Inorganics news in brief

30 April 2012 00:00  [Source: ICB]

US MARCH CHLOR-ALKALI OUTPUT DROPS
US chlor-alkali production was 86% of capacity in March, down from 87% in February, according to trade group The Chlorine Institute. Chlor-alkali production in March was 994,263 short tons of chlorine and 1.05m tons of caustic soda. The slight downtick in production reflect a flatness in February although underlying demand for polyvinyl chloride, a major downstream product of chlorine, remains strong, a market player said.

SHANDONG HAILI TO COMPLETE PLANT IN Q2
China's Shandong Haili is scheduled to complete construction of its new 300,000 dry metric tonne (dmt)/year caustic soda plant at Dafeng, Jiangsu, in the second quarter of this year, a company source reported. The actual start-up date will depend on the market situation. Shandong Haili currently operates a 720,000 dmt/year caustic soda plant at Zibo in Shandong.

US SODA ASH OUTPUT DROPS IN FEBRUARY
US production of natural soda ash in February declined by 10% month on month, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported. US production dropped to 833,000 tonnes from 929,000 tonnes in January.

Ending inventories for February were 306,000 tonnes, down by 10% month on month.

PPG AND ARGEX FORM TIO2 COLLABORATION
US-based PPG Industries has partnered with Montreal, Canada-based Argex Mining to utilize PPG's existing technology and know-how relating to the manufacture of titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment for paints and coatings applications. The TiO2 is intended to be compatible with various end-use applications for PPG and would be produced by Argex.

By: Doris de Guzman
+1 713 525 2653

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