Asian Metal visits CMT, Jiangxi Tungsten, Dayu Fuxin, Ganzhou Yuanzhen

On June 28, 2023, Mr. Hao zhao, the Sales Director of Asian Metal, and Ms. Alina Fang, Analyst of Asian Metal, visited Nanchang Cemented Carbide Limited Liability Company (CMT), Jiangxi Tungsten Corporation Limited, Dayu Fuxin Mining Co., Ltd. and Ganzhou Yuanzhen Mining Co., Ltd. and were warmly received by these companies.

On the morning of June 28, Mr. Hao Zhao and Ms. Alina Fang visited CMT and had in-depth exchanges and discussions on the supply and demand of tungsten concentrate and APT88.5%min in the first half of 2023, CMT's powder production and demand situation as well as issues and challenges faced by the company, with Mr. Huayan Ren, the Deputy General Manager of CMT's power department, Ms. Meiqiu Wei from the raw material purchasing department, and Mr. Shengming Xie, the Deputy Director General of import and export department. CMT is a key subsidiary of Minmetals, one of Fortune 500 companies, and is currently a sino-foreign joint venture majority-owned by China Tungsten and Hightech Materials Co., Ltd., with equity participation from Nanchang Yongsheng Asset Operation Management Co., Ltd. and Japan's Tungaloy Corporation. CMT has a complete tungsten industry chain and is one of the top producers and exporters of tungsten powder, cemented carbide and precision tool in China. CMT now has annual production capacity of 5,000t of tungsten powder and 1,000t of cemented carbide bar. CMT has been paying close attention to tungsten market information provided by Asian Metal and has given recognition to its objective, impartial and professional market information.

Later, Mr. Hao Zhao and Ms. Alina Fang visited Jiangxi Tungsten Corporation Limited and had a pleasant meeting with Mr. Jianli Xue, Marketing General Manager of Jiangxi Tungsten Holding Group Company Limited, Mr. Xiaoming Gong, Manager of the Group Company, Mr. Chuntao Liu, Marketing Deputy General Manager of Jiangxi Tungsten Corporation Limited, Mr. Shuai Zhu, Mr. Jinglong Li, Mr. Jinshui Hu, and Mr. Junrong Fan, managers of Jiangxi Tungsten Corporation Limited. The two sides exchanged views on domestic and foreign price trends of tungsten products in the first half of 2023 and the issues and challenges faced by the raw material market. Jiangxi Tungsten's mines are dealing with high operating costs, decline in raw ore grade and slightly lower production. Meanwhile, with the steadily increasing production from domestic APT88.5%min plants and powder plants in recent years, the demand for raw materials remains stable. Then, the two sides conducted in-depth discussions on the export prices of tungsten products and the supply and demand situation in the first half of 2023. Due to complex international political environment and the economic downturn, the export of tungsten products declined sharply in the first half of this year, and the export market sees some challenges and opportunities in the second half of the year. Jiangxi Tungsten Holding Group Company Limited, is a large provincial state-owned industrial enterprise in China with tungsten mining history of more than 100 years. It is a major supplier of tungsten concentrate, tantalum and niobium concentrate and lepidolite concentrate, an important manufacturer of tungsten, tantalum and niobium, rare earth, copper and cobalt smelting and processing products, and an important domestic non-ferrous metal industrial technology service provider and non-ferrous metal industrial equipment, accessories and materials supplier. It is one of the 14 Chinese state-owned enterprises that export tungsten products. The company's recoverable reserves of black tungsten metal account for 60% of the nation's total, which can be mined for more than 30 years; tantalum and niobium metal recoverable reserves accounted for 59% of the national's total, which can be mined for more than 50 years; lithium metal reserves account for 4.2% of the total, equivalent to lepidolite supply for annual production of 20,000t of lithium carbonate. The Group's products are exported to Japan, the United States, Germany, Sweden and other dozens of countries and regions. In 2022, Jiangxi Tungsten exported about 3,500t of tungsten oxide, 1,100t of tungsten powder and 1,700t of ferrotungsten. The Group's tungsten mine produces about 10,000 standard tons of tungsten concentrate and its smelters have annual production of around 15,000t of APT88.5%min and 6,000t of tungsten powder.

Jiangxi Tungsten has been a subscriber of Asian Metal since 2009. Over the past 14 years, the two sides had maintained exchanges and conducted friendly cooperation on domestic and foreign tungsten product prices and market information. Jiangxi Tungsten spoke highly of the objective, impartial and timely market information provided by Asian Metal and expressed willingness to strengthen cooperation and communication with Asian Metal in the future.

On the afternoon of June 28, Mr. Hao Zhao and Ms. Alina Fang visited Dayu Fuxin Mining Co., Ltd. and Ganzhou Yuanzhen Mining Co., Ltd. and met with Fuxin Mining's Chairman Mr. Dongfang Lan and General Manager Mr. Bin Long, as well as Mr. Zhibin Huang, the General Manager of Yuanzhen Mining and Mr. Xiaoming Xu, the partner of the company. The three parties made in-depth communication and analysis on supply and demand of tungsten concentrate market in 2023. According to Mr. Lan, as inspections on environmental protection and production safety became stricter in the recent years, domestic miners bear great pressure of production now and have to reduce tungsten concentrate output to some extents, which makes it hard to purchase tungsten concentrate in the domestic market. Mr. Lan further noted that Fuxin Mining keeps stable supply of tungsten concentrate currently and only holds regular stocks in hand. Fuxin Mining's annual sales of tungsten concentrate and APT 88.5%min stabilize at about 10,000 metal tons and 2,000t respectively now, while Yuanzhen Mining's annual sales of APT 88.5%min could reach 3,000t or so. As a subscriber of Asia Metal for years, Fuxin Mining has referred to the tungsten concentrate price issued by Asia Metal for a long period of time and used it as a benchmark. Fuxing Mining acknowledged and affirmed the objective, fair, and professional market information offered by Asian Metal and intends to further deepen cooperation in the future.