The Games of the XXIX Olympiad just began in Beijing, China on Friday, but the antimony market has felt their affects for some time already. Everyone knew that there would be temporary restrictions on manufacturing and transportation before and during the Games. Therefore, we anticipated short-term increases in price due to a lack of supply just before the Games until slightly after when smelters could ramp up production again. However, other factors have led to even more drastic reductions than expected.

Several months ago, the Chinese government decided to ration the use of all explosives severely in preparation for the Games. Reports that the Beijing Olympics could be a serious terrorist target and the possibility for violent pro-Tibet protests precipitated this action. That meant that almost all mining operations halted. Since Chinese mines produce about 85% of the world’s antimony, this caused a drastic fall in supply. Low supply and high demand have led to price increases. Threats of terrorism have also led the Chinese government to limit traffic in and out of their ports so this has caused an even tighter squeeze.

Everyone hopes that after the Games things will go back to normal, but it will likely take a few months for the mines and smelters to catch up with orders and for prices to start to fall.