Most used metal for aircrafts, Where the World’s Aluminum is Smelted, by Country

[Beijingwalker]

Most used metal for aircrafts, Where the World’s Aluminum is Smelted, by Country
May 7, 2024
By Bruno Venditti

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Aluminum Smelter Production in 2023​

This infographic shows estimated aluminum smelter production by country in 2023, based on data from the most recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries, published in January 2024 .

From this data, we can see that China leads as the top producer, accounting for nearly 60% of the world’s smelter capacity. Its neighbor India is the second-largest producer, making only a tenth of China’s output.



Responsible for 5% of global aluminum output, Russia has been targeted by recent sanctions from the U.S. and the UK.

The sanctions include prohibiting metal-trading exchanges from accepting new aluminum produced by Russia and barring the import of the Russian metal into the U.S. and Britain. The actions are aimed at disrupting Russian export revenue amid Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The World’s Most Common Metal​

Aluminum is the primary material used for making cans, foil, and many other products. It originates from bauxites, rocks composed of aluminum oxides, and various minerals.

Approximately 25% of annually produced aluminum is utilized by the construction industry, while another 23% is allocated to vehicle frames, wires, wheels, and other components within the transportation sector. Aluminum foil, cans, and packaging constitute another significant end-use category, accounting for 17% of consumption.

Despite its extensive use, aluminum is still plentiful. Aluminum is the world’s most common metal by crustal abundance, making up 8.2% of the Earth’s crust.

According to the USGS, global resources of bauxite are estimated to be between 55 billion and 75 billion tonnes and are sufficient to meet world demand for metal well into the future.

 

[Beijingwalker]

Ranked: The World’s Biggest Steel Producers, by Country​

May 19, 2023

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Ranked: The World’s Biggest Steel Producers, by Country​

This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on real assets and resource megatrends each week.

Steel is a critical component of modern industry and economy, essential for the construction of buildings, automobiles, and many other appliances and infrastructure used in our daily lives.

This graphic uses data from the World Steel Association to visualize the world’s top steel-producing countries, and highlights China’s ascent to the top, as it now makes up more than half of the world’s steel production.

The State of Global Steel Production​

Global steel production in 2022 reached 1,878 million tonnes, barely surpassing the pre-pandemic production of 1,875 million tonnes in 2019.



2022’s steel production marked a significant reduction compared to the post-pandemic rebound of 1,960 million tonnes in 2021, with a year-over-year decline of 4.2%–the largest drop since 2009, and prior to that, 1991.

This decline was spread across many of the world’s top steel producers, with only three of the top fifteen countries, India, Iran, and Indonesia, increasing their yearly production. Most of the other top steel-producing countries saw annual production declines of more than 5%, with Turkey, Italy, Taiwan, and Vietnam’s production all declining by double digits.


Even the world’s top steel-producing nation, China, experienced a modest 2% decline, which due to the country’s large production amounted to a decline of 19.8 million tonnes, more than many other nations produce in a year.

Despite India, the world’s second-largest steel producer, increasing its production by 5.3%, the country’s output still amounts to just over one-tenth of the steel produced by China.

China’s Meteoric Rise in Steel Production​

Although China dominates the world’s steel production with more than a 54% share today, this hasn’t always been the case.

In 1967, the World Steel Association’s first recorded year of steel production figures, China only produced an estimated 14 million tonnes, making up barely 3% of global output. At that time, the U.S. and the USSR were competing as the world’s top steel producers at 115 and 102 million tonnes respectively, followed by Japan at 62 million tonnes.

Almost three decades later in 1996, China had successively overtaken Russia, the U.S., and Japan to become the top steel-producing nation with 101 million tonnes of steel produced that year.

The early 2000s marked a period of rapid growth for China, with consistent double-digit percentage increases in steel production each year.

The Recent Decline in China’s Steel Production​

Since the early 2000s, China’s average annual growth in steel production has slowed to 3.4% over the last decade (2013-2022), a considerable decline compared to the previous decade’s (2003-2012) 15.2% average annual growth rate.

The past couple of years have seen China’s steel production decline, with 2021 and 2022 marking the first time the country’s production fell for two consecutive years in a row.

While it’s unlikely China will relinquish its position as the top steel-producing nation anytime soon, it remains to be seen whether this recent decline marks the beginning of a new trend or just a brief deviation from the country’s consistent production growth.

Ranked: The World’s Biggest Steel Producers, by Country

China has dominated global steel production the past few decades, but how did the country get here, and is its production growth over?

www.visualcapitalist.com

 

[Beijingwalker]

 

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Measuring the sustainability of tin in China​

 

[Beijingwalker]

Simple facts that no countries on this planet can actually " decouple" from China.

 

[Beijingwalker]

Many vital factors combine to make China an irreplaceable global manufacturing hub: close to the raw material, close to the market, vast pool of skilled workforce, massive yet highly reliable infrastructure and electricity power supply, superb transportation and logistic support, numerous available mega ports and airports....

 

[Indos]

Nice data presented here.

 

[Nan Yang]

Most used metal for aircrafts, Where the World’s Aluminum is Smelted, by Country
May 7, 2024
By Bruno Venditti

​

Aluminum Smelter Production in 2023​

This infographic shows estimated aluminum smelter production by country in 2023, based on data from the most recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries, published in January 2024 .

From this data, we can see that China leads as the top producer, accounting for nearly 60% of the world’s smelter capacity. Its neighbor India is the second-largest producer, making only a tenth of China’s output.

View attachment 39707

Responsible for 5% of global aluminum output, Russia has been targeted by recent sanctions from the U.S. and the UK.

The sanctions include prohibiting metal-trading exchanges from accepting new aluminum produced by Russia and barring the import of the Russian metal into the U.S. and Britain. The actions are aimed at disrupting Russian export revenue amid Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The World’s Most Common Metal​

Aluminum is the primary material used for making cans, foil, and many other products. It originates from bauxites, rocks composed of aluminum oxides, and various minerals.

Approximately 25% of annually produced aluminum is utilized by the construction industry, while another 23% is allocated to vehicle frames, wires, wheels, and other components within the transportation sector. Aluminum foil, cans, and packaging constitute another significant end-use category, accounting for 17% of consumption.

Despite its extensive use, aluminum is still plentiful. Aluminum is the world’s most common metal by crustal abundance, making up 8.2% of the Earth’s crust.

According to the USGS, global resources of bauxite are estimated to be between 55 billion and 75 billion tonnes and are sufficient to meet world demand for metal well into the future.

Aluminum ore is bauxite.
During the first step, bauxite is turned to Aluminum oxide.
During this process Red mud is the by product.

From Red Mud another even more important metal is extracted which is Gallium

 

[Beijingwalker]

China vs Rest of the world.

 

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[Beijingwalker]

China Produces More Than Half the World’s Steel

June 7, 2024
One major issue facing the steel industry is overcapacity in top producer China.

Steel production in China has surpassed demand in recent years, leading to downward pressure on the profit margins of steel mills worldwide.

Historically, China’s troubled real estate sector has accounted for over one-third of the country’s steel consumption. To address this issue, the Chinese government has mandated steel production cuts since 2021.

Far behind China, India is the second-biggest producer of steel, followed by Japan.

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-raw-steel-production-in-2023/

 

[Beijingwalker]

China Leads Critical Minerals Production MINING​

by Anna Fleck,
Jul 31, 2024

Demand for critical minerals such as copper, cobalt, lithium and nickel is soaring. These raw materials are used in a range of new technologies, from electric cars to wind turbines, which are becoming ever more important as the world moves towards a green transition. Experts forecast that this trend is set to accelerate, with global production of cobalt, graphite and lithium set to increase nearly six-fold between now and 2050 (World Bank).

Data recently published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that China accounts for around two-thirds of the world's processing/refining capacity for critical minerals. While the extraction of these materials takes place all around the globe, China currently accounts for more than half of the world's refining of aluminum, lithium and cobalt, around 90 percent of that of rare earth metals and manganese and 100 percent of that of natural graphite. In addition, more than a third of the world's copper and nickel processing is carried out in China.

While China is in the lead for critical minerals production, the nation is losing its dominance. For example, the United States and Australia have increased their production of rare earths from 2010 onwards and most recently, Myanmar and Thailand have started to mine far more than before.

Infographic: China Leads Critical Minerals Production

This chart shows the top countries by share in global processing of selected critical minerals in 2023.

www.statista.com

 

[Beijingwalker]

View attachment 39710
View attachment 39711

ENERGY

Replacing China in copper supply chain is ‘unfeasible,’ warns WoodMac, as the West seeks shift​

PUBLISHED FRI, AUG 16 20241:26 AM EDT

KEY POINTS

• A shift by Western economies away from China’s copper supply chain could raise costs and delay the energy transition, says Wood Mackenzie.
• While supply chain risks can be mitigated in various countries, the scale of China’s dominance in the downstream supply chain means complete replacement is ‘unfeasible,’ said a mining expert.

A worker tying copper wire rods before loading them onto a truck in Huai’an, in China’s Jiangsu Province.
Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images

Western countries seeking to diversify away from China’s dominance in copper could delay the energy transition besides raising costs, while its complete replacement would be ‘unfeasible,’ according to Wood Mackenzie.

China leads the world in key segments of the copper supply chain, with the critical metal serving as an important component in emerging technologies such as renewable energy, energy storage and electric vehicles.

As the U.S., Canada, Australia, and European countries seek to displace the country’s hold on copper through subsidies and investment, Wood Mackenzie warns that the dual aims of decarbonization and reduced dependence on Beijing are at odds with one another.

“Hundreds of billions of dollars in new copper processing and fabrication capacity would be required to replace China,” the natural resources’ data analytics firm said a report released on Thursday, adding that demand for the metal could grow by 75% to 56 million tons by 2050.

“This would create inefficiencies that would result in significantly higher-priced finished goods and increase the cost and timeliness of the energy transition,” it added.

Existing mines and projects under construction will meet only 80% of copper needs by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency, indicating a potential shortage of the metal.

According to Wood Mackenzie, most of the world’s initial mining of raw materials occurs primarily in the Americas and Africa, with China’s domestic mining output constituting just 8% of global production.

Though that share rises closer to 20% after accounting for China’s overseas mining assets, the country will still need to secure additional supplies to meet its needs. The rest of the world has enough primary mine supply to meet current requirements, the report said.

The copper supply chain, however, comprises several key phases, including mining, smelting and refining, fabricating, and the manufacturing of finished goods.

And what the rest of the world has in copper mines, it lacks in China’s dominance in downstream processing and manufacturing, according to the report.

“As governments and manufacturers aim to diversify away from China, it is crucial to consider the entire supply chain, not just mining operations,” said Nick Pickens, research director of global mining at Wood Mackenzie.

“While copper supply risks can be mitigated and some rebalancing has begun in various countries, the scale of China’s dominance in the supply chain means complete replacement is unfeasible.”

The report outlines that 80% of copper mining produces copper concentrate, which must be processed at smelters and refineries to produce copper cathode. Fabricators then use that material to make copper components that wind up in finished goods.

Since 2000, China has been responsible for 75% of the world’s smelter capacity growth, according to Wood Mackenzie’s data.

“A scenario without China for the copper supply chain would require a substantial increase in processing capacity to meet energy transition targets,” said Pickens.

The report said that there are currently no plans for new primary smelting capacities in North America or Europe. Instead, the U.S. has focused on secondary markets and copper recycling, recently establishing its first secondary smelter for multi-metal recycling in the country.

China also accounts for around 80% of additions in copper and copper alloy fabrication capacity globally since 2019, with it now having half of the world’s fabrication capacity.

Legislations like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the U.S. have aimed to subsidize critical mineral investments. However, with copper, such efforts have met hurdles in the U.S. and Europe due to factors such as low utilization, high operating costs, and environmental regulations, the report said.

“Pragmatism and compromise will be essential to achieve net zero goals without imposing excessive costs on taxpayers. Easing global trade restrictions could be one necessary concession,” Pickens said.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/16/replacing-china-in-copper-supply-chain-is-unfeasible-warns-woodmac.html

 

[Beijingwalker]