Latrobe magnesium to be exported to the US

Magnesium production company Latrobe Magnesium will sell the majority of its production in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean following the execution of an upgraded distribution contract with Metal Exchange Corporation of Missouri.

The company, which is preparing a facility (pictured) in Victoria for its production plant, anticipates ‘excellent prices’ due to a 141.49 percent US anti-dumping duty payable on imports of magnesium from China.

Under the US-Australia free trade agreement, Australian magnesium is exempt from import duty.

The upgraded agreement follows LMG’s expansion plans and current 10,000 tonne per annum capacity.

Metal Exchange Corporation, which has six production plants in the US, will now pay a minimum floor price for the purchase of a minimum 8,000 tonnes of the metal annually.

Magnesium is used in the textiles industry, environmental sector and as a dye, and has seen increasing use in the automotive sector because of its light weight.

North and Central America consume more than 160,000 tonnes of magnesium a year and has only one domestic producer which has been undergoing a capital refurbishment.

LMG plans to extract the material from industrial fly ash from the Yallourn brown coal power station.

Further reading:
LATROBE MAGNESIUM BUYS SITE, SECURES FUNDS FOR METAL PRODUCTION

Picture: Latrobe Magnesium