Vital Materials' purchase of 3,609 tonnes of indium removes the last of the minor metal supplies once held in the now defunct Fanya Metal Exchange, which enables the company to lock in several years of indium supplies from its own 'surface mine' and at low prices by historical standards.
The move from China-based Vital - one of the biggest minor metals producers in the world and a significant producer of chemicals with subsidiaries in Europe, North America, South America and elsewhere in Asia - is part of the company's long-term strategy to become fully integrated in indium and grow its leading position in finished products.
The indium purchase, made by Vital through the company Kunming Rongke, follows purchases of bismuth, germanium, gallium and selenium and depletes the last of the once-looming Fanya stockpiles, bringing some clarity to a major uncertainty for the minor metals market.
The Fanya Metal Exchange was initially a boon to China's domestic market when it was launched in 2011, providing another outlet for producers to sell material and giving a group of new investors the opportunity to step into what had been considered a specialist market.
The promise of a 14% return...