
A Japanese trader confirmed the wide-ranged offers of antimony ingot. Some major Chinese suppliers offered as high as USD7,000/t FOB China while deals are being reported at USD6,500-6,600/t CIF Japan for the material. Due to the difficulty in dealing in antimony ingot business, the source is concentrating in antimony trioxide sales. According to the source, offers for antimony trioxide 99.5%min are in a range of USD6,000-6,300/t CIF Japan. "The demand is not good now because it is the end of the financial year, but I think we will see more buying from April," said the source, predicting that antimony ingot and antimony trioxide price will keep firm in the short term.
Asianmetal(English) http://www.asianmetal.com 7X67
An Indonesia buyer who uses 10tpm of antimony trioxide for chemicals production reported an increase in offer. The source revealed that the last purchase was concluded at around USD6,200/t CIF Jakarta for February shipment but offers for April shipmen are around USD200/t higher. The source is confused about the price increase because demand has not changed. "It is a seller's market, anyway," said the source.

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Supply Antimony Trioxide Twinkling Star Brand in regular

We are able to offer the following Antimony Trioxide Twinkling Star Brand price from Hsikwangshan Twinkling Star
Origin: China
Quantity (MT): 40-100mt in regular
FOB Price: USD6150/MT
Loading Port: Huangpu,port,China.
Specifications:
SB2O3: 99.5% min,PB: 0.1% max,AS: 0.06% max,FE: 0.06% max,CU: 0.06% max,SE: 0.005%max
Size: 0,5-0.9um
Packing: 25kg,500kg,1000kg bags of 1MT each
Date Posted: 11th,March,2010
Price and availability subject to confirmation. This price quoted supersedes all previous prices.
CNF prices also available,please email us for further details:samjiefu@gmai.com

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Magnesium ingot price rises slightly in Russia

More magnesium ingot buyers enter the market in Russia to make purchases, so suppliers raise offers accordingly. The price of magnesium ingot slightly rises to RUB110-115/kg (USD3,666-3,833/t) in the spot market, up by around RUB5/kg (USD166/t) compared with that of two weeks ago.

A trader in Russia purchased 20t of magnesium ingot last weekend at around RUB110/kg (USD3,666/t), which is RUB5/kg (USD166/t) higher that that of last month. "Most traders do not have many stocks in hand, and with more consumers back to the market, suppliers increase offers," said the source.

The source plans to purchase another 20t of magnesium ingot this week. "We received more inquiries from cosumers recently, and our trading volume is expected to increase to some extent compared to last year," said the source. According to the source, Russian magnesium ingot producers usually export the material to Europe and other countries by long-term contracts, and only a small portion of the output is sold in the spot market. As demand increases mildly in Russia, many suppliers have raised offers. The source said that the mainstream ingot price is at around RUB110/kg (USD3,666/t) in the spot market at the moment, up by around RUB5/kg (USD166/t) compared to two weeks ago.

Another trader in Russia confirmed that the local magnesium ingot market becomes more active, and some suppliers raised offers recently. "The mainstream offers we received late last week were at around RUB115/kg (USD3,833/t), RUB5/kg (USD166/t) higher than what we got early last week," said the source.

The source revealed that although most buyers are cautious about purchasing, the price is likely to go up in the short term.

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Ferromolybdenum traders waiting for price up

Russian ferromolybdenum market is stable, and some traders with stocks in hand waiting for the price rising further.
Asianmetal(English) http://www.asianmetal.com WL70
A trader in Russia who has 20t of ferromolybdenum 60% in hand, reported to Asian Metal that supported by the rising price in Europea, some suppliers increase offers, and now the price of ferromolybdenum 60% has risen to around USD38/kg in the spot market.
Asianmetal(English) http://www.asianmetal.com 118P
The source does not offer, nor does he sells. "I heard that there are some deals of ferromolybdenum 60% concluded at more than USD40/kg in European market, and Russian market is usually slower than European market, so we think that the price of ferromolybdenum 60% may rise in the near future. Therefore, we are not eager to sell," said the source.
Asianmetal(English) http://www.asianmetal.com 052L
The source believes supported by rising price in Europe, some local consumers may enter the market to replenish stocks actively, and suppliers who do not have many stocks raise offers, so the price is rising. "I think the price may rise to USD40-42/kg ," said the source.
Asianmetal(English) http://www.asianmetal.com ZYR2
Another trader in Russia also revealed that the price may increase. "I heard that most deals of ferromolybdenum 60% concluded at around USD35/kg two weeks ago, but it has risen to USD37-38/kg recently," said the source, who believes that the future market is promising, and the price may keep rising.

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Manganese flake price continues to rise

Participants disclosed to Asian Metal that manganese flake price continues to rise a bit to about RMB14,900-15,000/t (USD2,182-2,196/t) ex works in domestic market, after the price went up a bit late last week. There are no export deals of manganese flake after the holiday, though inquiries from overseas market increased a bit.

EGYD21

A manganese flake smelter in Hubei, with an output of about 4,800tpm, confirmed to Asian Metal that domestic manganese flake price continues to rise a bit to about RMB14,900-15,000/t (USD2,167-2,182/t) ex works, from RMB14,800-14,900/t (USD2,167-2,182/t) ex works late last week. "I don't sell at below RMB14,900/t (USD2,182/t) ex works, and big sized steel mills will start the tenders early this month," said the source.

R5C6L3

With the world economy improving, inquiries for manganese flake from overseas market increases a bit, reported the source, putting the export offer at about USD2,820/t FOB. However, foreign customers are still hesitant to buy for now, and no new export deals are concluded after the holiday.

HT8KRO

Another manganese flake smelter in Guizhou province, with an output of 2,000tpm, told Asian Metal that mainstream manganese flake price increased to RMB14,900-15,000/t (USD2,167-2,182/t) ex works, from RMB14,800-14,900/t (USD2,167-2,182/t) ex works late last week, but he managed to make a deal of 100t at RMB15,100/t (USD2,211/t) ex works last Friday, although the domestic market has not been active yet.

0T3H87

According to the source, no export deals are concluded, with the export offer of about USD2,835/t FOB for manganese flake. For the moment, the demand from overseas market has not recovered yet, and it is impossible to concluded a deal at USD2,850/t FOB.

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Chile Restarts Top Copper Mines Hit by Quake

SANTIAGO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Chile's biggest copper mines hit by a massive earthquake slowly resumed operations on Sunday despite limited power supplies, which analysts fear could curtail exports from the world's No. 1 producer.

Ricardo Alvarez, manager at Chile's fourth largest mine, El Teniente, which accounts for more than 7 percent of national output, told Reuters the recovery pace of output would depend on the supply of electricity, which was partial.

"As they (the regional grid) allow us to use more power we will resume other operations," he said, adding that those operations included the concentrator and Caletones smelter.

Alvarez said the mine could slow the extraction of minerals if power supply lags.

Copper prices surged in early trading on Monday due to supply worries caused by the earthquake in Chile, jumping 5.6 percent on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3. 

The quake killed more than 700 people and had forced Codelco to shut the El Teniente complex as well as its Andina copper mine.

Production resumed at the Anglo-American (AAL.L) Los Bronces copper mine, union leader Eduardo Rocco told Reuters. He said he did not know whether the company's El Soldado mine had resumed operations.

An Anglo American spokesman said on Saturday there were no initial reports of major damage at the two mines, which together produce some 280,000 tonnes a year. 

Alvarez said earlier facilities were undamaged in the 8.8 magnitude quake on Saturday and that roads to the exporting port of San Antonio were in good condition.

The century-old, 400,000 tonne per year El Teniente is the world's biggest underground copper mine.

Another Codelco official said the nearby 210,000 tonne Andina mine was likely to resume operations by day's end.

The biggest mines in Chile, which produces a third of the world's copper, are about 1,000 km (600 miles) to the north and were spared any damage, but analysts feared that supply disruptions from the mid-sized deposits nearer the capital, Santiago, would be enough to stoke prices.

"While it appears that a modest proportion of production has been halted, the major impact may come from the disruption on deliveries from the mines and from the disruption of power supplies to the mines," said Citi analyst David Thurtell.

A Codelco spokeswoman downplayed the impact on infrastructure, saying most of the road destruction was south of both mines and that she drove from a beach near the San Antonio port to near El Teniente.

Both of Chile's main oil refineries were shut after sustaining damage in the quake, state oil company ENAP said, adding that it would import diesel to meet demand. Prolonged power outages could significantly increase demand for liquid fuel to help keep the mines operating.

The central copper-exporting port of San Antonio was shut down, but the major northern ports of Antofagasta and Mejillones were unaffected.

Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc (FCX.N) said the quake did not damage its two mines, but it is facing a power outage at its Candelaria mine, which will result in a temporary shutdown.

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