A Perspective: Potential Growth in the Global Magnesium Industry — Where is Our Research Leading Us?

Abstract

Magnesium enjoyed considerable growth in the last decade of the twentieth century due to an increase in automotive die casting applications. In spite of considerable research activity into sheet applications, the use of magnesium sheet is largely limited to nonstructural applications, primary batteries and small electronic devices (cameras- cell phones- lap-tops & tablets). The major volume use for magnesium remains as an alloying element for aluminium, and as a chemical reducing or modifying agent in the production of titanium, steel and SG iron. Powders are currently used in organic chemical reactions and as thermal decoy devices rather than for any structural purpose.

A number of magnesium primary projects in Australia failed to meet the basic scale economics in the 1990’s and are closed or still on the drawing board. Electrolytic smelters in Canada and Norway have closed over the past 15 years only to resurface as projects in China. The economics of the Dead Sea Magnesium smelter have been brought into question by natural resource taxation. Some new electrolytic capacity is about to come on stream in China in addition to Pidgeon Process movements that have followed the economies of coal and ferrosilicon production from Province to Province, but the primary industry economics remain weak outside of the USA.

Today the Chinese are focused on “deep processing” to promote higher value added magnesium end use within their own economy. Will the addition of capacity in China and newly emerging Pidgeon capacity in Turkey¹ and Iran² bring low cost magnesium to the market place to compete with aluminium in the automotive and aerospace industries, or are there more fundamental issues beyond the “cost” of pure magnesium that continue to restrict applications?

The focus of this paper is to discuss whether our research can drive further magnesium growth, or is it an issue of macroeconomics and environmental pressures that will determine the breadth of our future applications.