March 31^st, 2025

Raw material supply: 

The ore control policies and supply-demand situation have not changed much compared to last month, and the prices of raw materials are mostly stable or slightly increased for some certain specifications.

 

Due to mining restrictions, mine owners prefer to use their quotas to extract high-grade ore, which they can sell at higher prices for the same output, making it more difficult to buy lower-grade ore (e.g. ore for calcining 70%-85% CCM).

 

On the other hand, particularly high-grade ore (for producing CCM purity over 92%) remains short, because mine owners cannot extract as much ore as before to select enough high-grade ore out of it.

 

The most stable supply currently is CCM 88% - 90% powder.

 

Capacity replacement:

 

There has not been much progress in this month. Enterprises that have completed the replacement procedures are considering what kind of kiln to install, but have not yet stopped using old kilns or started building new ones. in the short term, it is expected that supply and demand will not be affected much yet.

 

Energy supply:

 

Starting in March, the cost standards for industrial electricity in Liaoning province were adjusted, the previous the "peak-valley-flat" mode (where off-peak electricity is cheaper) is ended and applying flat electricity rate throughout the day. This has increased the energy costs for manufacturers of Fused Magnesia who mainly use electricity energy for production, leading to an increase of about CNY300-500/ton in finished Fused Magnesia price.

 

It has less impact on CCM though, as in CCM production it’s mainly gas and coal used as energy.

 

And speaking of coal, since the beginning of March, as the heating season in Northern China gradually comes to an end, the overall demand for coal has decreased, causing a decrease in coal prices - about CNY60/ton. Calculating that calcining 1 ton of CCM requires 3 tons of coal, the energy cost is reduced by CNY20/ton (about USD3/ ton). 

 

Considering that ore costs also float, we can only say that the overall price level of finished CCM products has slightly decreased (for stably supplied purity) or remained unchanged (for short supplied purity).

 

Government inspection:

 

Last month news said the government inspection team will visit Dashiqiao city in mid-to-late March, now it’s said their schedule has been postponed to 2nd half of April or even May. 

 

Before their visit, the production and supply will stay stable.

 

Price trend:

 

In general, finished product price of CCM 85%/87%/90% remains stable, and price for some specifications of general applications can reduce for about USD3/ton. 

 

In the short term, this trend will continue for some time.