Zircon
Zircon sand prices are expected to remain at high levels despite some signs of a slowdown in Chinese demand, industry sources told IM.
Prices have surged since the start of year, with standard grade material, FOB Australia, trading at $2,400-2,600/tonne compared with $900-1,000/tonne in January.
“Over the last two months there have been some big changes in the Chinese market due to general uncertainty in the global economy,” one source said. “We have heard that Chinese opacifier consumption has dropped 40% and is likely to decline further,” he added.
Opacifiers, a major application for zircon, are used in the ceramics industry to increase surface quality.
Some Chinese ceramic tile manufacturers have also reduced zircon content to offset rising raw material costs, according to sources.
Meanwhile, weaker growth in...