Several market sources have spoken to IM this week about zircon prices. The conclusion? Market prices are expected to increase – and there may be no end in sight.
On Monday 23 May IM heard from the managing director of Alkane Resources, Ian Chalmers, who said he believed zircon prices “would not retrace.”
Although Alkane is not producing yet (and therefore likely to plead a future bull case for the mineral), other sources agreed with the statement.
“Supply has not kept up with demand,” one trader who is exporting into China told IM. “Spot markets are way above the quarterly price. It doesn’t normally work like this. These are fairly unusual times”.
This trader explained that at present prices are being set firstly by producers. So, for example, recently Iluka increased its prices for Q2 2011. The supposition is then the spot...