The board of Yunnan Yuntianhua gave the go ahead for the development of a massive underground phosphate mine in Yunnan province on 14th May. The major Chinese producer part owns the mine project through a 35% stake in its developer Julin New Materials. The other three owners are Yuntianhua Group (55%), Zhaotong Development Group (9%) and Zhenxiong Chanyi Investment (1%).
Hongda's 100,000 t/a zinc smelter, in China's Sichuan Province, completed scheduled maintenance and equipment upgrading and officially resumed production on 21st June, the company said. The smelter had been shut down for planned maintenance since January, during which time a modernisation project for the electrolytic zinc smelting system was also carried out. Following the nearly six-month revamp, the resumption of production is expected to improve overall operational efficiency, reduce unit production costs, and increase the utilisation rate, The company said. The stable supply of sulphuric acid generated by the zinc smelter will effectively leverage the synergies of the "sulphur-phosphorus" industrial chain in the company, an help alleviate cost pressures on the company's phosphorus chemical business segment.
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.
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.
Lyndsay Tran, Khanh Pham and Gabriela Olvera of Hatch look at the options for rare earth element (REE) recovery from phosphogypsum (PG) and their relative merits.
Average phosphate rock grades globally have been on the slide since the 1970s. CRU’s Maria Gamboa looks at the most recent trends in rock grade and the cost implications for phosphate fertilizer production.
Chinese power conglomerate Shanghai Electric has launched phase two of its Taonan wind-powered green hydrogen-based biomethanol plant in Jilin, aiming to scale up to 200,000 t/a.
China’s State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) has shipped 3,750 tonnes of "HYGLOBAL" green ammonia from its Da'an integrated wind–solar–hydrogen–ammonia project in Jilin province to a South Korean buyer consortium, in what the company describes as the largest single-batch export of green ammonia globally.
China's Envision Energy has signed a low-carbon ammonia environmental attribute purchase agreement with PepsiCo APAC and delivered the first 1,000 tonnes of environmental attribute certificates (EACs) linked to its Chifeng Net Zero Industrial Park in Inner Mongolia.
AkzoNobel says that it is providing long-term corrosion protection and chemical and heat resistant coatings for the wind power and chemical processing facilities at the Songyuan Hydrogen Energy Industrial Park. Constructed by China Energy Engineering Group Co., Ltd., it is the world’s largest integrated green hydrogen-ammonia-methanol project. Now on its second phase, the industrial park operates entirely on 100% renewable electricity and is currently focused on producing 45,000 t/a of green hydrogen and 200,000 t/a of green ammonia and methanol.