magnesium carbonate

The world refractory magnesia market continues to be in a state of over supply but has been moving back closer to balance for a number of years as companies in Italy, the UK and the USA exit from the market. The majority of global magnesium carbonate is located in China, North Korea and Russia, accounting for around 75％ of global dead burned magnesia capacity based on magnesite. In developed economies, such as Japan, the USA and Western Europe, total capacity for production of magnesia is just 0.7Mtpy out of a world total of around 10Mtpy. World consumption of magnesium (including magnesium carbonate) compounds is dominated by the refractories industry, which accounts for around 70-80％ of global usage. Magnesite and magnesia producers have experienced very little growth in this market for many years as advances in refractory technology continue to design out their products. However, over the next few years worldwide consumption of dead burned and fused magnesia is expected to increase slightly in response to strong growth in the Chinese steel and non-ferrous metals industries. However, the increase in published Chinese magnesia prices was caused by sharp rises in costs of production such as power, transport and raw material costs, not by producers taking advantage of supply shortages.