Chinese customs officials continue to clamp down on antimony smuggling, with more material seized and more arrests made this week, Fastmarkets understands.
Two suspects were arrested and 20 tonnes of antimony ingot seized on Wednesday December 19 amid China's latest efforts to stop the illegal movement of goods via the China-Vietnam border, sources familiar with the matter told Fastmarkets MB on Thursday. But the market has so far downplayed the news and its possible impact on prices. "These two suspects were supposed to have been seized in the previous round of smuggling crackdown activity early in August but they managed to escape at that time. They came out to smuggle [antimony ingot] again as they believed the government's supervision on smuggling activity had loosened but they were arrested this time," a well-informed source said. In the August operation, over 3,000 tonnes of antimony was seized and 11 suspects arrested. "The matter will not impact...