Commodity Price Bubble Finally Burst, but Metals Demand Will Surge   

[SMM Magnesium Express]According to Xinhua News Agency, the Ministry of Natural Resources released the "National Seawater Utilization Report 2025," indicating that China's utilization of marine resources is upgrading from "extracting water from the sea" to "extracting minerals from the sea." The report noted that Tianjin has initiated an international cooperation project titled "Key Technologies for Magnesium Extraction from Seawater/Concentrated Brine," forming a multidimensional industrial landscape for efficient resource development. Currently, there are 167 seawater desalination projects nationwide, with an annual capacity of 3.077 million tons. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, efforts will continue to strengthen the technological reserves for strategic element extraction from seawater, contributing a "Chinese solution" to addressing global freshwater and strategic resource shortages. The industrialization process for seawater magnesium extraction is expected to accelerate.

[Mg Market Trading Sluggish; Short-term Doldrums Persist Amid Supply-demand Stalemate]Today, 99.90% magnesium ingot prices in main production areas were quoted at 16,300-16,400 yuan/mt, a decline of 50 yuan/mt from the previous working day.

Tungsten hexafluoride is a key deposition material in the manufacturing of memory chips and advanced logic chips, and it has been a popular product in the current surge in demand for electronic specialty gases. Affected by factors such as the exit of some ex-China capacity and continuous capacity expansion of downstream memory chips, the supply-demand gap has widened, directly pushing product prices into an upward trajectory. An analyst said: "Taking tungsten hexafluoride, which has seen a significant market price increase, as an example, the average monthly price of 5N-grade in June is expected to reach 1,760 yuan/kg, up 236% YoY. The surging demand for memory chips has been the core underpinning throughout." The head of a specialty gas producer in Shanghai said that demand for helium had climbed sharply recently and that, despite running double shifts, the plant’s production still could not meet demand. The head noted: "The semiconductor industry has very high demand for helium. Many clients are asking—prices change daily. It's possible that the price you pay today won't be available tomorrow, or you simply can't buy it.