_

_

近期，The mining market research team of the International Mining Research Center of the China Geological Survey conducted a review of the pricing mechanism of some primary energy and mineral resources products. 并形成系列文章。“矿业界”公众号陆续刊发，敬请垂注。

此为本系列第三十一篇。前三十篇详见 （点击题目可查看）

1: [How are lithium resources priced? ](

2: [How is international oil priced? ](

3: [How is international natural gas priced? ](

4: [How is manganese ore priced? ](

5: [How is chromium ore priced? ](

6: [How is iron ore priced? ](

7 : [How is phosphate ore priced? ](

8: [How is copper concentrate priced? ](

9: [How is nickel ore priced? ](

10: [How is cobalt ore priced? ](

11 : [How is bauxite priced? ](

12 : [How is coal priced? ](

13: [How is rhenium priced? ](

14: [How is tin priced? ](

15: [How is zinc priced? ](

16: [How is germanium priced? ](

17: [How is gallium priced? ](

18: [How is graphite priced? ](

19: [How is beryllium priced? ](

20: [How is hafnium priced? ](

21: [How is lead priced? ](

22: [How is fluorite priced? ](

23: [How is boron priced? ](

24: [How is vanadium priced? ](

25: [How is antimony priced? ](

26: [How is bismuth priced? ](

27: [How is tantalum ore priced? ](

28: [How is potassium salt priced? ](

29: [How is tungsten ore priced? ](

30: [How is titanium priced? ](

Cesium metal is soft, light and has a low melting point. It is the most active alkali metal. Cesium is mainly used in oil and gas drilling, organic catalysts and high-tech fields. It is an indispensable key mineral for the development of strategic emerging industries such as aerospace, national defense industry, and information technology. Cesium resources are scarce around the world and are mainly distributed in Canada, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The global supply of cesium resources is basically produced to order, the price is relatively stable, and the market size is about 900 million yuan. The main global consumers of cesium products are the United States, China, Japan and Germany.

PART01Global cesium pricing mechanism and price trend

01 Cesium pricing mechanism is mainly based on manufacturer's agreed quotation

Cesium is a rare and small metal. The market is small and has no active transactions. The pricing model is mainly based on manufacturer's agreed quotations. Shanghai Nonferrous Metals Network, CBC Metal Network, etc. release the prices of metal cesium and cesium carbonate daily for industry reference.

02 Cesium price trend remained stable and rising, with little fluctuation

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

PART02Global Cesium Resource Pricing and Market Situation

01 Globally available cesium resources are distributed concentrated, and reserves are gradually decreasing

Cesium resources are scarce in the world and are mainly extracted from cesium garnets. Cesium does not have a simple form in nature. It is mainly distributed in the form of salt and is rarely distributed on land and oceans. The amount of ore held around the world is rare. Cesium garnet is the only independent mineral containing cesium, with a cesium oxide content of 5%-32%. It is the main raw material for extracting cesium.

More than 90% of the world's cesium reserves are concentrated in Canada, Zimbabwe and Namibia. According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey, the global pegmatite-type cesium resource reserves in 2020 were 217,100 tons, including 120,000 tons in Canada-60,000 tons in Zimbabwe-30,000 tons in Namibia-7,100 tons in Australia. By 2022, the global pegmatite-type cesium resource reserves will be reduced to less than 200,000 tons, and with development and utilization, the existing cesium mineral resource reserves in Kuangqu have been decreasing.

:

The Biquita mine in Zimbabwe is also one of the major mines in the world for mining cznet. Since its discovery in 1911, the Biquita mine has developed a large amount of lithium, cesium, tantalum and other resources, and its cesium garnet-type ore resources have been basically exhausted. However, the mine still has many unverified lithium cesium tantalum pegmatite 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. A total of 7110 tons of ore resources have been discovered, with a cesium oxide grade of 16.4%, including 1166 tons of cesium oxide, and the retained resources are small.

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

The cesium salt industry has high technical barriers. The companies that can achieve mass production of cesium salts around the world are China Mineral Resources and the United States 'Habo. In recent years, the Cesium raw materials of Arpell Company of the United States have mainly come from the Biquita mine in Zimbabwe. In 2023, China Mineral Resources will complete the acquisition of 100% equity in Canada's Tanco Mine and Zimbabwe's Biquita Mine, and fully underwrite the cesium garnet resources of the Sinclair Mine in Australia, which has strong market influence. The global processing and production of cesium resources are mainly in Canada, China and other places.

03 Global cesium consumption areas and consumer countries are relatively concentrated, and consumers have relatively weak influence on cesium pricing

First, the concentration of cesium consumption

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

Second, the consumption of cesium in the United States and Japan is relatively large

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

** **

Global market prices of cesium metal from 2000 to 2022

Third, cesium consumers are relatively scattered

BASF of Germany, Bontai of Germany, Topso of Denmark, Iwaya of Japan, Halliburton of the United States, DuPont of the United States, and Sinopec are major consumers of cesium resources in the world and recipients of cesium market prices.

Fourth, global cesium consumption is expected to increase slightly

According to the global cesium market application analysis, the development of cesium-related emerging industries and the expansion of application in the catalyst field will drive global cesium consumption to continue to grow slightly in the next few years.

04 The world's exporters of cesium resources are concentrated, and cesium export traders have a certain influence on the price of cesium.

Canada and Zimbabwe are global exporters of cesium resources. As Zimbabwe's Biquita mine cezine-type ore resources are gradually exhausted, Canada's voice in global cesium resource trade may increase. The United States, Japan, Germany, etc. are major importers of cesium resources in the world, with a foreign dependence of 100%.

PART03China's cesium resource market situation and its impact on pricing mechanism

01

The trend of domestic cesium prices is basically consistent with that of the international market

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

02

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

First, the existing domestic cesium resources are not of value for independent development and utilization

China's cesium reserves are 25,000 tons (cesium oxide), all concentrated in Jiangxi Province. China's cesium resources amount to 401,000 tons, mainly distributed in pegmatites in Xinjiang, Sichuan, Jiangxi and Hunan, and in salt lakes in Qinghai and Xizang. However, under the current economic and technological conditions, China's cesium resources do not have the value of independent development and utilization.

Second, the current domestic demand for cesium resources and raw materials are mainly imported from abroad

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

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

In 2020, China's consumption of cesium (calculated as cesium oxide) was approximately 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 was used in atomic clocks and aerospace propellers. In the future, ultra-high temperature and high pressure environment 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. As China attaches great importance to the development of science and technology, high-tech fields such as atomic clocks, magnetic fluid generators, and ion thrusters will become growth points for cesium demand.

PART04recommendations

The first is to strengthen the research and development of comprehensive utilization technologies for associated minerals such as lepidolite and salt lake brine to extract cesium from tailings after lithium extraction.

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

The third is to strengthen the reserves of cesium.

_This article was originally published in the 4th edition of China Mining News on April 11_

原标题：《铯资源是如何定价的— —部分能源和矿产资源初级产品定价机制研究之三十一》

_ _