The raw materials for the production of ferrosilicon and manganese-silicon alloys are mainly silica ore and manganese ore. Among them, silica mines are mainly distributed in Northwest China, and the output of ferrosilicon in four provinces of Qinghai, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia and Gansu, accounts for about 65.4% of the national ferrosilicon production. At present, the largest silica and quartz stone base in China is in Shizuishan City, Ningxia, with proven silica reserves of 4.3 billion tons. Manganese and silicon are mainly distributed in the southwest and northwest. Among them, the output of manganese and silicon in the five provinces of Guangxi, Hunan, Guizhou, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia, accounts for more than 75.7% of the national output of manganese and silicon. At present, there are 213 proven manganese ore areas, with reserves of 560 million tons, ranking second in the world. Chongqing is the world’s largest manganese ore and electrolytic manganese production base, known as the “world’s first manganese capital”, while Chongqing is currently the world’s largest manganese ore and electrolytic manganese production base. The volume reached 201.7735 million tons, accounting for 1/4 of the country’s total reserves.
ferrosilicon alloy
In addition to being partially used as steelmaking additives, ferrosilicon alloys are also used to smelt magnesium metal. At present, there are four unfavorable factors restricting the development of the silica mining industry: first, silica is mainly used to produce products with low added value and low economic benefits such as ferroalloys, glass products, and silicon carbide; Among them, enterprises mine thick and discard thin, mine the rich and abandon the poor, and keep the edge while mining, which causes waste of resources and damages the ecological environment. Third, the development of the silica mining industry requires high environmental protection and high costs. Fourth, due to insufficient funds, At present, silica production only relies on small and medium-sized enterprises with small scale and poor equipment for preliminary processing. Faced with the current situation of no profit or meager profit in silica resources, some large and medium-sized domestic enterprises need to actively integrate existing mine resources, group operations, improve processing capabilities and core technologies, and strive to improve my country’s silicon industry as soon as possible and enter the world’s advanced ranks.
Manganese-silicon alloy, as the most important variety of ferroalloys (its demand accounts for about 50% of the total output of ferroalloys), is mainly used in the steelmaking industry (manganese consumption accounts for 90%-95%). Deoxidizer and desulfurizer in the steel process, and used to make alloys. The remaining 5%-10% of manganese is used in other industrial fields, such as chemical industry (manufacturing various manganese-containing salts), light industry (used in batteries, matches, printing paint, soap making, etc.), building materials industry (glass and ceramics) colorant and fading agent), defense industry, electronics industry, as well as environmental protection and agriculture and animal husbandry, etc.
Compared with manganese ore in Africa and other regions, domestic manganese ore is of lower grade and quality. However, due to large-scale mining, the domestic manganese resources are facing the danger of depletion, and it is estimated that the national manganese resources can be mined for another 15-20 years. Ore imported from abroad has high grade, less slag, low cost, and less pollution. The state encourages enterprises to go out and increase overseas prospecting. At present, some domestic electrolytic manganese enterprises have explored manganese ore in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Zambia, South Africa, Brazil and other countries. China’s largest electrolytic manganese enterprise, CITIC Dameng Mining Co., Ltd., bought 30 million tons of manganese ore resources in Gabon and 10 million tons of manganese ore resources in South Africa, and started mining by itself. And CITIC Dameng controls 22% of manganese ore resources in China.
ferroalloys in steelmaking
The downstream industries of the two are mainly steelmaking enterprises, and the most widely used ferroalloys in the steelmaking process are ferrosilicon, ferromanganese, manganese-silicon alloy and ferrochrome. Among them, ferrosilicon and ferromanganese are mainly used for smelting ordinary steel, and manganese-silicon alloy and ferrochrome are mainly used for smelting special steel. Ferrochromium is the most important raw material for producing stainless steel, and the supply and demand of ferrochromium is closely related to the supply and demand of the stainless steel market.