English
ngsten consumer. 2009 to 2015 China's output of tungsten were maintained at 6 million tons, demand
is about 3.5 million tons, the market supply exceeds demand. In China, every year there are about
2 million tons of tungsten to be imported, domestic demand reflects the structural contradiction
tungsten products.
For tungsten reserves, Hunan, Jiangxi and Henan provinces ranked the top three, including Hunan,Jiangxi
provinces tungsten reserves accounted for 55% of the country. In addition to a high concentration
of tungsten ore, the main raw materials such as tungsten ammonium paratungstate APT, tungsten oxide,
tungsten powder, tungsten carbide powder, mainly concentrated in Jiangxi, Hunan, Sichuan, Fujian and
other areas, and tungsten end products and the consumer market mainly in Hunan, Sichuan, Jiangxi,
Fujian and the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta region. Also due to the scarcity of tungsten
resources, Japan and South Korea and other major developed countries to import large quantities of
tungsten raw materials and products from China.
Corporate concentration Chinese tungsten industry is also high, control of resources and a complete
industrial chain has Minmetals Group, Xiamen Tungsten, chapter Tungsten, etc., as well as occupying
the main tungsten enterprises Ganzhou area of Luoyang and the upstream resources Big business. Due
to a high concentration, but also a strategic metal, tungsten raw material market price when
volatility also tend to have the State Reserve Bureau and big business backed bailout figure.
Recalling the recent years, the overall development of tungsten industry ushered in a wave of rapid
development after the economic crisis in 2008, 2009 - 2012 the major raw material prices doubled,
production also grew sharply, the upstream raw material new enterprises and expansion projects
increased significantly. With the turning point of China's economy, consumer demand for tungsten
products also appeared slow decline, although once the export support, the acquisition of Pan-Asian Metal Exchange support, but in the long-term impact of weak demand and falling prices, the market
is obvious oversupply, consumption weak demand, the development of the overall decline in the tungsten
market is still dominated.
In 2015, the development of Chinese tungsten industry under the influence of bulk raw materials
prices have fallen sharply, the overall showing a sustained declining trend until the fourth quarter,
only to rebound in the stimulation of national purchasing and storage of messages to the main raw
material of tungsten ammonium paratungstate APT Case in early 2015 the price remained at around 13
yuan / ton, to November has dropped to less than 80,000 yuan price / ton, down 40%.
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Third, the tungsten electrode industry
Tungsten electrodes are welding, plasma welding and other key materials, cutting and spraying technology
is widely used in the manufacture of new energy, shipbuilding, vehicle manufacturing, mechanical
engineering, metal processing, nuclear power and aerospace manufacturing and other fields. Tungsten
electrode has a low electron work function, higher recrystallization temperature, mechanical cutting
performance, high temperature, strong electron emission ability. Due to the high melting point of tungsten
3410 ℃, boiling point up to 5900 ℃, high temperature, when adding trace elements in the work function
of smaller tungsten, such as thorium (Th), cerium (Ce), zirconium (Zr), or oxides such as thorium
oxide (ThO2), cerium oxide (Ce O2), etc., can significantly improve the electron emission capability.
Tungsten electrode material mainly used in welding "TIG" (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding, namely tungsten
inert gas welding, commonly referred to as TIG welding. Since the electrode rod non-expendable, it
can be added without melting filler metal and base metal fusion only do welding and tungsten electrode
material having good high temperature strength, the welding arc burning process, as the tungsten electrode rod or a tungsten alloy stick substantially no melting and deformation. Under the protection of inert gas, the thermal diffusion of the arc zone is small, it can maintain a more stable arc shape and the arc length, very stable welding process; metal pads while substantially isolated from air, in order to ensure quality welds. TIG welding is suitable for almost all metallic materials, especially non-ferrous metals and their alloys, stainless steel, high temperature alloys, titanium and titanium alloys, and refractory active metals.
Tungsten electrode arc welding (TIG welding) has been widely used, it can weld a variety of metals,
to obtain high-quality welds. Depending on the added rare earth elements, tungsten electrode types
can be divided into pure tungsten, thorium tungsten, tungsten cerium, lanthanum, tungsten, zirconium,
tungsten, yttrium and tungsten composite tungsten electrodes.
At present domestic and international use tungsten electrode, tungsten and tungsten cathodes and other
materials, most of them containing thorium oxide, thorium tungsten electrode tungsten electrode is
the first use of rare earth, tungsten electrode high market share of the species on a global scale.
And thorium are natural radioactive elements (which radiation dose of 3.60 × 105 Curie / kg), the
production and use of the process will produce radioactive contamination of humans and the environment
are harmful. Cerium tungsten electrode is used in place of the first non-radioactive tungsten electrodes
of thoriated tungsten, tungsten cerium added is usually 2 to 4% cerium oxide, the working environment
for the low-voltage direct current, but at a high current, high voltage welding conditions easily
split, and cerium tungsten electrode there arc poor, short life of the state.
Non-radioactive multiple composite rare earth tungsten electrode material is substituted with radioactive
thorium tungsten electrode harm new generation of green products, and its chemical composition and
the amount of tungsten electrodes the same unit cost of raw materials more rare earth compound is added to add the same amount of thorium in raw material costs half, especially the new production process enables improved yield, and the production cost is lower than thorium tungsten generally comparable to conventional rare earth elements such as tungsten, cerium tungsten electrodes. Multiple composite rare earth tungsten electrode welding performance is extremely excellent comprehensive, able to adapt to the needs of different welding current range and welding the base material, the future will become an alternative thorium tungsten, and other brands of green electrode.
Since the tungsten electrode is mainly used in the field of special welding stainless steel, copper,
aluminum, etc., thereby obtaining a greater degree of support in the new round of Chinese manufacturing
transformation and upgrading process, the domestic consumption of tungsten electrodes, although also
fell, but the overall situation is better than in other industries. Also the traditional European market, consumer demand has remained strong tungsten electrodes, tungsten electrode drive market as a whole for the better.
According to China Tungsten Industry Association published "China Tungsten Industry (2015) Yearbook"
in the statistics, in 2014, tungsten production in our country is 2531 tons, compared with 2004,
1269 tons increased by 99.45%; 2014 National tungsten electrodes yield 1354 tons, compared with 450
tons in 2004, an increase of 200.01%.
China Tungsten Industry "Twelfth Five Year Plan" put forward to promote industrial restructuring,
optimization of tungsten product structure, technology and innovation to promote industrial upgrading,
accelerate the development of deep processing of products, and continuously improve product quality
to raise the overall level of technical equipment, and gradually built advanced technology, reasonable
structure, significant benefits, environmental compliance, resource conservation and sustainable
development of the industrial system, improve international competitiveness. At the same time requirements
through product structure adjustment and industrial upgrading, the industry and strive to achieve
by 2015 sales revenue of 120 billion yuan, industrial added value reached 30 billion yuan, profits
of over 15 billion yuan. In the adjustment of export product structure, based on the gradual reduction
of exports of primary products, plus the rule, so that the total export controls 30,000 tons (metal
content) or less.
China's main processing and finished tungsten electrode has a long industrial chain enterprises
Wheeler technology new material North Mine (formerly North tungsten, tungsten is currently in Jiangsu
north), Aetna Dragon, Shandong Dezhou Huaye McNair and the like, in addition to more than a dozen
short-chain processing enterprises. Chinese tungsten electrode current market is facing great opportunities
and challenges, due to weak tungsten raw material prices, a complete industrial chain of enterprises
will have more advantage and initiative, with the addition of rare earth additive consumption of resources,
able to develop new technology companies will occupied the commanding heights of the future industrial
development. While the short term is facing sluggish domestic consumption and foreign demand instability,
but with little domestic processing enterprises gradually shrinking, the future of the tungsten
electrode industry will be an increased concentration process occurs.
