Antimony ingot market quiet but suppliers optimistic

Chinese suppliers raised their offers for antimony metal early this week but received no response from foreign buyers. However, most Chinese industry insiders are optimistic about the future market.

“I believe the prices will inevitably go up in the following weeks,” said a Hunan based smelter. According to him, the antimony ore production has been blocked due to the current safety checks following the mine accident earlier this month in Hunan province.

“Several antimony mines which do not conform to the safety requirements have been closed,” said a second Hunan based smelter, worrying that the small antimony mine of the company will be closed soon.

Meanwhile, as the Hunan government announced, to protect the resources and environment, all the 6,671 mines in Hunan, including coal, antimony, tungsten, tin and gold mines, will be reduced to less than 6,000 before the end of 2007.

“That is to say, the supply of antimony ore will be reduced considerably in the future. Then, the prices are likely to go up even if foreign buyers are reluctant to purchase,” said a third Hunan based smelter.

At the moment, the quotations for antimony are at Rmb39,200-40,200/tonne ($5,012-5,140/tonne) in the domestic market smelters reported.

“Over the past two days, most foreign buyers refused to accept the increased offers of $5,250-5,350/tonne FOB. But once the rumour that the Chinese government will impose an export tax on antimony becomes true, the export prices will inevitably soar up,” said a Guangdong based trader.

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