SHANGHAI, Apr 11 (SMM) - In March, the domestic output of praseodymium neodymium (PrNd) oxide was 6,392 mt, an increase of 5% month-on-month. The main increase came from Jiangxi and Sichuan, and the main decrease was contributed by Fujian, Jiangsu and other places.
The output of PrNd oxide in Jiangxi rose by 13% month-on-month. The shortage of scrap eased in March, and the operating rates of scrap recyclers in Jiangxi climbed as a whole. The downstream demand has increased, and the demand for long-terms orders rose as well. The production capacity of magnetic material enterprises expanded as a whole. Affected by this, scrap recyclers Jiangxi continued to expand their production, and some will expand their annual capacity to 120%. It is expected that the output of PrNd oxide from scrap recyclers in Jiangxi will increase steadily in April.
In March, the ROM inventory of separation enterprises in Jiangxi was temporarily sufficient, and the output of praseodymium oxide was stable for the moment. Affected by environmental inspections, the local middle and heavy rare earth mines have not yet been mined, and the China-Myanmar border is still closed, making it difficult to supplement supply with imported ores. It is expected that the output of PrNd oxide by separation enterprises in Jiangxi will decrease in April and May.
The output of PrNd oxide in Sichuan rose by 3% month-on-month. The sources of raw materials in this region are mainly imported light rare earth ore and local mining. Due to the sufficient inventory of light rare earth ores, the operating capacity of some separation enterprises in Sichuan continued to increase until full production in the first quarter. It is expected that the production of PrNd oxide in Sichuan will remain stable in April.
Due to the obstruction of rare earths imports from Myanmar, the ROM inventory of some separation enterprises in Jiangsu and Fujian dropped, and the operating rates fell some as well, and some have even stopped the production.
Output of PrNd oxide in April is expected to fall slightly MoM.
In March, the domestic output of PrNd alloy was 5,278 mt, an increase of 4% month-on-month. The main increase came from Sichuan, Jiangxi and Gaungxi, and the main decrease was contributed by Inner Mongolia and Guangxi.
The output of PrNd alloy in Sichuan rose by 9% month-on-month. During the Spring Festival in February, metal enterprises had more routine maintenance and the operating rates were low. The supply of raw materials was stable in March, and the operating capacity of metal enterprises gradually recovered.
The alloy output in Jiangsu also rose. Affected by the small-scale bidding of magnetic material enterprises, the operating rates of some metal enterprises in Jiangsu increased slightly.
In Inner Mongolia and Jiangxi, the output fell by 5% and 15% respectively MoM. And some metal enterprises in Inner Mongolia were forced to stop the production due to equipment failure. When the equipment is replaced in April, the operating rates are expected to increase slightly.
In March, the rare earths prices continued to decline. Affected by the sentiment of buying on hikes rather than dips, magnetic material companies continued to see lower inventories. In order to avoid the risk of loss, some magnetic material enterprises placed less orders. Affected by this, the output of PrNd oxide of some large metal enterprises in Jiangxi has dropped by more than 20%.
The output of PrNd alloy in April is expected to be flat MoM.
