The global magnesium metal industry relatively concentrates in China, Russia, Israel and Kazakhstan as the main producers. China is the biggest magnesium ingot manufacturer of the world, relying on its rich dolomite resources and low-cost smelting technology. China has the largest number of Magnesium ingot exporter, dominates the primary processing and export markets at the same time.
Due to high environmental protection costs, European and American countries have gradually shrunk their production capacity and turned to rely on imports. In 2024, the global magnesium production will total 1.12 million tons. China’s production will be as high as 1.026 million tons, accounting for 91.6% of the global total. China’s magnesium ingot production accounts for more than 80% of the world’s total production. In comparison, Russia and Kazakhstan rely on traditional electrolysis production, but on a smaller scale. Israel extracts magnesium through Dead Sea brine, with unique technology but limited production.
China’s magnesium ingot production is mainly locates at Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and other regions. The local magnesium factory uses rich dolomite and coal and adopts pidgeon method to produce magnesium ingots and other products. This production method is low-cost, about 20% lower than other countries, but its disadvantage is high energy consumption.
Due to the different characteristics of mass production and supply, the origin and supply of magnesium ingots do not completely overlap. Domestic magnesium ingots are mainly for aluminum alloy addition, steel desulfurization, metal reduction and other fields. It is also exported in large quantities to markets such as Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea. Magnesium ingot exporters are located in core cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, as well as coastal cities with frequent foreign exchanges such as Xiamen and Tianjin.
Magnesium Ingot Export Market
In 2024, China exported a total of more than 300,000 tons of magnesium ingot products. In addition, about 150,000 tons of magnesium chips and various magnesium alloy products were for market abroad. Anyang Highrise Metal Material Limited became one of the largest Magnesium ingot exporters. Globally, Europe, North America and East Asia are the most important consumption and import regions of magnesium ingots.
Among them, Germany is the largest importer of magnesium ingots in Europe, relying on China’s supply for automobiles (such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz lightweight components), aerospace and high-end manufacturing. As important metallurgical bases, the Netherlands and Italy also need to import magnesium ingots for steel and aluminum alloy production. The United States ranks first in the world in terms of import volume. Mg are mainly used in aerospace (Boeing, Lockheed Martin), automotive industry (Tesla, General Motors) and defense. South Korea and Japan in East Asia also need to import a large amount of magnesium ingots, including Mg Ingot 99.9 and Mg Ingot 99.95, for the production of electronic products and automotive products. In addition, Turkey, Brazil, and India have rapidly developed steel and related industries and are also important consumers of magnesium ingots.
In the future, the main opportunity for China’s Mg ingot exporter lies in whether the downstream market of Magnesium Metal Ingot can continue to expand. This depends on whether the lightweight trend can grow, such as the development of automobiles, aerospace and electronic products. Another important factor is the combination of green energy technology and magnesium, such as the research and development and production of energy storage materials for magnesium batteries and magnesium-based alloys. At the same time, as market participants, we also need to pay attention to other risks. For example, tariff barriers that may be caused by trade frictions. For example, the country’s new policy requirements for high-energy-consuming industries.