Global cesium pricing mechanism and price trend

Cesium metal - industrial monosodium glutamate

1、 Global cesium pricing mechanism and price trend

01 Cesium pricing mechanism mainly based on vendor agreement pricing

Cesium is a rare small metal with a small market size and no active trading. Its pricing model is mainly based on manufacturer agreement quotes. Shanghai Nonferrous Metals Network, CBC Metal Network, and others release daily prices of cesium metal and cesium carbonate for industry reference.

The price trend of cesium remains stable with some increase, and the fluctuation is not significant

The price of cesium has shown an upward trend in the past 20 years. In 2000, the price of cesium metal was around $63 per gram, but briefly dropped to around $50 per gram in 2002. Then by 2017, the price of cesium metal slowly rose to around $76 per gram; By 2022, the price of cesium metal will rise to around $98 per gram, an increase of about 96% compared to 2002. Due to the small size of the cesium market, the unit price of cesium metal or compounds is inversely proportional to the quantity purchased, and the prices of cesium compounds such as cesium carbonate, cesium iodide, cesium bromide, cesium sulfate, cesium formate, etc. also rise with the fluctuation of cesium metal prices.

2、 Global cesium resource pricing and market situation

01 Global available cesium resources are concentrated and reserves are gradually decreasing

The global cesium resources are scarce, mainly extracted from cesium garnet. Cesium does not exist in its elemental form in nature and is mainly distributed in the form of salt, with very little distribution on land and in the ocean. The global mineral reserves are scarce. Cesium garnet is the only independent mineral containing cesium, with a cesium oxide content of 5% -32%, and is the main raw material for extracting cesium.

More than 90% of global cesium reserves are concentrated in Canada, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. According to data from the United States Geological Survey, the global reserves of pegmatite cesium resources in 2020 were 217100 tons, including 120000 tons from Canada, 60000 tons from Zimbabwe, 30000 tons from Namibia, and 7100 tons from Australia. By 2022, the global reserves of garnet type cesium resources will decrease to below 200000 tons, and with the development and utilization, the existing reserves of cesium mineral resources in mining areas have been decreasing.

The world's scalable resources of garnet are mainly concentrated in three major mines: Tanco mine in Canada, Bikita mine in Zimbabwe, and Sinclair mine in Australia. Among them, the Tanco mine in Canada is the only existing mine in the world that mainly produces cesium garnet, and it is also the largest cesium garnet mine in the world. Its cesium garnet grade is high and has high economic mining value, with an average grade of 23.3% cesium oxide. The Tanko mine has an unmined cesium ore resource of 117200 tons, of which 16200 tons are cesium oxide; The amount of cesium tailings resources is about 3.5222 million tons, of which the cesium oxide content is about 26000 tons. The total amount of cesium oxide resources held by Tanko Mine is 42200 tons.

The Biquita mine in Zimbabwe is also one of the main mines for mining garnet worldwide. Since its discovery in 1911, the Bijita mine has developed a large amount of lithium, cesium, tantalum and other resources. Its garnet type ore resources have been basically exhausted, but the mine still has multiple unverified lithium cesium tantalum type pegmatite rock bodies, which have the potential to further expand the reserves of cesium mineral resources.

The Sinclair Mine in Australia is a newly discovered cesium garnet mine in recent years, with a total exploration of 7110 tons of ore resources, a cesium oxide grade of 16.4%, and 1166 tons of cesium oxide, with relatively small reserves.

02 Global concentration of cesium salt producers has a certain impact on cesium pricing

The cesium salt industry has high technical barriers, and the companies that can achieve mass production of cesium salt worldwide are China National Mining Corporation and American Yabao. In recent years, Yabao's cesium raw materials have mainly come from the Biquita mine in Zimbabwe. In 2023, Zhongkuang Resources completed the 100% acquisition of equity in Canada's Tanco mine and Zimbabwe's Bikita mine, and fully underwritten the cesium garnet resources of Australia's Sinclair mine, with strong market influence. The global cesium resource processing and production are mainly in Canada, China and other places.

The global cesium consumption field and consumer countries are relatively concentrated, and consumers have relatively weak influence on cesium pricing

One is the concentration of cesium consumption in the field

In 2020, the global consumption of cesium (calculated as cesium oxide) was about 2400 tons, mainly concentrated in traditional fields, accounting for about 78%, high-tech fields accounting for about 18%, and pharmaceutical fields accounting for about 4%. The traditional fields include the production of drilling fluids, sulfuric acid catalysts, titanium dioxide photocatalysts, other catalysts, and flux products. The high-tech field mainly covers products such as atomic clocks, low orbit satellites, optoelectronic devices, and special glass.

Secondly, the cesium consumption in the United States and Japan is relatively high

The consumption of cesium (calculated as cesium oxide) in the United States is about 960 tons, accounting for about 40% of the global total consumption, mainly concentrated in the high-tech field, accounting for 80%.

Global cesium metal market prices from 2000 to 2022

Thirdly, cesium consumers are relatively dispersed

BASF from Germany, Bontai from Germany, Topso from Denmark, Iwatani from Japan, Halliburton from the United States, DuPont from the United States, Sinopec from China, and others are the main consumers of cesium resources worldwide and recipients of cesium market prices.

Fourthly, it is expected that global cesium consumption will increase slightly

According to the analysis of the global cesium market application, the development of emerging industries related to cesium and the expansion of catalyst applications will drive a sustained slight increase in global cesium consumption in the coming years.

04 Global cesium resource exporting countries are relatively concentrated, and cesium export traders have a certain influence on cesium prices

Canada and Zimbabwe are global exporters of cesium resources. As the cesium garnet type ore resources of the Biquita mine in Zimbabwe are gradually depleted, Canada's voice in global cesium resource trade may increase. The United States, Japan, Germany, and other countries are the main importers of cesium resources worldwide, with a foreign dependence rate of 100%.

3、 The Market Situation of Cesium Resources in China and Its Impact on Pricing Mechanism

The domestic cesium price trend is basically consistent with the international market

China's cesium industry has developed rapidly and has become an important industrial force in the global cesium market. The domestic cesium price trend is basically consistent with the international market, and in recent years, the prices of major cesium salt products have shown an overall stable and upward trend.

China currently has no independently exploitable cesium resources and relies 100% on imports. Cesium resources are mainly distributed in Xinjiang and Jiangxi

Firstly, the existing cesium resources in China do not currently have independent development and utilization value

China's cesium reserves of 25000 tons (cesium oxide) are all concentrated in Jiangxi Province. Cesium resources in China amount to 401000 tons, mainly distributed in pegmatites in Xinjiang, Sichuan, Jiangxi and Hunan, as well as salt lakes in Qinghai and Xizang. However, under the current economic and technological conditions, China's cesium resources do not have the value for independent development and utilization.

Secondly, the current domestic demand for cesium resources mainly comes from imported raw materials from abroad

The Keketuohai mining area in Xinjiang, which was developed early in China, has a cesium oxide content of about 18% -25% in its garnet concentrate, making it an important cesium producing area in China. Since the closure of Keketuohai No. 3 mine, there have been no reports of independent cesium garnet mines available for mining.

China's cesium consumption is relatively large, and emerging technology fields have the potential for consumption growth

In 2020, the consumption of cesium (calculated as cesium oxide) in China was about 797 tons, of which 756 tons were used in chemical industries such as catalysts, fluxes, and pharmaceuticals, 19 tons were used in special glass, 19 tons were used in optoelectronic devices, and a small amount were used in atomic clocks and aviation thrusters. In the future, ultra-high temperature and high pressure environments may become the norm for deep oil and gas exploration and development, and the application of cesium formate in the domestic oil and gas field will gradually increase. With the increasing emphasis on technological development in our country, high-tech fields such as atomic clocks, magnetohydrodynamic generators, and ion thrusters will become growth points for cesium demand.

Cesium metal is soft, light, and has a very low melting point, making it the most reactive alkali metal. Cesium is mainly used in oil and gas drilling, organic catalysts, and high-tech fields, and is an indispensable key mineral for the development of strategic emerging industries such as aerospace, national defense, and information technology. The global cesium resources are scarce, mainly distributed in Canada, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. The global supply of cesium resources is mainly produced according to orders, with relatively stable prices and a market size of around 900 million yuan. The main consumer countries for cesium products worldwide are the United States, China, Japan, and Germany.

One is to strengthen the research and development of comprehensive utilization technology for the extraction of associated minerals such as cesium from the tailings after lithium extraction from lithium mica and salt lake brine.

The second is to strengthen the research and application of high-end cesium materials.

Thirdly, strengthen the reserve of cesium