China blocks Australian antimony shipment
China has delayed and returned a shipment of Australian critical minerals bound for the US.
The shipment of 55t of antimony concentrate, destined for US Antimony Corporation, was held at the port of Ningbo in the Zhejiang Province for three months before being released by Chinese authorities on the condition it was to return to Australia.
Alkane Resources (ASX: ALK), who supplied the shipment of antimony from its Costerfield site in Victoria, said it would never again send an antimony shipment bound for the US via China even though there had been no problem with previous shipments, according to the Australian Industry & Defence Network (AIDN).
The incident comes as US Antimony, the only antimony smelter operator in the US, is looking to increase production and secure a $367.6m [US$240m] supply contract with the US Department of Defence.
Last December, China banned exports of antimony to the US in retaliation to US trade restrictions on China’s semiconductor industry.
Shadow Resources Minister Susan McDonald says this incident highlights the weakness of the Federal Government’s critical minerals agenda and raises concerns of Australia’s ability to guarantee supply to the US.
“The Coalition advocated strongly to strengthen our Critical Minerals Strategy to: support national and regional security and that of our allies and partners; provide clarity and certainty for strategic long-term investments; and safeguard the security of supply chains, including strategic supply chains,” she said.
“It is time for [the Federal Government] to explain why they cannot guarantee supply of our defence minerals to our partners, why they cannot secure a critical minerals deal with the US, and why the Prime Minister still cannot secure a meeting with [US] President Trump.”
Last week, The Federal Government, with South Australian and Tasmanian Governments, announced it would invest $57.5m as part of a $135m package aimed at supporting the transformation of Nyrstar’s Port Pirie and Hobart smelters into modern facilities capable of producing critical minerals, including antimony.
An immediate focus of the package is to deploy an Antimony Pilot Plant in Port Pirie, which if successful would make Port Pirie the only producer of antimony metal in Australia and one of the few producers globally.
Federal Minister for Industry and Innovation Tim Ayres comments on the package.
“If pilot studies are successful this would position Port Pirie as Australia’s only producer of antimony metal and one of the few globally, supporting sovereign capability in defence and advanced manufacturing,” he said.
“Sustainable and competitive smelting capabilities in Australia that can deliver critical minerals projects are part of the [Federal] Government’s Future Made in Australia agenda.”
Looking ahead, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump are both expected to attend next month’s UN General Assembly in New York, US. An official meeting has yet to be confirmed.