The start of the year saw many mineral grades increasing in value as producers upped their prices to cope with hikes in energy, freight and tight global market fundamentals.
Prices coming into 2012 were expected to be higher for some minerals, so there was no surprise when andalusite, titanium dioxide (TiO2), rutile and kaolin inched up.
TiO2, feedstocks
TiO2 is now at a high of $4,325/tonne (midpoint, high quality, bulk volume, CFR Asia). This is a 52% rise from the same time last year. The price increase has come on the back of several company announcements in 2011.
Rutile meanwhile is now sitting at a range of $1,990-2,050/tonne, for large volumes for pigment (FOB Australia, min 95% TiO2) and $2,480-2,700/tonne for bagged rutile of the same grade. This is well over double the price at the start of 2011.
Sources told IM that...