![]() “China’s Green Shied strategy should continue to restrict antimony processing and mine supply as its government continues to clean up the environmental damage done in recent years,” says Meyer. Future outlookĪlthough mining antimony is cheaper in China because of labour costs and the typically large deposits, the trend in declining production is set to endure. The plant is being built with superior environmental performance, according to SPMP.īased on a long-term antimony price of $8,500 a ton, the company estimates that the net present value of the project is around $279m. “Tristar has always planned to bring new antimony production relatively slowly to avoid much market disruption.”įurthermore, an increasing worldwide focus on the traceability and environmental sustainability of raw materials may provide Oman-sourced antimony supply a “distinctive opportunity to establish a unique identity within the supply chain,” says Meyer. “TriStar’s Oman plant would normally have the potential to disrupt the antimony market but plant closures in China in recent years may create sufficient space for TriStar’s new antimony production,” he adds. Producers around the world will likely make supply available when required to diversify their sales, he says. However, John Meyer, a partner at SP Angel, which acts as nominated advisor and broker to Tri-Star Resources, notes that there are above ground stocks of gold with antimony, which should be suitable for processing. “It is that capacity that TriStar is looking to compete for,” he adds. Polyus’ Olimpiada mine in Russia, for example, which produces antimony as a by-product, supplies around 20,000 tons of the ore to China, according to Backeberg. Nevertheless, the most significant producers – Russia, Australia and Tajikistan – send their ore straight to China. There are around 140 antimony projects across the globe, according to TriStar-sponsored Antimony World map. “Up until now the project has not secured consistent feed stock to keep it going though it has some available, it is as yet unclear where the long-term supply will come from,” he adds. ![]() “The problem is it needs to find supply for the roaster to operate,” says Backeberg. While Backeberg doesn’t think the project is going to ‘rock the boat’ for the antimony market because it is only an intermediary step, it does, however, offer a significant supply of non-Chinese antimony products. The project, which is said to be the first antimony roaster to be built outside of China in the last 30 years, is 40% owned by TriStar (through its stake in SPMP), DNR Industries, which is part of Dubai-based Dutco Group (20%), and the Oman Investment Fund (OIF), a sovereign wealth fund of the Sultanate of Oman (40%). This represents approximately 12% of the average annual world antimony production over the past five years, according to SPMP. ![]() However, the new roaster plant being built in Oman, according to the company in charge of the project, Strategic and Precious Metal Processing (SPMP), will have a capacity of 20,000 tonnes of antimony and gold per year in combined metal products. This entire processing capacity is predominantly located in China. Once mined, antimony ore needs to be processed into metal ingots, which are then used to produce antimony trioxide for flame retardants. As such, Backeberg predicts a 2% growth in the market moving forward. Therefore, where there is a drive to increase fire safety there is a potential increase in demand. However, the commodity is still generally considered to be the most cost-effective and best performing fire retardant product on the market. ![]() The decline is due, in part, to a trend for replacing antimony with tin in new lead-acid batteries, as well as some changes in flame retardant regulation that has shifted the industry away from antimony. Introducing the Excellence Awards & Rankings 2022.Non-Metallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying.
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