China accounts for 50% of global antimony production. Due to China’s
lack of control and market dominance it has tended to flood the market, which
has forced producers to reduce production to only 60 000t/y only. China
produced 102 000t in ‘1997. As a result several mines have closed down and
workers have been retrenched. However, this will hopefully regulate the
antimony market, and will undoubtedly affect other major producers, such as
Kyrgyzstan (largest producer in the CIS), South Africa and Bolivia.
