Abstract The disorderly mining and development of the natural graphite industry has caused its rough-processed products to remain in a state of overcapacity. Many small enterprises that are not well-funded have relied on large-scale export of primary products to ease business pressure. For many years, China has been the largest exporter of natural graphite products,...
The disorderly mining and development of the natural graphite industry has kept its rough-processed products in a state of overcapacity. Many small enterprises that are not well-funded have relied on large-scale export of primary products to ease business pressure. For many years, China has been the largest exporter of natural graphite products. In developed countries, which are leading in the technology of graphite deep processing products, the strategy of “purchasing and purchasing†is applied to natural graphite, and technical blockade is carried out. Non-renewable natural graphite resources continue to be lost in the form of primary product exports. The graphite cutting-edge products that domestic enterprises need can only be imported at a price of hundreds of times of exporting graphite.
According to industry insiders, natural graphite, as a promising non-renewable resource, should appropriately limit the export of its primary products and spend more energy on supporting the development of high-end products. "You can't let graphite go the old way of rare earth."
Export volume is the world's number one
According to USGS (US Geological Survey), the world's natural graphite reserves in 2013 were about 130 million tons. The top three countries in reserves are Brazil, China and India, of which China's reserves are about 55 million tons, accounting for global reserves. 42%. In 2013, the global natural graphite production was 1.19 million tons, of which China produced 810,000 tons, accounting for 68% of global production, ranking first in the world.
Most of the natural graphite products produced in China are processed products of the initial grade. These primary processed products are facing the problem of overcapacity, and overcapacity has suppressed prices. Before 2011, the price of the primary graphite flake graphite powder, which has the largest output of natural graphite, increased year by year until it reached 6,700 yuan/ton in 2011. Then its price began to fall again. As of now, the price of graphite fine powder has fallen more than 50%.
Due to the scattered pattern in the natural graphite industry, many small enterprises are choosing to export to reduce financial pressure.
For many years, China has been the country that exports the most graphite primary products, and its annual export volume accounts for about 50% of the world's total exports. According to China Customs data, from 2011 to 2013, the domestic export volume of “natural graphite†was 440,000 tons, 250,000 tons and 250,000 tons respectively. Some experts told reporters that the "natural graphite" of the customs statistics is mainly graphite fine powder, and some products with lower purity are even less than 3,000 yuan / ton at the time of export.
According to another data, in 2010, China exported more than 580,000 tons of graphite products, while the second largest export of graphite products in India was less than 100,000 tons.
The difference between import and export products is up to 100 times
At the same time as China's large export of graphite primary products, developed countries such as the United States, Japan and South Korea have listed graphite as a strategic resource and strictly controlled mining.
The country that imports the most graphite in China is also the main supplier of graphite deep processing products. Due to the blockade of graphite deep processing technology by developed countries such as the United States, Japan and South Korea, domestic companies that have been unable to achieve technological breakthroughs have almost no ability to produce top graphite products. Chen Yuqun, secretary general of the Heilongjiang Graphite Industry Association, said: "Foreign graphite experts, if they want to travel to China or travel, they need to go through multiple layers of approval."
Due to the lack of domestic enterprise products, the demand for graphite cutting-edge products can only be met through high-priced imports. The low-cost export of primary products and the high-priced imports of high-end products make it difficult to estimate the loss of China's graphite industry.
"The main export of flake graphite fine powder, the lowest price is less than 3,000 yuan / ton; some imported negative electrode materials can reach 100,000 ~ 200,000 yuan / ton; and some fluorinated graphite products can reach 300,000 ~ 500,000 Yuan/ton.†Wang Qinghai, general manager of Aoyu Graphite Group, introduced.
It is worth noting that the processing of graphite primary products into high-end products will inevitably result in the loss of raw materials. Taking the negative electrode material made of foreign natural graphite powder as an example, Yuan Guohui, a domestic graphite expert and professor of Harbin Institute of Technology, said that the loss ratio of such products is about 80%, that is, 1 kg of natural graphite can be made into 0.8 kg of negative electrode material. However, even considering the 20% loss rate of raw materials, the price gap between export products and imported products is still very impressive.
The person in charge of a graphite company in Jixi also said that in the early years, he also cooperated with a top domestic institution to invest in the research and development of graphite deep processing products. However, the products produced were ultimately unqualified, and the company lost millions. It is difficult for companies that invest in deep-processed products to obtain state subsidies. Then the company does not make corresponding investments, but mainly produces graphite and primary products. "After all, this risk is low." The person in charge said.
Primary product exports should be reasonably limited
“Actually, Heilongjiang also wants to restrict exports.†Chen Yuqun revealed to reporters the current embarrassing situation in Heilongjiang. “But if the export of products is greatly restricted immediately, the survival of many enterprises will be difficult to guarantee. The production cost of Heilongjiang graphite enterprises is the highest in the country. If you can no longer export products, then the impact on the graphite industry in Heilongjiang is too big."
For the export of graphite products, domestic graphite expert and professor of Harbin Institute of Technology Yuan Guohui believes that there should be some forward-looking in the control: “Graphite is a non-renewable resource after all, and can’t wait until the loss of graphite resources is exhausted before considering restrictions. Appropriate control of the export of primary products."
Han Yufeng, president of Jixi Graphite Industry Association, also believes that the export of graphite primary products should be restricted accordingly, and some natural graphite products such as spherical graphite should be eliminated.
“Spherical graphite is still a deep-processed product before, and now the technology is developing very fast. Spherical graphite can only be regarded as a relatively high-end product in rough processing products.†Han Yufeng said.
According to Liu Ronghua, deputy secretary-general of the Graphite Professional Committee of the China Non-Metallic Mining Industry Association, it is not realistic to completely restrict the export of graphite primary products. "It should be reasonably guided to enable large enterprises with the ability to develop deep processing to develop better. If domestic top-level deep-processing products with higher technological profits are developed, they will naturally not be willing to export primary products. Market-oriented guidance is a better solution. the way".
Lin Boqiang, director of the China Energy Economic Research Center of Xiamen University, said that for the production and export of graphite products, China can learn from the control methods of rare earths and integrate resources. "You can't wait until there is no resource, and then go to integration. The government now needs to learn from the model of controlling rare earth resources, and carry out corresponding resource integration and technology research and development guidance, so as to avoid letting graphite resources re-take the old road of rare earth."
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