One of China's major tungsten product producers, Jiangxi Tungsten Group, has suspended operations at its only ferro-tungsten plant ahead of the Labor Day holiday on May 1-5, a source at the company told Fastmarkets on Wednesday April 28.
The facility produces around 3,000-3,500 tonnes of ferro-tungsten per year and accounts for about 80% of China's ferro-tungsten produced from tungsten concentrate.
"The plant has run for almost four months this year and maintenance will take quite a while," the source said. "The furnaces were shut down on April 25 and an overhaul will begin once the furnaces cool down. [The plant] mayrestart sometime in June,...