Germany's HC Starck to start output at China tungsten JV in 2012

23 March 2012 17:28  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--HC Starck expects to begin producing tungsten chemicals and metals at a joint venture facility in China later this year, the Germany-based producer said on Friday.

HC Starck, which last year formed the joint venture with China’s Jiangxi Rare Metals Tungsten, said that output from the facility would be sold on the Chinese market.

The company did not disclose capacity or financial details, and it did not comment on where exactly in China the facility will be located.

The former Bayer business supplies metal compounds and materials to customers in the chemical and other industries. In the chemical industry, Starck’s materials are used as raw materials for catalyst production, among other applications.

Starck also said it expects to start up by the middle of 2012 a plant to produce cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries at Minamata, Japan. That facility is a joint venture between Starck and Japanese chemicals producer Japan New Chisso Corp.

Munich-based HC Starck employs a staff of 2,700 at 12 production sites in Europe, North America and in the Far East.

Tungsten, along with a number of rare earths materials, is at the centre of a trade dispute. The US and other countries allege that China is curbing its exports of those materials, which are crucial to manufacturing in many industries.

By: Stefan Baumgarten
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