Category: Asia

The Chinese government has issued a development plan for the country’s copper smelting industry covering the years 202527 which is looking to reduce the level of overcapacity in the sector. New copper smelters must now control sufficient copper mine supply via ownership or equity stakes to cover their production requirements, something few smelters do at present. Chinese smelter output has reached record levels, with treatment charges falling to historically low levels as producers compete for copper concentrate – China imports around 85% of its copper concentrate. Meanwhile more smelter capacity is planned, with around 1 million t/a of new capacity scheduled for 2025. The country aims to boost domestic copper mine resources by 5% to 10% in three years to secure raw material supply, according to the government plan. China will also encourage copper smelters to sign long-term purchase agreements with global miners, boost imports of copper blister and anode, and encourage scrap imports.

Metso has launched its new Cu POX leaching process for the copper extraction industry. The company says that, as ore compositions change due to depletion of deposits and increasing environmental and efficiency demands, this solution not only maximises copper recovery but also reduces environmental impact.

Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) says that it has completed the sale of its 15.6% stake in Coral Bay Nickel Corp. to its Japanese partner Sumitomo Metal Mining. Nickel Asia says that the sale has been due to “unfavourable market conditions” for the high pressure acid leach (HPAL) nickel processing plant. Although Coral Bay is regarded as one of the most efficient HPAL units in the world, nickel prices have been extremely volatile over the past few years and stood a 4-year lows in January at around 15,000/t, their lowest level since September 2020. Nickel Asia still owns a 10% stake in the Taganito HPAL Nickel Corp.

Rapidly increasing lithium production is projected to require several million t/a of sulphuric acid in the next few years, with China, the USA and Australia the main consumers.

Building on the success of its previous conferences, SulGas Mumbai 2025 brought together 154 sulphur and gas treating stakeholders, representing 68 companies for its 7th technical forum in the Indian subcontinent. We report on some of the key topics on the agenda.

AM Green has selected Casale as its technology partner for India’s largest under-development green ammonia complex in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh.

Hulunbeier New Gold Chemical Co has selected Stamicarbon to revamp a urea plant in Hulunbuir, northeastern Inner Mongolia.

Although China remains the world’s largest phosphate producer, it has been overtaken as the largest exporter by Morocco in recent years as domestic producers face continuing restrictions on exports.

The Caspian Sea region is home to extensive sour gas reserves which produce large volumes of sulphur. Exports are difficult, but the Kazakh uranium industry is consuming an increasing amount.

Continuing growth in Chinese ammonium sulphate production is leading to a continuing flood of exports, as greater awareness of the utility of sulphur as a fertilizer leads to increasing global demand.