Flooding hits China’s W mining

The
heavy rains and flooding in Jiangxi province have disrupted tungsten ore
mining, sources said. The result has been that suppliers holding ore have
become reluctant sellers.  They are
certain that the flooding will continue to affect output for several weeks and
that prices will rise over time. 
Roughly 40% of Olina’s tungsten concentrateoutput comes from Jiangxi
province.. China’s licensed mines produced 40,369 mt of W03 in concentrates in
the first five months of the year, up maIginally from production in the same
period of 2009. Production in Jiangxi province fell 25% in the January- May
period compared to the year-ago period to 14,935mt of W03.ln May alone, anna’s
ore prodUdion was 11,038mt of W03′ up II% compared to May 2009.

Currently concentrate prices
have finned to $188-193 per mtu compared to $186-191. Surprisingly APf and FeW
prices have not risen with the concentrate inaeases. APf is quoted at $232-237
per mm, f.o.b. and fenotungsten is at $31.~32.50 per kg, f.o.b. OUna’s APr
exports rose to 630 mt in May compared to 392 mt in April and 83 mt in May
2009. Through May, AJ7f exports were 2,052 mt vs. 726 mt in the same 2009
period.

Exports were: 830 mt (247 mt in the first five months of
2009) to Rotterdam; 651 mt (214 mt) to Japan and 514 mt (262 mt) to the US.
Chinaa’s exports of ferrotungsten were 553 mt in the first five months of 2010
compared to 962 in the year-ago period. Exports were mainly: 337 mt (205 mt) to
Japan and 191 mt (699 mt) to Rottenlam. Ferrotungsten exports in May were

50 mt compared to 42 mt in
May 2009.

Cost going up and supply coming down.

China APT exports rise to $238-240 fob on stronger yuan

Shanghai 07 July 2010 05:34

Chineseammoniumparatungstate(APT) exportprices roseby $3-4 per mtu this week on a strongeryuan,backedby higher pricesfor

concentrateand domesticAPT. APT export prices have climbed to $238-240 per mtu fob China after staying at $235-236 fob for over a month. “Yuan appreciation is the main reason for us to lift prices,” said a trader in Beijing, adding that the yuan has fallen against the dollar by 0.06 yuan from mid-June.

This means that export costs for the trader have increased by 15.8 yuan ($2.5) per mtu, he added. An exporterin Jiangxi,a major source of China’s tungsten, agreed, saying that his company had concluded a deal to Europe at $240 fob. “Demand is better than the same period in previous years, as far as I know. Many converters in the Europe are still maintaining some productionduringthe summerholidaydue to low inventoryafter last year’s financial crisis,” said the Beijing trader.

Still-rising tungsten concentrate and domestic APT prices also contributed to the firm APT export prices. ‘We raised our July concentrate offer by 1,000 yuan from June to 83,000 yuan [per tonne),” said a source at Jiangxi Tungsten Industry Group,

adding that its mines, which were shut in mid-June on heavy rains, have resumed production. Tungsten concentrate was trading at 83,()()().84,5oo yuan per tonne on Wednesday, up ~1,OOO yuan from last week. “I think concentrate prices are unlikely to fall in the near term as supply is not sufficient, and demand from APT is solid,” said a ferro-tungsten

producer in Hunan. Prices of domestic APT were at 129,000-130,000 yuan per tonne, up 1,000-2,000 yuan from early June, said an analyst in Beijing. “Many ferro-tungsten producers have switched to produce APT recently, as many downstream hard alloys producers still have a lot of orders. The ferro-tungsten market is very poor in line with the current weak steel market,” said the ferro-tungsten producer.

The producer is also set to produce APT as soon as they finish maintenance. “Ferro-tungsten market is quiet, both at home and abroad. We raised our offers to $34 [per kg} cif due to higher concentrate prices and yuan appreciation, but could not attract any buying,” said a producer in Jiangxi. Export ferro-tungsten prices were last at $31-33.5 per kg fob China, with no deals reported this week.

1

BEIJING (Metal-Pages) 29-Jun-10.  Tungsten miners are unwilling to sell tungsten concentrate, as most mines in Jiangxi and Hunan provinces have stopped mining due to the heavy rain.

The prices for 65% grade wolframite have remained holding at Rmb83,000-85,000/tonne, without evident improvement compared with the prices seen late last week, but there is a lack of supply from miners in the spot market.

According to market participants, the supply of tungsten concentrate is even tighter since most mining in Jiangxi and Hunan has been hindered by the heavy rain and the floods.

“Three tungsten mines of Jiangxi Tungsten Group have halted production since the heavy rain and the flooding has prevented miners going to the mines,” said a Jiangxi based smelter. The three mines are Tieshanlong Tungsten Mine, Piaotang Tungsten Mine and Dajishan Tungsten Mine, which are the largest production base for tungsten concentrate in China.

A Miner in Hunan claimed that the company will not sell any material at less than Rmb85,000/tonne.

“Many tungsten mines in Hunan province have stopped production due to the heavy rain and the regulations by the government. I think the supplies of tungsten concentrate will remain tight and higher prices will be seen in the coming month of July,” the source noted.

Meanwhile, the prices for 65% grade scheelite have remained quite firm at Rmb82,000-84,000/tonne. Higher prices are expected to be seen in the days to come

Chinese tungsten ore prices could rally, sources say, because the government of Ganzhou, Jiangxi province (the biggest tungsten producing area in China) has begun a half-year rectification on mining. The rectification is designed to stop illegal mining.  All mines will be inspected, and ore production is likely to be affected, sources say.  Tungsten concentrate prices are stable at $185-190 per mtu, but many miners are holding back material because they are convinced prices will firm further as the government clampdown proceeds. The Ganzhou Tungsten Association raised its indicated minimum price for concentrates to $187 per mtu for June from $185 in May. APT prices have reacted to higher ore prices by rising to $232-237 per mtu, f.o.b. compared to $230-235 Ferrotungsten prices, however are unchanged at $31-32 per kg, f.o.b. on thin business. China exported 1,422 mt of APT in the first four months of 2010 vs. 643 mt in the same months of 2009. Exports were mainly: 455 mt (214 mt in the year-ago period) to Japan; 490 mt (187 mt) to Rotterdam and 422 mt (242 mt) to the US.  Exports in April were 392 mt vs. 291 mt in April 2009.  Exports of ferrotungsten totaled 503 mt in January-April  vs. 920 mt in the first four months of 2009. Exports were 191 mt (675 mt in the year-ago period) to Rotterdam and 287 (205 mt) to Japan. Exports in April were 25 mt vs. 104 mt in Apri