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High-Nickel",144.45,149.67,-3.49,26.69,49.06,[498,499,500,502,504,506,508,510,512,514,516,518],{"date":198,"value":492},{"date":200,"value":493},{"date":203,"value":501},157.37,{"date":206,"value":503},160,{"date":209,"value":505},149.53,{"date":212,"value":507},141.97,{"date":215,"value":509},136.99,{"date":218,"value":511},129.81,{"date":221,"value":513},114.02,{"date":224,"value":515},109.17,{"date":227,"value":517},109.02,{"date":255,"value":519},99.44,{"publishedDate":198,"updateFrequency":187,"updateFrequencyText":188,"label":521,"today":522,"last":523,"percentageChange":524,"yearToDate":525,"yearOnYear":526,"oneYearIndexTrend":527,"url":377,"subscription":49,"isProtected":50,"hasAccess":51},"LFP",229.17,218.34,4.96,49.35,83.44,[528,529,530,532,534,536,538,540,542,544,546,548],{"date":198,"value":522},{"date":200,"value":523},{"date":203,"value":531},239.1,{"date":206,"value":533},258.32,{"date":209,"value":535},239.37,{"date":212,"value":537},213.01,{"date":215,"value":539},204.49,{"date":218,"value":541},218.06,{"date":221,"value":543},153.45,{"date":224,"value":545},134.02,{"date":227,"value":547},118.22,{"date":255,"value":549},111.93,{"id":551,"uuid":552,"name":553,"slug":554,"full_slug":555,"content":556,"relatedArticles":797,"relatedVideos":798},112474678698725,"4b274d49-1578-4671-b71a-4c691a243e80","China pollution crack down sends flake graphite prices up","china-pollution-crack-down-sends-flake-graphite-prices-up","article/china-pollution-crack-down-sends-flake-graphite-prices-up",{"_uid":557,"date":558,"tags":559,"editor":563,"content":573,"excerpt":775,"featured":50,"reporter":776,"_editable":780,"component":781,"seo_title":553,"categories":782,"visibility":789,"author_company":49,"featured_image":790,"seo_description":775,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":795,"formattedArticleDate":796},"5b1b3e8d-a9d9-491a-9880-69a8be08d55a","2017-11-24 00:00",[560],{"slug":561,"name":562},"china","China",[564],{"slug":565,"name":566,"content":567},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":568,"image":569,"bio":571,"linkedin":572},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":570},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":574,"content":575},"doc",[576,583,588,593,598,603,606,611,616,621,628,637,642,645,650,655,662,667,672,677,682,687,692,697,702,707,712,717,722,727,732,737,742,747,750,755,760,765,770],{"type":577,"attrs":578,"content":579},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[580],{"text":581,"type":582},"The prices of lithium, graphite, vanadium and a number of other specialist minerals and metals have headed skyward after China went into pollution crackdown overdrive in a bid to clean its air for autumn and winter.","text",{"type":577,"attrs":584,"content":585},{"textAlign":49},[586],{"text":587,"type":582},"China, a country which is heavily reliant on low cost coal to power its extensive mineral processing industry, has enforced bans on polluting plants across the country and particularly in the northern region. As a result, the prices of flake graphite assessed by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence have risen between 10-20%, the first significant rises in 5 years.",{"type":577,"attrs":589,"content":590},{"textAlign":49},[591],{"text":592,"type":582},"This has not just been isolated to graphite either. Lithium, cobalt, nickel and vanadium have all been subject to the same upwards price pressures. Vanadium metal, for example, has risen by 70% since June forcing vanadium pentoxide, the derivative chemical used in batteries, upwards.",{"type":577,"attrs":594,"content":595},{"textAlign":49},[596],{"text":597,"type":582},"This was exacerbated by an August ban on importing steel slag into China, a valuable source of vanadium. The tough new pollution controls have been described as “harsh” by local Chinese media as it also includes a ban on local residents using coal power for heating from mid-November 2017 to mid-March 2018 onwards.",{"type":577,"attrs":599,"content":600},{"textAlign":49},[601],{"text":602,"type":582},"Over 3m households from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area will now be forced to use electricity or gas to heat their homes. This number of residents is a four-fold-increase on restrictions from last year.",{"type":577,"attrs":604,"content":605},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":577,"attrs":607,"content":608},{"textAlign":49},[609],{"text":610,"type":582},"“China has enacted tougher pollution controls against air … I have more confidence that we can have more good air days in the autumn and winter considering these harsh controls,” said Liu Bingjiang, head of air quality management bureau at the Ministry of Environment Protection.",{"type":577,"attrs":612,"content":613},{"textAlign":49},[614],{"text":615,"type":582},"The government has set a pollution reduction target of 20% for Beijing, Tianjin, and Shinjiazuang in Hebei province and 15% for the 25 cities in the surrounding area. The new targets will be benchmarked against testing work that is being carried out in September.",{"type":577,"attrs":617,"content":618},{"textAlign":49},[619],{"text":620,"type":582},"Liu’s environment ministry has created an inspection team to enforce the new laws and motivate local governments into action. 10 of these cities are on a blacklist of ‘severe winter polluters’. “The leading officials will be held accountable for poor performance,” said Liu Changgen, the deputy director in charge of the central inspection team.",{"type":577,"attrs":622,"content":623},{"textAlign":49},[624,626],{"text":625,"type":582},"Impact:",{"text":627,"type":582}," Flake graphite prices rise This renewed environmental focus has sent flake graphite prices upwards after the Shandong provincial government ordered closures of primary flake graphite processing facilities, one of China’s major graphite hubs.",{"type":577,"attrs":629,"content":630},{"textAlign":49},[631,633,635],{"text":632,"type":582},"After five years of decline, the ",{"text":634,"type":582},"Benchmark Flake Graphite Price Index",{"text":636,"type":582}," increased 16% in August alone following a rising trend in July. The largest gains were seen with +80 mesh, 96-97% C grades which saw upwards of 20% increase to $1,250/ tonne, FOB China.",{"type":577,"attrs":638,"content":639},{"textAlign":49},[640],{"text":641,"type":582},"Medium flake of +100 mesh and -100 mesh 94-95% C still saw price increases around the 10% mark. As early as the start of this year, leading suppliers were warning of prices slumping to their lowest point in a generation following the removal of export duties from the world’s leading supplier – China.",{"type":577,"attrs":643,"content":644},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":577,"attrs":646,"content":647},{"textAlign":49},[648],{"text":649,"type":582},"But as the months have drawn on after China’s seasonal new year slowdown, it has become apparent that two long-anticipated factors are finally taking their hold on the market: Chinese consolidation and rising demand from value-added markets, particularly spherical graphite used in lithium ion battery anodes and expandable graphite that is being driven by the flame retardant market.",{"type":577,"attrs":651,"content":652},{"textAlign":49},[653],{"text":654,"type":582},"Here, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence outlines how these pressures have come about and how long they are likely to last:",{"type":656,"attrs":657,"content":659},"heading",{"level":658,"textAlign":49},3,[660],{"text":661,"type":582},"1. Environmental restrictions",{"type":577,"attrs":663,"content":664},{"textAlign":49},[665],{"text":666,"type":582},"The most prominent factor in price increases has been the lack of production in the world’s leading flake graphite producing regions of Shandong and Heilongjiang provinces, China.",{"type":577,"attrs":668,"content":669},{"textAlign":49},[670],{"text":671,"type":582},"Shandong, in particular, has seen mine output collapse under the pressure of environmental restrictions introduced by the government since the start of the year, which have required suppliers to install new water treatment/ tailings facilities to limit pollution.",{"type":577,"attrs":673,"content":674},{"textAlign":49},[675],{"text":676,"type":582},"This is part of an ongoing crackdown on environmental pollution in Shandong province which started in March 2014 with the closure of a number of operations in the Pingdu area. While this took some capacity offline, the majority of producers had restarted production by 2015 despite the weak market conditions.",{"type":577,"attrs":678,"content":679},{"textAlign":49},[680],{"text":681,"type":582},"The renewed push by the government at the start of 2017 has been part of a wider crackdown on the country’s mining sector and is likely to have a much more prolonged effect on output from the region – which accounts for a significant proportion of the country’s large flake production.",{"type":577,"attrs":683,"content":684},{"textAlign":49},[685],{"text":686,"type":582},"Restrictions have not been limited to Shandong and a combination of market and regulatory factors have impacted production in peripheral regions of Hubei, Inner Mongolia and Henan.",{"type":577,"attrs":688,"content":689},{"textAlign":49},[690],{"text":691,"type":582},"Importantly, China’s largest producers based in Heilongjiang province are still in production and although some closures have been reported in the Luobei area, mining in Jixi – the capital of the country’s flake graphite production – is ongoing.",{"type":577,"attrs":693,"content":694},{"textAlign":49},[695],{"text":696,"type":582},"Producers across the country are unsure how long environmental restrictions will last, but there is an acceptance that the government is taking a much firmer stance on mining pollution and this is likely to be the start of a long-anticipated period of consolidation in the market.",{"type":656,"attrs":698,"content":699},{"level":658,"textAlign":49},[700],{"text":701,"type":582},"2. China’s downstream shift",{"type":577,"attrs":703,"content":704},{"textAlign":49},[705],{"text":706,"type":582},"The other major factor impacting flake graphite prices is the introduction of new value-added capacities which are already beginning to utilise larger quantities of flake grpahtie feedstock. While demand from traditional markets has been stable at low levels for some time, producers – particularly in China – have been building out downstream processing capacities.",{"type":577,"attrs":708,"content":709},{"textAlign":49},[710],{"text":711,"type":582},"Although spherical graphite has grabbed the headlines for its long-term demand potential, it has been expandable graphite capacities which have required significant new volumes in H1 2017 – causing pressures for large-flake concentrate, particularly with supply coming offline in other areas of the world such as Madagascar.",{"type":577,"attrs":713,"content":714},{"textAlign":49},[715],{"text":716,"type":582},"These pressures at the large-flake end of the market have been at the forefront of price rises since Q2 and are likely to persist for much of the year. With strong growth projections for both the expandable graphite market and the lithium ion battery sector over the coming years, expect to see far larger volumes of flake concentrate being used internally for value-added processing.",{"type":577,"attrs":718,"content":719},{"textAlign":49},[720],{"text":721,"type":582},"This will have knock-on effects on industrial consumers who will have more competition in securing volumes for traditional applications.",{"type":656,"attrs":723,"content":724},{"level":658,"textAlign":49},[725],{"text":726,"type":582},"3. The future of flake",{"type":577,"attrs":728,"content":729},{"textAlign":49},[730],{"text":731,"type":582},"While these pressures are likely to persist in the medium-term, the prospect of large-scale new supply from Africa continues to loom over the market.",{"type":577,"attrs":733,"content":734},{"textAlign":49},[735],{"text":736,"type":582},"Imerys Graphite and Carbon and AMG have already started projects in Namibia and Mozambique respectively, this year, and with Syrah Resources’ Balama mine in Mozambique expected to be commissioned by Q4 2017, the industry could see Africa become the new source of low-cost flake graphite and a favoured source for Chinese consumers.",{"type":577,"attrs":738,"content":739},{"textAlign":49},[740],{"text":741,"type":582},"This trend has already started to take hold with Syrah agreeing a binding offtake deal with BTR New Energy for 30,000 tonnes of flake graphite that is destined to produce ~13,000 tonnes of spherical graphite anode.",{"type":577,"attrs":743,"content":744},{"textAlign":49},[745],{"text":746,"type":582},"While many market commentators have claimed this new supply will cripple the industry, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has consistently stated that new flake graphite capacity will be needed to sustain the growth of these new end-markets, especially the Chinese lithium ion battery market.",{"type":577,"attrs":748,"content":749},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":577,"attrs":751,"content":752},{"textAlign":49},[753],{"text":754,"type":582},"On the supply side, China does not want its producers to mine and sell flake graphite but rather push them towards selling spherical graphite anode, graphite foil and expandable graphite. However, a reliable supply of flake graphite feedstock will be needed to serve these aggressively growing markets.",{"type":577,"attrs":756,"content":757},{"textAlign":49},[758],{"text":759,"type":582},"Benchmark is tracking three 100,000 tpa spherical graphite and anode plants that are already in the pipeline from Hitachi, BTR New Energy and Lumao / BAIC over the next three years.",{"type":577,"attrs":761,"content":762},{"textAlign":49},[763],{"text":764,"type":582},"These plants alone will require a best case scenario of 600,000 tpa flake graphite feedstock should all producers choose the lower cost natural anode route. It is likely, particularly in the Hitachi case, that an estimated 70% of its plant will be natural spherical graphite anode while both BTR and Lumao are both expected to use 100% natural graphite.",{"type":577,"attrs":766,"content":767},{"textAlign":49},[768],{"text":769,"type":582},"Benchmark, therefore, estimates flake graphite demand from these plants, should they reach capacity, to be 530,000 to 600,000 tpa. At the low end, this equates to 80% of the size of the flake graphite market in 2017 and does not include the multiple small to medium sized spherical graphite plants within China which range from 5,000 to 15,000 tpa.",{"type":577,"attrs":771,"content":772},{"textAlign":49},[773],{"text":774,"type":582},"As a result, we could be seeing the start of a sustained period of higher prices for flake graphite.","The prices of lithium, graphite, vanadium and a number of other specialist minerals and metals have headed skyward after China went into pollution crackdown overdrive in a bid to clean its air for autumn and winter. China, a country which is heavily reliant on low cost coal to power its extensive mineral processing industry, has […]",[777],{"slug":565,"name":566,"content":778},{"job_title":568,"image":779,"bio":571,"linkedin":572},{"filename":570},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5b1b3e8d-a9d9-491a-9880-69a8be08d55a\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[783,786],{"slug":784,"name":785},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":787,"name":788},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals","private",{"id":49,"alt":791,"name":791,"focus":791,"title":791,"source":791,"filename":792,"copyright":791,"fieldtype":793,"meta_data":794,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/0ad2573c4d/bm-screen-shot-2017-11-24-at-134028.png","asset",{"alt":791,"title":791,"source":791,"copyright":791},"Nov 24, 2017","24th November 2017",[],[],1792688598875]