SHANGHAI, Mar 20 (SMM) – Spot prices of silico-manganese alloy increased in Ningxia on Wednesday March 20, the deadline for the closure of outdated submerged-arc furnaces required by the government of Pingluo, Ningxia on Monday March 11.  

On March 20, spot silico-manganese alloy in Ningxia traded at 7,600 yuan/mt ex-works in cash, up 50 yuan/mt from Tuesday March 19. 

SMM learned on the morning of March 20 that silico-manganese producers in Pingluo had shut their substandard submerged-arc furnaces with capacity below 20,000KVA.

Silico-manganese alloy plants with submerged-arc furnaces below 25,000KVA in Shizuishan city of Ningxia will face energy conservation inspections from April 1-June 1, according to a notice on Monday March 18. This is expected to affect full operation of producers. 

Those producers were ordered to conduct self-checks during March 18-31. Eighteen industrial companies were included in this round of probes.