Mineral Commodity Summaries 2011 - Environmental and Energy ...

MAGNESIUM COMPOUNDS97In Australia, the country’s leading magnesia producer returned to full production capacity in June after running atabout 25% of capacity since the beginning of 2009. The company also completed an expansion that increased itscapacity by about 50% to bring the total to 175,000 tons per year of caustic-calcined magnesia, 135,000 tons per yearof dead-burned magnesia, and 35,000 tons per year of fused magnesia. Another firm received State governmentapproval to develop its magnesite property in Tasmania and, in the fourth quarter, began drilling to delineate themagnesite resource.Several companies planned new magnesia plants. In Spain, the leading magnesite producer planned to open twonew mines in 2011 with about 57 million tons of magnesite reserves to replace the company’s operating mines that, atpresent mining rates, have a remaining life of 7 to 8 years. In May, a company in Turkey began production from a new6,500-ton-per-year fused magnesia furnace, which doubled its fused magnesia production capacity. In India, a newjoint venture planned to develop the Panthal magnesite deposit and build a 30,000-ton-per-year dead-burnedmagnesia plant at the site by 2012.The world’s second-ranked olivine producer planned to close its 1.1-million-ton-per-year mine in Greenland byyearend. The company cited lower olivine prices and unfavorable market conditions as reasons for the closure. Themine had been operating only since 2005.World Magnesite Mine Production and Reserves: Reserves data for Australia, China, India, and Slovakia wererevised based on new information from the respective country Governments.Mine production Reserves 420092010 eUnited States W W 10,000Australia 58 70 95,000Austria 231 230 15,000Brazil 115 100 99,000China 3,170 3,200 550,000Greece 94 100 30,000India 98 100 6,000Korea, North 346 350 450,000Russia 288 300 650,000Slovakia 231 230 35,000Spain 133 130 10,000Turkey 576 600 49,000Other countries 167 170390,000World total (rounded)5,5105,580 2,400,000In addition to magnesite, there are vast reserves of well and lake brines and seawater from which magnesiumcompounds can be recovered.World Resources: Resources from which magnesium compounds can be recovered range from large to virtuallyunlimited and are globally widespread. Identified world resources of magnesite total 12 billion tons, and of brucite,several million tons. Resources of dolomite, forsterite, magnesium-bearing evaporite minerals, and magnesia-bearingbrines are estimated to constitute a resource in billions of tons. Magnesium hydroxide can be recovered fromseawater.Substitutes: Alumina, chromite, and silica substitute for magnesia in some refractory applications.e Estimated. NA Not available. W Withheld to avoid disclosing company proprietary data.1 See also Magnesium Metal.2 Defined as imports – exports + adjustments for Government and industry stock changes.3 Tariffs are based on gross weight.4 See Appendix C for resource/reserve definitions and information concerning data sources.5 Excludes U.S. production.U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2011