Category: Products

While some sulphur is transported as a liquid, especially in Europe and North America, recent events have highlighted the increased flexibility of solid sulphur supply chains.

The sulphuric acid market is seeing a contraction due to lack of sulphur availability, demand destruction in the phosphate sector and restricted Chinese exports.

Ambitious expansion plans face exposure to trade route disruption.

The Phase I development of the Zhugongtang lead-zinc mine in Hezhang County, Guizhou Province, is entering its final construction stretch. Full-line wet commissioning is scheduled to commence on 30 September, marking the official start of the trial production phase. Formal operational acceptance and commercial production are targeted by the end of 2026, following successful completion of performance testing and all necessary rectification work.

South Korean metals producer LS MnM plans to use sulphuric acid recovered from copper-smelting operations to process nickel and cobalt for battery materials, linking its existing metals business with its expansion into the electric-vehicle supply chain. The company captures sulphur dioxide generated at its Onsan Smelter and converts it into sulphuric acid. LS MnM’s sulphuric-acid facilities have annual capacity of 1.925 million t/a, according to the company, providing a potential internal reagent source for hydrometallurgical processing.

Viviana Alavardo, CRU Sulphur and Sulphuric Acid Analyst, examines how China's 2026 sulphuric acid export suspension removed an estimated 2.8 million tonnes from trade, deepening sulphur shortages. Prices have eased since May but remain historically high amid limited replacement supply.

While the power sector has been advanced as a major long term source of demand for emerging low carbon ammonia projects, the pace of development in leading proponents such as Japan and South Korea remains patchy.

Maire Group subsidiary Tecnimont has been awarded a contract by Fértil Pampa SAU, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pampa Energia SA, for a large-scale fertilizer complex in Argentina. The facility will include a large-scale ammonia plant and two parallel ultra-low energy urea trains, each with its own granulation unit, with a combined capacity of 6,000 t/d (2.1 million t/a), making it the largest urea plant in Latin America by production. It will occupy an 80-hectare site within the Bahía Blanca Industrial Complex, in Buenos Aires province. The location is adjacent to Pampa’s existing power generation assets, benefiting from direct access to key infrastructure, including gas pipelines, high-voltage transmission lines, water intake systems, and a deep-water export port, enabling efficient logistics.

Algeria’s Sonatrach and the Algerian Fertilizers Company (AFC) on 12 August signed engineering, procurement and construction contracts with Italy’s Saipem and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) for the first phase of the country’s Integrated Phosphate Project (PPI). The ceremony at Sonatrach’s Algiers headquarters was chaired by Hydrocarbons Minister Mohamed Arkab and attended by the Chinese and Italian ambassadors.

Price trends and market outlook, 20th August 2026.