SEOUL (Reuters) -Korea Zinc Chairman Yun B. Choi said on Thursday that it is in preliminary talks with some U.S. entities to supply antimony, after China’s export ban to the U.S. disrupted the market for the mineral used in semiconductors.
Choi told reporters at a briefing that the company was interested in long-term contracts, and was talking with U.S. traders and others, without naming any of the entities.
Antimony prices are set to hit record levels after China banned exports of the mineral to the United States.
Beijing’s curbs have heightened trade tensions and intensified a global race to secure critical minerals and loosen China’s dominance in the market.
Korea Zinc is the world’s largest zinc smelter but also produces about 3,500 tonnes of antimony ingots annually, some of which is shipped to Japan and the Netherlands.
Korea Zinc produces zinc, lead, copper, nickel and other metals with its own technology in South Korea and with supply chains that “do not involve China in any critical way”, Choi said.
That is expected to be an advantage over the next few years even if incoming U.S. President Donald Trump changes the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Choi said.
He expects the market for zinc refining to be its “worst” historically in 2025 due to tight ore supply and said Korea Zinc may be the only smelter making money from zinc.
Korea Zinc plans a special shareholders’ meeting on Jan. 23 to discuss the appointment of directors proposed by Young Poong and private equity firm MBK Partners, which hold the largest stake in Korea Zinc, amid an escalating fight for control of the company.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Sam Holmes)
