Titanium Market Summary: Concentrate, Pigment, Slag, Sponge and Ferrotitanium
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Titanium Product Market Review for the April 30 Assessment
The April 30 assessment covered the main traded titanium products in the Chinese market: titanium concentrate from domestic and imported origins, titanium dioxide pigment, titanium slag, titanium tetrachloride, titanium sponge, wrought titanium metal, ferrotitanium, reduced titanium and rutile. Every line printed unchanged against the previous day, so the snapshot describes a flat market rather than a directional move. Prices are quoted in the units used in the original assessment: yuan per tonne for bulk raw materials, US dollars per tonne for imported concentrate, and yuan per kilogram for wrought metal.
Titanium Concentrate: Domestic Prices (yuan/tonne)
| Origin | Grade | Transaction price | Basis | Port / region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | TiO2 > 54% | 2450-2550 | Tax included on departure | Guangdong, Fujian |
| Mozambique | TiO2 > 52-54% | 2550-2700 | Tax included on departure | Zhanjiang Port, Hebei |
| Mozambique | TiO2 > 46% | 2140-2300 | Tax included on departure | Zhanjiang Port, Shandong |
| Vietnam | TiO2 > 50%, A ore | 2250-2300 | Departure tax not included | Qinzhou Port, Fangcheng Port |
| Domestic | TiO2 > 46%, suitable for pigment | 1820-1850 | Ex-works, tax excluded | Sichuan |
| Domestic titanium ore | TiO2 > 38-40% | 1200-1300 | Ex-works, tax excluded | Sichuan |
| Domestic | TiO2 > 45% | 1600-1750 | Ex-works, tax excluded | Yunnan |
| Domestic | TiO2 > 45%, P 0.08-0.1% | 1600-1650 | Ex-works, tax excluded | Chengde |
The phosphorus specification matters commercially: hot-rolled pigment-grade feedstock with a tighter phosphorus ceiling carries a narrower range because buyers of that material need predictable downstream chemistry. Note also that imported concentrate is assessed on a tax-included departure basis while domestic concentrate is quoted ex-works with tax excluded, so the two sets of numbers must not be compared directly.
Titanium Concentrate: Imported Prices (USD/tonne)
| Origin | Grade | Quotation | Incoterm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mozambique | TiO2 > 50% | 330-360 | CIF |
| Australia | TiO2 > 50% | 290-320 | CIF |
| Vietnam | TiO2 > 50%, A mine | 305-325 | FOB |
The Vietnam line is quoted FOB while the Mozambique and Australia lines are CIF, so the freight component is already inside two of the three numbers and absent from the third. Comparing the FOB line with the CIF lines without adding freight will understate the landed cost of Vietnamese material.
Titanium Dioxide Pigment and Titanium Slag
| Product | Grade / specification | Quotation (yuan/tonne) | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rutile titanium dioxide | Mainstream producers | 15500-16500 | Market reference price |
| Rutile titanium dioxide | R-996 type | 15600-15900 | Ex-works price |
| Anatase titanium dioxide | BA01-01 type | 13300-14300 | Market reference price |
| Anatase titanium dioxide | Mainstream producers | 13000-13600 | Ex-works price for traders and agents |
| High titanium slag | TiO2 > 90%, low calcium and magnesium | 6990-7190 | Ex-works, tax included, Liaoning |
| High titanium slag | TiO2 > 92%, low calcium and magnesium | 7290-7390 | Ex-works, tax included, Liaoning |
| Acid slag | TiO2 > 73% | 4500-4600 | Ex-works, tax included, Yunnan |
| Acid slag | TiO2 > 73% | 4700-5870 | Ex-works, tax included, Panzhihua |
The rutile pigment market reference sits above the ex-works price offered to traders and agents, which is the normal pattern when a headline market level is published alongside a discounted channel price. In slag, the TiO2 > 92% grade commands roughly 300 yuan per tonne more than the 90% grade, while the Panzhihua acid slag range is far wider than the Yunnan range for the same specification, indicating a broader spread of producer costs in that region.
Titanium Tetrachloride, Sponge and Wrought Metal
| Product | Specification | Price | Basis and region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refined titanium tetrachloride | 99.9% and above | 5500-6000 yuan/tonne | Ex-works, tax included, Henan |
| Refined titanium tetrachloride | 99.9% and above | 5300-5400 yuan/tonne | Ex-works, tax included, Liaoning |
| Refined titanium tetrachloride | 99.9% and above | 5500-6000 yuan/tonne | Tax included, Hubei |
| Titanium sponge, grade 1 | Grade 1 | 49000-50000 yuan/tonne | Tax included, Yunnan and Liaoning |
| Titanium plate, medium and thick | 5-10 mm | 81-84 yuan/kg | Tax included, Baoji |
| Titanium ingot TA1 | TA1 | 53-55 yuan/kg | Tax included, Baoji |
Sponge at 49000-50000 yuan per tonne and ingot at 53-55 yuan per kilogram illustrate how far apart the units are across the titanium chain. A buyer comparing sponge with ingot has to convert to a common basis first: the ingot figure is per kilogram and reflects melting and alloying cost on top of the sponge feedstock.
Ferrotitanium, Reduced Titanium and Rutile
| Product | Specification | Price | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferrotitanium, low grade | 30% Ti | 12000-12300 yuan/tonne | Tax included, 25% Ti base price |
| Ferrotitanium | 40% Ti | 12000-12300 yuan/tonne | Tax included, 25% Ti base price |
| Ferrotitanium, high grade | 70% Ti, A grade | 28300-29300 yuan/tonne | Tax included, actual weight |
| Reduced titanium | 55% and above | 4200-4300 yuan/tonne | Ex-works, tax included, Hebei and Tianjin |
| Rutile | TiO2 > 95%, S < 0.03%, P < 0.03% | 8000-8300 yuan/tonne | Ex-works, tax included, Guangdong and Hainan |
| Rutile | TiO2 > 90%, S < 0.05%, P < 0.05% | 6500-6800 yuan/tonne | Ex-works, tax included, Guangdong and Hainan |
Ferrotitanium grade chemistry is set out below. The A and B suffixes differ mainly in aluminium and silicon ceilings, which is why the same nominal titanium content can be produced to two different specifications and sold at the same base price.
| Grade | Ti (%) | Al max (%) | Si max (%) | P max (%) | S max (%) | C max (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FeTi30-A | 25-35 | 8.0 | 4.5 | 0.05 | 0.03 | 0.10 |
| FeTi30-B | 25-35 | 8.5 | 5.0 | 0.06 | 0.04 | 0.15 |
| FeTi40-A | 35-45 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.10 |
| FeTi70-A | 65-75 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.04 | 0.03 | 0.10 |
| FeTi70-B | 65-75 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 0.06 | 0.03 | 0.20 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Did any titanium product price change in the April 30 assessment?
No. Every line in the assessment was reported unchanged from the previous day, across concentrate, pigment, slag, tetrachloride, sponge, metal, ferrotitanium, reduced titanium and rutile.
Q: Why is imported titanium concentrate quoted in two different units?
The assessment publishes domestic business in yuan per tonne and imported business in US dollars per tonne, because the two are contracted on different currency and delivery terms.
Q: What is the difference between FeTi30-A and FeTi30-B?
Both carry 25-35% titanium, but the B grade allows higher aluminium, silicon, phosphorus, sulphur and carbon ceilings, so it suits less demanding steel chemistries.
Q: Why is high titanium slag with TiO2 above 92% priced higher?
The higher titanium content and the low calcium and magnesium specification reduce the refining burden downstream, which supports a premium of roughly 300 yuan per tonne over the 90% grade.
Q: How should the ferrotitanium base price be read?
The low and 40% grades are quoted tax included on a 25% titanium base price, so the actual settlement is adjusted for the delivered titanium content rather than paid at the flat listed figure.
Q: Can these figures be treated as current quotations?
No. They are reference assessments for one trading day. Titanium raw material prices move with ore supply, pigment demand and energy cost, so a current level has to be obtained separately.
