Ron: The original two-page report was in pdf format and difficult to copy. I managed to copy the second page, which contains the reference to MGAC's project:
MAGNESIUM METAL
As a result of the continued interest in magnesium for automotive applications, one of the U.S. auto manufacturers
entered into a partnership with the potential Australian magnesium producer. Under terms of an agreement, the
automaker will invest $30 million in a pilot-plant study and will gain a long-term contract for the eventual supply of
45,000 tons per year of magnesium. The Australian firm was scheduled to commission a demonstration plant in early
1998. Commercial plant construction is expected to begin in mid-1999, with start-up by late 2002.
In Canada, work continued on construction of a new magnesium recovery facility and expansion of a second. The
largest producer announced that it would double the annual capacity of its Becancour primary magnesium plant to
86,000 tons. Construction of the first phase of 25,000-tons-per-year capacity is scheduled to begin in 1998, with
completion expected in 2000. The company also planned to increase its alloy production capacity by 15,000 tons per
year. In March, the first magnesium ingot was cast at a new pilot plant in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec. This was
the first magnesium recovered from the nontraditional source of serpentine residues from asbestos mining.
Construction of a commercial plant is scheduled to begin in April 1998, and annual production capacity at the facility will
be 58,000 tons when it is fully operational.
By the end of April, 11 of 60 electrolytic cells at the new primary magnesium plant in Sdom, Israel, were operating. By
December, the plant was expected to be operating at 80% of its 27,500-ton-per-year capacity; total 1997 production was
estimated at 10,000 tons. In Kazakstan, the sole magnesium producer planned to resume magnesium production by
the end of 1997. The company planned to complete construction of a carnallite processing facility by the third quarter
and start magnesium production at a level of 5,000 to 10,000 tons per year in the fourth quarter. The magnesium plant
has been idle since 1994. Two Canada-based firms announced plans to produce magnesium in Congo (Brazzaville) by
2002. The companies acquired two exploration permits in the Kouili region for areas that contain substantial quantities
of magnesium and potassium salts, mainly in the form of carnallite. Carnallite reserves are estimated to be 8 billion
tons, containing about 8% magnesium. Initial plans call for a 100,000-ton-per-year magnesium plant to be built near the
mine, with a first-phase production capacity of 50,000 tons per year. A feasibility study was expected to be
commissioned by the end of 1998, and a search for additional financing would begin after the study's completion. China
announced plans to increase annual capacity from 7,000 tons to 10,000 tons by early 1999 at its largest magnesium
plant. Investment for the upgrade was estimated to be $12 million. A 3,000-ton-per-year expansion at the same plant
began operating in July 1997.
World Primary Production, Reserves, and Reserve Base:
Primary production Reserves and reserve base
4
1996 1997
e
United States 133 120 Domestic magnesium metal production is derived
Brazil 9 9 from natural brines and dolomite, and the reserves
Canada 54 55 and reserve base for this metal are sufficient to
China 50 50 supply current and future requirements. To a limited
e
France 14 14 degree, the existing natural brines may be
Israel - 10 considered a renewable resource wherein any
Kazakstan - 1 magnesium removed by humans may be renewed by
e
Norway 30 30 nature in a short span of time.
Russia 35 35
e
Serbia and Montenegro 3 2
Ukraine 13 10
e
World total 341 336
World Resources: Resources from which magnesium may be recovered range from large to virtually unlimited and
are globally widespread. Resources of dolomite and magnesium-bearing evaporite minerals are enormous.
Magnesium-bearing brines are estimated to constitute a resource in billions of tons, and magnesium can be recovered
from seawater at places along world coastlines where salinity is high.
Substitutes: Aluminum and zinc may substitute for magnesium castings and wrought products. For iron and steel
desulfurization, calcium carbide may be used instead of magnesium.
Estimated. E Net exporter.
e
See also Magnesium Compounds.
1
Defined as imports - exports + adjustments for Government and industry stock changes.
2
See Appendix B.
3
See Appendix D for definitions.
4
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 1998 |
