Summary:According to statistics, from 2017 to 2019, the total domestic supply (production) of kaolin was 6.91 million tons, 6.65 million tons and 6.4 million tons, and
According to statistics, from 2017 to 2019, the total domestic supply (production) of kaolin was 6.91 million tons, 6.65 million tons and 6.4 million tons, and the total demand was 6.23 million tons, 6.38 million tons and 6.51 million tons, gradually showing Demand exceeds supply. The main reason is that unlicensed mines have been shut down due to stricter environmental law enforcement and supply-side reforms on the supply side, and it is difficult for small and medium mines to meet environmental protection standards, and the overall supply of the industry has declined. If it develops according to the aforementioned market trends, it is estimated that by 2025, the domestic demand for kaolin will reach about 7.5 million tons, and the contradiction between supply and demand will become more prominent.
At present, daily-use ceramics, papermaking, coatings and refractory materials are the traditional demand areas for kaolin. In 2019, the demand for kaolin in the ceramics industry was approximately 3.694 million tons, the paper industry demand was 760,000 tons, the coating industry demand was 605,000 tons, and the demand for refractories was 558,000 tons.
However, the above-mentioned fields are also facing a situation where the industry is mature and the growth rate of the market space is declining. The new application fields of kaolin are constantly expanding, and new fields such as catalysts, cosmetics, medicine, military industry, etc. all have higher requirements for the indicators of kaolin. On the whole, the demand for kaolin in downstream applications will gradually concentrate on medium and high-grade products with good physical and chemical indicators. In the case of scarce high-quality resources, kaolin deep processing is the future development trend.
1. Medical Kaolin
As a good filler and auxiliary material, medical kaolin has important applications in the fields of medical supplies, medical auxiliary materials, hemostatic materials and so on. From 2016 to 2020, the national demand for medical kaolin increased from 20,000 tons to 160,000 tons, with an average annual compound growth rate of 51.57%.
2. Super Fine Kaolin
Super fine kaolin is mainly used in advanced electronic components, and the representative products are 5G ceramic filters and multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC). In the 5G field, the construction peak period is from 2020 to 2023. The number of 5G base stations is about 1.5 times the number of 4G base stations, nearly 8.5 million units. Estimated based on 3 antennas per base station and 64 filters per antenna, ceramic dielectric filters The market demand reaches 1.6 billion. In addition, MLCC is one of the most used and fastest-growing chip components in the world. Among them, the average monthly demand for mobile phones is 120 billion, the average monthly demand for automotive MLCC is 100 billion, and the average monthly demand for home appliances, PCs, servers, and security. 150 billion, and the average monthly demand for other fields is 100 billion.
Driven by the strong demand for 5G, new energy vehicles and IOT, it is expected that the domestic demand for super fine kaolin will rise from 200,000 tons to 310,000 tons from 2019 to 2023, with an average annual compound growth rate of 9.16%.
3. Kaolin For Cosmetics
In the field of cosmetics, kaolin is used in cosmetics such as shampoos, facial cleansers, ordinary facial masks, creams, and makeup creams and makeup, which can be used as fillers (base materials) or in formulas. From 2016 to 2020, the domestic demand for cosmetic grade kaolin rose from 40,000 tons to 300,000 tons, with an average annual compound growth rate of 49.63%.
4. Kaolin For Papermaking
In terms of papermaking kaolin, there is still a high demand for white paper and coated paper in the life and packaging fields. Kaolin can make paper have good covering properties and coating gloss, increase whiteness and printability. From 2016 to 2020, the domestic demand for paper-making grade kaolin increased from 520,000 tons to 680,000 tons, with an average annual compound growth rate of 5.51%.
It is worth noting that the import rate of domestic paper-making kaolin has been maintained at a relatively high level of 80%-85% for a long time. Although the growth rate of the paper-making market has stabilized, there is still a large room for import substitution.
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