China cracks down on Hunan antimony producers

SINGAPORE — The Chinese government has ordered all illegal antimony mines and small smelters in Hunan province to be closed for safety checks after a fatal mine explosion this month, market participants said.
The affected smelters produce a total of at least 20,000 tpy of antimony metal, one local industry official estimated.
The accident — said to have been caused by explosives — took place two weeks ago at the mine in Lengshuijiang city in central Hunan province (MB Dec 6).
The closure order was confirmed by traders, though some were doubtful whether it would be carried out.
“I don’t think all the mines and smelters will be closed,” said a trader in southern Guangxi province.
“Hunan is dependent on its non-ferrous industry. Such closures will have serious consequences for the
province’s economy.”
The accident, which is believed to have killed at least six people, has been kept low-key with little coverage in the local press, market participants said. Government officials typically try to keep bad news under wraps,
sometimes only revealing details to the media after allowing time for damage control, traders said.
The Hunan environmental protection bureau has not issued an announcement about the accident, but noted last week that it had banned 72 illegal minor antimony smelters since October as part of its efforts to clamp down on illegal mining and smelting in the Lengshuijiang area.
It did not provide further details.
China’s domestic antimony prices have risen 1-2 percent to 40,500-42,000 yuan ($5,178-5,370) per tonne following the explosion, together with tightening supply, market participants said.
Prices for grade II material were reported at 40,000-41,000 yuan per tonne duty-paid a week ago, before the incident at the Shizishan mine.
Export prices have yet to react, probably due to quiet demand in the market, though many producers and traders said they have stopped offering in the market.
Export prices are reported at $5,400-5,500 per tonne cif Rotterdam for grade II material.