PERTH 2017: Trends in China's Supply & Demand for Zircon

摘要

Dr Xue Wang (of Beijing Ruidow) discussed China's zircon supply/demand situation. According to Ruidow, China's zircon consumption was 603,400 tonnes in 2016, representing just over half of total world consumption. The country's indigenous zircon resources are rather sparse and therefore China's zircon customers rely almost entirely on imports. The only domestic sources of zircon are located in Hainan Dao, the island province off the coast of Guangxi in southern China. Production was running at 100,000 t.p.a. in the middle of the last decade, but production dropped to merely 18,000 tonnes last year. The Hainan Dao Government has actively clamped down on mining activities in the province because of the adverse impact on the local tourism industry. Dr Xue said that mineral sands mining in Hainan Dao might cease completely by 2020. Import dependence for zircon is already 97% and it would then rise to 100%. Consequently, trends in the Chinese market have enormous importance for the global zircon industry.