China Emerges as Dominant Primary Metal Producer

May 26, 2005 -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c18015) has announced the addition of The Economics of Magnesium Metal to their offering.

The price of magnesium metal has been in slow decline since 1995 and has only recently (late 2003) started to recover. World consumption in 2003 was of the order of 660,000t, a significant rise from 338,000t used in 1993. If substantial capacity expansion plans are realised and the period of price stability continues, world capacity for primary metal should be around 670,000tpy by the end of 2004.

There are two process technologies currently used commercially to produce primary metal; electrolysis of magnesium chloride and thermal reduction of magnesium carbonate ores with ferrosilicon. The conventional wisdom has been that thermal processes would gradually be replaced by electrolytic technology, however, in recent years there has been less incentive to invest in new electrolytic projects. In the early 1990s, around 76% of world capacity used an electrolytic process, while this figure had dropped to 54% in early 2003. Thermal technology is particularly well suited to use in a developing economy, as plant sizes are small, capital investment is low and the process is relatively labour intensive. In contrast electrolytic technology requires substantial capital investment, significant amounts of electric power and produces little waste. This trend is reflected in the number of sizeable electrolytic units in economically more developed countries that have been closed or idled and the remarkable increase in Chinese capacity. In 2003, Chinese primary production of magnesium was reported at almost 65% of the estimated world total, compared to less than 5% in 1994.

The key trends, issues and developments in the market are now analysed in 'The Economics of Magnesium Metal'. It provides a clear insight into all areas of the industry and an authoritative analysis of the prospects for the future.

Countries covered in the report include:
Argentina, Australia, Autria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Republic of Congo,Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine, UK, USA

Report Contents:
1.    Summary   
2.    Occurrence and properties of magnesium   
3.    Processes for producing magnesium metal   
4.    Production of magnesium metal   
5.    Production of magnesium metal and products by country and company   
6.    International trade in magnesium metal   
7.    World consumption of magnesium metal   
8.    Use of magnesium in aluminium alloys   
9.    Use of magnesium in magnesium alloys   
10.    Use of magnesium in metal reduction   
11.    Use of magnesium in desulphurisation
12.    Use of magnesium in electrochemical applications   
13.    Use of magnesium in chemicals   
14.    Use of magnesium in nodular cast iron   
15.    Use of magnesium in minor applications   
16.    Prices of magnesium metal   
17.    Antidumping and countervailing actions   

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c18015

Laura Wood
Senior Manager
Research and Markets
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China Emerges as Dominant Primary Metal Producer

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