Fluorite supply woes bolster prices of aluminum fluoride

SHANGHAI, Jul 1 (SMM) – Prices of aluminum fluoride across Chinese markets ticked up in June as the suspension of fluorite mining in Inner Mongolia buoyed prices of the raw material that produces aluminum fluoride.

AF-1 aluminum fluoride was quoted above 10,000 yuan/mt at the end of June, up some 1,000 yuan/mt from the start of the month, but no deal has not yet to be reportedly done at that level.

Short supplies bolstered prices of fluorite by some 200 yuan/mt to 3,300 yuan/mt on a Hunan delivery-to-plant basis.

Hunan, together with Henan and Shandong are the major aluminum fluoride-making areas in China.

Seaborne materials, however, are unlikely to help to ease the fluorite supply shortage, due to the low grade of fluorite overseas.

Fluorite prices also received a boost from refrigerant, which saw prices rise to 11,000 yuan/mt as demand expands in the summer.

Fluorite is also the feedstock to produce hydrogen fluoride (HF), which can be used to produce refrigerant.

Large aluminium producers, such as Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (Chalco), have yet to announce their latest purchasing prices for aluminium fluoride, which kept producers of such materials cautious about quoting. Most quotes were heard at 10,000-10,500 yuan/mt.

As local authorities step up their environmental protection efforts before the 70th anniversary of China's founding in October, the possibility of a restart of fluorite mines in Inner Mongolia further ebbs, and prices of such ore materials are expected to hold firm.