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.
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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.
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"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.
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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.
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"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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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