As its economy rapidly rises, China has become a barometer of the global nonferrous metals market. 2017 China's output of the top ten non-ferrous metals (copper, aluminum, lead, zinc, nickel, tin, antimony, magnesium, sponge titanium, and mercury) reached as high as... 5377.8 Ten thousand tons, including copper production 889 Ten thousand tons, aluminum production 3227 Ten thousand tons, lead production 472 Ten thousand tons, zinc production 622 Ten-thousand-ton nickel production 42-45 Ten thousand tons. As soon as there’s any fluctuation in China’s metal smelting industry, the global non-ferrous metals market will... “ Cold ”。

　　In the era of globalization, most of the raw materials required for China’s metal smelting come from the international market. The trends in the global mining market directly affect China’s metal smelting costs. To help the industry stay informed about the latest developments in major mining markets in the Americas, “ Canadian Mining Salon ” We have invited Mr. Jiang Chuanyu, Senior Advisor for the Americas Market at China RuiLin Engineering, to share his insights and assessments. Having visited dozens of smelters around the globe, Mr. Jiang has gained profound observations and firsthand experience in the Americas mining industry, particularly in metal smelting.

　　Copper mine

　　Chile is the world's largest producer of copper. 2016 This year, Chile produced mined copper. 557 Ten thousand tons, Peru 235 Ten thousand tons—China is the only one. 140 Ten thousand tons. However, when it comes to metallic copper, China is undisputed. “ Boss ”。2017 Year, China's copper production 847.7 10,000 tons, ranking first globally, surpassing Chile. 580 Tens of thousands of tons. Mr. Jiang stated that this indicates China’s demand for copper concentrate is extremely high, and nearly all the mined copper from countries like Chile is being shipped to China.

　　Since China proposed “ Reduce overcapacity ” Since then, demand for many metals has plummeted, plunging the smelting industry into a cold winter. However, because copper products are indispensable in sectors such as real estate, power generation, automobiles, and energy, China’s copper-smelting industry has not been severely affected. On the contrary, many regions are still tirelessly building new copper smelters. This indicates that China’s copper consumption remains robust, demand for copper concentrates continues to rise, and the international market for copper concentrates remains firmly in a seller’s market.

　　However, everyone should note that, after decades of upgrading existing plants or launching new projects, China’s copper smelting technology has continuously improved and now reaches internationally advanced levels—indeed, in some areas it has even attained a leading position. 20 Century 70 Era to 80 In recent years, the copper smelting processes in the United States and Chile have been world-leading. 20 Century 70 At the end of the decade, in Utah, USA Kennecott The copper smelter was the first to adopt... “ Dual-flash technology ” (flash smelting and flash blowing)—yet to this day, other facilities employing this advanced smelting process... 3 All copper smelters are now located in China. Moreover, China is also building new ones. “ Flashing lights ” Project.

　　In the fields of equipment manufacturing and engineering construction, China’s copper smelting industry has undeniably taken the lead worldwide. Decades ago, China had to learn from the Americas in copper smelting; now, as smelters in Chile, the United States, and other regions undergo renovation and upgrading, there’s a growing trend of giving priority to hiring Chinese engineering firms. Many Western copper smelters, in the past... 20 Shutting down continuously throughout the year—for example, Canada used to have the Horn Smelter. Horne ), Gaispe ( Gaspe ) Smelter, Chid Mitsubishi Copper Smelter, Hudson Bay ( Hudson Bay ) Of the four major copper smelters, only the Hohen smelter remains now. The United States has also shut down Magma. Magma ) and other smelters. As a result, Western engineering companies lack sufficient engineering experience in copper smelting projects and can only hire Chinese engineering firms. Mr. Jiang believes that now is the right time for China’s smelting engineering design and equipment services to go global.

　　Lead-zinc ore

　　Over the past year, lead prices have experienced significant fluctuations. Affected by factors such as the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate hikes and China’s strengthened environmental regulations, the demand market has become unstable. As a result, lead prices fell from their peak in the second quarter, rebounded strongly in the third quarter, and then plunged again in the fourth quarter. Mr. Jiang noted that, at present, sluggish growth in lead-acid battery consumption could weigh on lead prices. 2018 This year, both lead mines and metal supplies may experience a slight surplus, leading to weaker lead prices. Currently, lead prices are at... 2400-2570 The U.S. dollar is fluctuating narrowly.

　　Compared to lead prices, zinc prices have shown a relatively stable trend. Mr. Jiang pointed out that... 2017 Although zinc prices this year haven't risen as sharply as before, they did see fluctuations in the first and second quarters. 20% The price of zinc initially declined, but starting from the second quarter, driven by tight zinc ore supplies and better-than-expected performance of the Chinese economy, zinc prices began to rise steadily. 11 Moon 1 Set a new high for the year. 3326 The highest point for the U.S. dollar. This price has far exceeded... 2010 The upper boundary of the fluctuation range since the year has returned to the high-price range seen before the financial crisis.

　　Mr. Jiang predicts that, 2018 The tight supply situation for zinc ore will ease somewhat, but the first half of the year is still likely to see an overall tightening. Zinc ingot inventories remain at historically low levels and will continue to... 2018 Prices of zinc are expected to continue their overall strong performance amid the ongoing downward trend, and at some point, they could reach new all-time highs. As for when these new highs will occur, it will depend on China’s economic performance.

　　If zinc mine supply continues to fall short of expectations and China further intensifies its environmental protection efforts, zinc prices are likely to maintain their strong performance—and may even sustain it over the long term. However, if new zinc mine supplies materialize as market expectations suggest and zinc mine supply eases by year-end, zinc prices will... 2018 The year’s high could potentially become a turning point. 2018 We’ll need to keep a close eye on where zinc prices will head in the coming year.

　　For years, China has ranked first in the world in zinc smelting capacity, with last year’s output reaching... 622 Ten thousand tons. However, China is nearly... 90% Small plates are used for zinc electrolysis (electrowinning). 1.13m2 Electrodeposition, which relies on manual zinc stripping, involves high labor intensity and poor working conditions at the production site. Mr. Jiang believes that, with China facing a labor shortage and increasingly stringent environmental regulations, mechanization of small plates and large plates... 3.2m2 (or oversized panel) 3.6 m² Automatic zinc stripping will undoubtedly become an inevitable trend in future development.

　　Nickel ore

　　The countries with the largest global nickel reserves, in order, are Australia, Brazil, Russia, New Caledonia, Cuba, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Canada, which ranks next. 9 Position: China ranks No. [number] 10 Position. 2015 This year, the countries with the highest global nickel ore production are the Philippines, Canada, Russia, Australia, and others, with China ranking... 8 Position.

　　Over the past decade, China’s nickel ore production has remained relatively stable, essentially staying at... 7-10 Between 10,000 tons, accounting for only a small portion of global nickel ore production. 3.8%–5.7% However, in stark contrast, China boasts a massive output of refined nickel. 2007 year to 2013 Continuously growing year after year, reaching nearly 70 Ten thousand tons, after which it gradually declined. 2017 Year for 42-45 Ten thousand tons (of which electrolytic nickel accounts for only about) 15.84 Ten thousand tons).

　　Over the past five years, China's refined nickel production has accounted for a certain percentage of global production. 20%-40% Mr. Jiang stated that this means China has a significant nickel ore deficit and must import large quantities from abroad. 2013 This year, China's nickel ore imports reached as high as... 63 10,000 tons (including nickel).

　　2014 Years ago, China mainly imported nickel ore from Indonesia and the Philippines. 2014 After the Chinese New Year, due to Indonesia's restrictions on nickel ore exports, China shifted to primarily importing nickel ore from the Philippines. Nickel ore from the Philippines now accounts for a significant portion of China's total nickel ore imports. 90% The above.

　　China imports nickel ore primarily to meet the demand for stainless steel production. As is well known, approximately... 80% Nickel is used in stainless steel production, and China’s enormous consumption of stainless steel has directly boosted demand for nickel, including electrolytic nickel. NPI (low-grade nickel pig iron), nickel-iron alloys, and more. Nickel ores can be categorized into lateritic nickel ores and sulfide ores; relatively speaking, the former have lower costs. Consequently, China primarily imports nickel in the form of lateritic ores, and related production technologies have advanced rapidly—for example, by... RKEF Process production of nickel-iron, using HPAL ( PAL ) The process involves the production of nickel and cobalt, among other metals. China’s well-known laterite ore projects include the RuiMu Smelter, invested in by MCC in Papua New Guinea, and the Dagon Mountain Smelter, invested in by China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group in Myanmar.

　　Mr. Jiang pointed out that, in terms of the distribution of domestic nickel production, low-grade nickel pig iron ( NPI ) Has been better controlled in the past two years, and with 2013，2014 Compared with the previous year, production has declined significantly. However, in the long run, given China's limited nickel resources—there are only a few mines, such as those in Jinchang, Gansu, and Panshi, Jilin—the shortage of nickel raw materials in China is unlikely to change. The import market for laterite ore remains substantial, and improving metallurgical technologies and equipment will continue to be one of the key tasks for metallurgists.

　　Due to its high latitude and proximity to the Arctic, Canada's nickel deposits are predominantly sulfide ores. Sudbury, Ontario... South Bury There are two world-renowned nickel smelters, one belonging to Brazil’s Vale. Value ) and Glencore Group. China’s Jinchuan Group and Jinni Nickel have previously engaged in technical exchanges with them. China has certain potential for cooperation with Canadian nickel companies in technologies and equipment related to nickel buttons and carbonyl nickel.