Australia Iluka cuts production of zircon rutile in the first half of the year

Australia's heavy mineral producer Iluka Resources 'output of zircon, natural rutile and artificial rutile in the first half of the year fell 38% year-on-year to 228,600 tons.

Zircon production fell 43% year-on-year to 61,100 tons in the second quarter, including 46,500 tons of zircon sand and 14,600 tons of zircon from concentrate produced at the Nargulu concentrator in Western Australia. Zircon production in the first half of the year dropped from 166,600 tons in the same period last year to 98,300 tons, a decrease of 41%.

Zircon sales in the second quarter fell to 73,600 tons from 92,200 tons in the same period last year. Zircon sales in the first half of the year fell 1.1% to 132,900 tons. This was due to weak demand in the ceramic industry, which accounted for the company's global zirconium sand sales. Less than 16%. The company said China's ceramics industry remained underperforming due to a weak real estate market.

The company's weighted average price of zircon sand in the second quarter was US$1907/ton, an increase of 2% from the first quarter, in line with its guidelines.

The company expects traditional seasonal weakness in the fourth quarter to affect purchasing patterns in the second half due to a lack of stimulus in major economies. It predicts zircon sand prices will be roughly flat in the third quarter.

As its artificial rutile kiln 1 is still in production shutdown, artificial rutile production in the second quarter fell 33% year-on-year to 57,600 tons. In the first half of the year, artificial rutile production fell 44% to 94,700 tons. Sales in the second quarter fell to 48,500 tons from 69,000 tons in the same period last year, and sales in the first half fell 27% to 85,800 tons. Its artificial rutile kiln 2 (SR2) was operating at full capacity and produced 57,600 tons of artificial rutile during the second quarter. The artificial rutile produced by SR2 serves the 200,000-ton/year fixed contract that Iluka has signed.

The weighted average price of artificial rutile in the second quarter was US$1194/ton, and the difference from the first quarter mainly reflected the customer mix.

Natural rutile production in the second quarter increased to 23,420 tons from 22,800 tons in the same period last year. Natural rutile production in the first half of the year increased to 35,600 tons from 30,700 tons last year, an increase of 16%.