According to the Mineral Rights and Resources Network, the Magnesium Branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association released preliminary industry statistics on July 14 regarding domestic primary magnesium production in the first half of the year. While domestic output saw a temporary pullback in June, the total production for the first half of the year rose sharply year-on-year. Production trends diverged significantly across major producing regions due to factors such as energy costs, industrial policies, environmental regulations, and resource endowments, highlighting an increasingly pronounced structural adjustment in industry supply.

Monthly production data shows that China's primary magnesium output in June was approximately 101,700 tons. This represents a 7.71% month-on-month decline from the year's peak of 110,200 tons in May, indicating a slight contraction in monthly production scale. However, output surged by 30.05% compared to the same period last year, reflecting solid, long-term demand from downstream sectors such as automotive lightweighting, 3C manufacturing, rail transit, and refractory materials. Industry analysts attribute the June decline not to a contraction in production capacity, but to two primary factors: first, following full-capacity operations in May, enterprises in major producing regions entered a scheduled maintenance cycle for summer smelting furnaces, environmental protection facilities, and reduction equipment; second, with magnesium prices remaining low for an extended period, some plants voluntarily slowed production and limited spot market supply—a short-term adjustment rather than a weakening of the industry's fundamental production strength.

In terms of cumulative output, China produced approximately 603,100 tons of primary magnesium from January to June, a year-on-year increase of 26.49%, marking a significant expansion in the industry's overall supply scale. As the world's leading primary magnesium producer, China consistently accounts for nearly 90% of global capacity and output. The sharp increase in production during the first half of the year was driven by two key factors: the continued release of integrated production capacity in the core producing region of Shaanxi, and a rebound in magnesium alloy consumption fueled by the lightweighting trend in new energy vehicles, which kept the industry's overall operating rate high. Regionally, the production landscape—characterized by Shaanxi's dominance and divergent trends across other provinces—has further solidified, with marked differences in output performance among the "five major producing regions." As a core domestic production hub, Shaanxi produced approximately 425,800 tons of primary magnesium in the first half of the year—a significant year-on-year increase of 44.78%—accounting for over 70% of the national total. Leveraging the unique advantages of an integrated coal-magnesium industry chain, the Fugu and Shenmu areas in Yulin enjoy self-sufficiency in local coal and semi-coke (blue carbon) feedstocks, which drastically lowers comprehensive smelting costs. Coupled with the successful ramp-up of intelligent vertical-retort reduction lines and supportive local industrial transformation policies, regional operating rates have remained consistently above 85%, serving as the primary driver of growth in my country's primary magnesium output.

Production in the traditional hub of Shanxi continued to contract; the region produced approximately 82,800 tons of primary magnesium in the first half of the year, down 16.53% year-on-year. Regional supply has steadily declined due to a combination of factors, including persistently high production costs, increasingly stringent safety and environmental regulations, and the phasing out of outdated production capacity.

Output in the Inner Mongolia production hub faced slight downward pressure; approximately 19,200 tons of primary magnesium were produced in the first half of the year—a marginal year-on-year decrease of 1.03%—indicating essentially flat overall production. Although the region possesses dolomite resources, the scale is limited; constrained by profit margins squeezed by low magnesium prices, environmental regulations, and the need for production line upgrades, local magnesium plants have focused primarily on maintaining stable, baseline production.

The Xinjiang production hub demonstrated impressive growth momentum, producing approximately 28,300 tons of primary magnesium in the first half of the year—a year-on-year increase of 26.34%. The region boasts abundant, low-cost coal and dolomite resources, offering a distinct cost advantage for silicothermic smelting. Leveraging the China-Europe Railway Express logistics network, the region enjoys smooth export channels for magnesium ingots and alloys to Central Asia and the Middle East, alongside steady growth in foreign trade orders. It has emerged as a new growth hub in Northwest China with significant potential for future capacity expansion.

Other production regions generated a combined total of approximately 47,000 tons of primary magnesium in the first half of the year. Characterized by dispersed capacity layouts and relatively small individual plant scales—and influenced by varying local environmental policies and raw material supply conditions—these regions have a limited impact on the overall national supply landscape. An analysis of the magnesium industry chain's performance in the first half of the year reveals a clear trend of structural divergence. On the supply side, production capacity is increasingly concentrating in low-cost, integrated industrial bases in Shaanxi, while traditional, high-cost regions are accelerating the phase-out of outdated capacity. On the demand side, factors such as the lightweighting of new energy vehicles, the application of recycled magnesium, and overseas exports are underpinning the consumer market, supporting year-on-year growth in annual production.

Looking ahead, industry analysts anticipate that monthly production may fluctuate in the short term due to factors such as concentrated equipment maintenance and the digestion of market inventories. In the medium to long term, however, the domestic primary magnesium industry is expected to maintain stable supply alongside continued structural optimization; this outlook is driven by the rising penetration of lightweight materials in downstream sectors and the progressive implementation of new energy projects supporting the magnesium industry in northwestern regions like Xinjiang. Meanwhile, the industry will continue to advance its green and low-carbon transformation, accelerating the elimination of high-energy-consuming, outdated smelting processes and shifting the magnesium industry from scale-based expansion toward high-quality development.

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