FerroAlloyNet 7th International Titanium & zircon Product Summit –Keynote Speech
Date: Oct 29, 2018
www.ferroalloynet.com: Zhanjiang is surrounded by the sea on three sides, with the mainland coastline of 1243.7 kilometers, accounting for 30.2 percent of Guangdong province, ranking first among prefecture-level cities in China. As one of the main import ports of zirconium and titanium, Zhanjiang port will have a higher proportion of the whole zirconium and titanium industry in the future with the increasing import quantity.
Looking back the first half of 2018, domestic titanium market did not have any changes. In Q1 2018, the overall market for ilmenite and zircon were not bad even with upward for some companies are active to restore after the Spring Festival. However, the market turned to be weak in the Q2 of 2018 due to strict China EIA therefore the titanium concentrate price declined perpendicularly and downstream price also got down a lot. However, thanks to the strong demands, the price for ticl4 and titanium sponge kept rising.
Compared with the weak ilmenite market, the whole zircon market was relatively good in the first half of 2018. The zircon sand prices kept upward going until June. The cost was high so the price of zirconium silicate and zirconium oxychloride both increased some. However, due to tighter and tighter environmental inspection, the operating rate of the end of zircon industries were always low so the demand for zircon products was weak and then it affect the prices some, such as zirconium silicate and zirconium oxychloride. However, it will change next year as what we expected? And will Trade War between US and China affect the ceramic market?
