Australian mineral sands miner Iluka has increased zircon prices by 10% for the fourth quarter to a weighted average price of $2,420/tonne, FOB Australia.
This is a marked slowdown in the rate of price increases from the previous two quarters, as anecdotal signs of substitution and thrifting appear in the zircon market.
Zircon prices have more than doubled from just over $1,000/tonne at the beginning of the year, but the rate of price increases has now slowed.
IM assessed fourth quarter standard grade zircon prices at a range of $2,400-2,600/tonne, FOB Australia, up 9% from the third quarter.
Iluka, which has 35% of the global zircon market, has taken advantage of a tight market for zircon to drive a transformation of the contract system to quarterly price setting.
“The pace of price increases had to moderate, it was...