Category Archives: Coal Tar Pitch
Dear readers, our latest “Weekly Report Review” has been published. if you have any questions, please tell us. Thanks!
Energy
Iraq tensions drove oil price up sharply last week. But domestic coal prices remain stable. Although coal consumption is increasing in summer, but potential negative factors continued to work, especially high level stock and decreasing ship transport fee.
AL
Compared with increasing spot alumina price, limited trade volumes of imported alumina continued to suppress prices, which still remain at a low level. However, aluminium prices continued to climb slightly.
Raw material of AL
After a adjustment in petcoke prices, last week both anode and fuel grade coke prices remained stable. But for anodes, because of long term weak demand and reducing exports, anode prices declined last week.
For other product, ALF3 rose further last week due to the low level inventory. The total aluminum fluoride stocks held by the 17 main plants decreased by compared with April.
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For registered attendants of AZ China’s 4th International Aluminium and Carbon Conference, on the night of Tuesday, May 6, 2014 there is an option: to Gala, or not to Gala? That is the question.
But what is the measure of our decision?
If our minds long to be entertained, dulled by the weary excuses for conference entertainment we so often see – we say yes! Our pre-dinner traditional Chinese entertainers are as charismatic as they are alluring.
If our hearts yearn for delectable cuisine so scrumptious our watering mouths flood the lands – we say yes! Guests will dine at 7:30pm in picturesque Houhai, a reclusive lake smack dab in the middle of Beijing surrounded by enticing nightlife.
Diners will be served a scrumptious assortment of seasonal dishes, basted and broiled to perfection.
If our bodies long for an adventure we haven’t had since our misspent youth – we say, why certainly, yes! A convenient adventure that is; guests will be promptly and safely delivered to and from each stage of the Gala journey and still get back to the hotel early enough for a good night’s sleep before the final day of the conference. If you’re a night owl, you’ll also have the option to stay and kick back at the surrounding neon-lit guitar bars for a lakeside beer or wander around the lake at your own pace.
But don’t be fooled by the guise of just a great meal and environment! The evening has cunningly disguised networking opportunities for the benefit of guests’ business development as well as their enjoyment and relaxation.
How to get on board the Gala Dinner train?
On the registration page of the conference, there is an added option to attend the Gala dinner. For those who have already registered and did not check the option but would like to attend, you may pay for the Gala dinner at a later point, although we can’t guarantee available seats. There are already a very limited number of remaining spaces available. Register soon for a great night in the heart of Beijing!
Unlike this divisive Gala occasion, AZ China’s Gala Dinner won’t be half as awkward!
Koppers Holdings Inc. has announced the completion of construction and commissioning of their 300,000 metric ton capacity tar distillation plant for its new 30% owned joint venture in Hebei Province. They have also announced the completion of a project to expand the capacity of its existing 60% owned tar distillation plant in Tangshan, from 150,000 metric tons to 200,000 metric tons.
Koppers has been working in and with China for as long as I can remember. This announcement is surely a great relief for them, as the project has been a long time in planning and execution, and not without its headaches. The recent downturn in the must have also caused some hearts to flutter.
It is important to remember the relative positioning of this plant in the Chinese market context. The majority of Chinese smelters are using soft or modified pitch. This plant will produce hard pitch. It is therefore not likely to influence the price point inside the domestic market.
Total capacity in China for hard pitch was around 1.45 million tonnes, so this announcement takes the supply side of the equation up by 24%. This is where the plant will have the real influence. Again, I don’t see this capacity increase will cause a drop in the market price. I think it is more likely that Koppers has a longer view in mind. With new smelting capacity in South East Asia, India and the Middle East, and with their Australian plant unable to grow any further, Koppers needed to put a stake in the ground. To be a strategic supplier of choice to the industry, Koppers needed to back themselves with a significant capacity increase, and where better to do so than in a country which produces large amounts of coal tar. In the event that the Chinese aluminium industry upgrades its pitch usage to vacuum distilled pitch, that will only be an advantage for Koppers.
Certainly the market showed little response to the announcement, with CTP prices in China remaining unchanged.
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