The Chinese vanadium market may turn to a deficit this year, underpinned by revised standards for the tensile strength of rebar products and a ban on vanadium slag imports, sources told Metal Bulletin.
The new standard proposes eliminating 335MPa-tensile strength rebar and replacing it with 600MPa-tensile strength rebar that will have greater earthquake resistance, which will mean producers will have to add greater amounts of vanadium to the production mix. The overall consumption of vanadium in crude steel varies widely across the world, with an average of 37 grams per 1,000 tonnes (g/kt) in China, far less than the 73g/kt in Europe and 93g/kt in North America, Metal Bulletin has learned. "The revision was due for release in December, although there is now a delay. It [the standards revision] is a must as both internal and external pressures are pushing China to refocus production toward higher quality steel, and that will drive [increased] vanadium demand," a market source said. "Relevant authorities have been told to properly enforce the regulations on steel product standards since the massive damage caused by a series of earthquakes in...