2020 Titanium Slag Market Analysis

China Import sistuation

In 2019, the mine in Shapic, Australia ceased production. Australian titanium concentrate rarely flows into China again.
Kenya’s output began to decrease in 2019. Further reduction in 2020.
It can be seen that in recent years, foreign high-quality titanium slag has entered the Chinese market with a decreasing trend year by year. At the same time, Kenya Base Resources expects that for the 21st fiscal year, the output from July to June 2020 will be only 270,000 tons.
It will further reduce the entry of foreign high-quality titanium slag into the Chinese market, especially the high-titanium slag materials suitable for the chloride process will further reduce the entry into the Chinese market.

China domestic sistuation

Panxi Region Abstract:

Panxi Vanadium-titanium Magnetite Mine: Located in the southwest of Sichuan Province, it includes more than 20 counties and cities including Panzhihua and Liangshan Prefecture. The Panxi area is a huge titanium cornucopia. Its proven reserves of titanium resources are 1/4 of the world’s. It is accompanied by a dozen rare and precious metals such as vanadium, titanium, cobalt, and gallium. The proven vanadium-titanium magnetite is about 9.8×109 t, and the titanium dioxide reserves are 8.73×108 t. Average grade TiO2 content of slag 5%.

Panxi Region 2020 Production report

It is estimated that the actual production of titanium slag in Panxi area in 2020 will be about 3.5-3.6 million tons, and the output will be reduced by about 150,000 to 200,000 tons compared with 2019. As the nature of titanium slag in Panxi area is only suitable for sulfuric acid titanium dioxide production, Panxi The trend of regional titanium slag will directly affect the trend of the domestic titanium dioxide market.

1. The actual output of Panzhihua Iron and Steel’s contract processing plant continued to decline due to the further tension of raw slag. The raw slag in 2021 will remain highly tight.
2. In 2020, the production of Xichang Taihe was not very smooth due to maintenance and other reasons, which directly affected the supply of about 100,000-120,000 tons.
3. Panzhihua Iron and Steel’s tailings pond relocation, due to potential safety hazards in Panzhihua’s original tailings pond, Pangang will temporarily transition to Fengyuan tailings pond, which will cause tailings emissions from nearby titanium slag producers. The surrounding titanium slag producers have caused a very large impact, which may cause the surrounding producers to further reduce production.
4. In 2021, Lomon Billions Group’s Panzhihua 500,000-ton high-titanium slag project is expected to be officially put into operation in May, which will further cause a shortage of Panzhihua titanium slag supply.
5. There will be no new titanium slag production capacity in Panxi area in 2021. Due to the further reduction in slag supply, it is expected that the supply of titanium slag will be further reduced in 2021, and it is expected that titanium slag price will maintain a high level trend.
6. Due to the newly added titanium slag projects, including the Lonmon Billions Group’s high-titanium slag project, the amount of titanium slag required for the new production capacity of other titanium dioxide, it is expected that in 2021 there will be about 630,000 tons of titanium slag gap which will force titanium dioxide factories to turn to imported titanium slag. Therefore, it is expected that the entire titanium slag market, including the imported titanium slag market, will maintain a high degree of tight supply in 2021, and the price will continue to run at a high level, without a very obvious price downward signal.

Other titanium related industry brief

In 2020, the domestic titanium sponge market will be completely different from the international market. Foreign related industries such as titanium sponge and titanium materials will be in a downturn. The domestic market expects that the output of titanium sponge will reach 100,000 tons. The market began to appear in June. Continued price increases have stimulated the rise in the titanium tetrachloride market.
In 2020, the welding electrode industry and the reduced titanium industry will basically maintain the same market conditions as in 2019, and there will be no major changes. However, there will be new suppliers of artificial rutile, and production will be gradually released, such as the 100,000-ton artificial rutile project in Guangdong Maoming Yueqiao.

Future Outlook of Titanium Industry

1. The domestic market of titanium dioxide will remain cautiously optimistic. It is expected that the supply will ease in April 2021, but the production cost will remain high.
2. The titanium dioxide market segment will gradually increase. For example, Huiyun Titanium Industry will invest in a new plastic-specific titanium dioxide production line (currently no more public information)
3. The construction of chlorinated titanium dioxide will enter a period of rapid expansion. For example, Dinglong Culture will invest in new 500,000 tons of chlorinated titanium dioxide (the specific implementation details are not announced in the announcement)
4. Domestic titanium dioxide suppliers will further prepare their export plans and continue to increase their export shares to ensure the operation of their factories.
5. If no more titanium dioxide applications are developed in the next 2-3 years, the domestic titanium dioxide market will have very large industry competition.
6. Imported titanium slag will maintain the current situation without significant increase and substantial reduction, but in the long run, high-quality imported titanium slag will still further decrease.
7. The slag supply in Panzhihua area and the influence of Panzhihua Iron and Steel Tailings Pond will continue to operate at a higher price in the next 1-2 years. The estimated price range is 230usd/ton—305usd/ton.
8. Overall, the supply in Panxi will remain tight in the next 2-3 years, mainly due to the increase in the amount of titanium slag required for the production of new titanium dioxide and the gradual decrease in the supply of raw slag. It is difficult to change within. Titanium slag market in Panxi region remains optimistic in the future

Reported by:
Ronald W.
Tinox Senior Market analyst