Kaolin is a very important, very widely used non-metallic mineral, because it has plasticity, adhesion, dispersion, fire resistance, insulation and chemical stability and other process properties, so it is widely used in paper, ceramics, plastics, rubber, chemicals, electronics, coatings, paints, refractory materials, military, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, pesticides and other dozens of industries. The global reserves of kaolin are relatively rich, with global proven reserves of about 32 billion tons, and the United States ranks first with 8.2 billion tons of reserves. China's kaolin resource reserves are close to 3.5 billion tons.
According to statistics, from 2017 to 2019, the total domestic kaolin supply (output) was 6.91 million tons, 6.65 million tons and 6.4 million tons, respectively, and the total demand was 6.23 million tons, 6.38 million tons and 6.51 million tons, gradually showing a situation of short supply. The main reason is that under the stricter environmental protection law enforcement and the promotion of supply-side reform, unlicensed mines have been shut down, it is difficult for small and medium-sized mines to meet environmental protection standards, and the overall supply of the industry has declined. If the above market trend is developed, it is expected that the domestic kaolin demand will reach about 7.5 million tons by 2025, and the contradiction between supply and demand will be more prominent.
At present, daily ceramics, papermaking, coatings and refractories are traditional demand areas for kaolin. In 2019, the demand for kaolin in the ceramics sector was about 3.694 million tons, the demand for the paper industry was 760,000 tons, the demand for the coatings industry was 605,000 tons, and the demand for refractories was 558,000 tons. However, the above-mentioned fields are also facing the situation of mature industry development and declining market space growth. The new application fields of kaolin are constantly expanding, and new fields such as catalysts, cosmetics, medicine, and military industry have higher requirements for kaolin indicators. On the whole, the demand for kaolin in downstream applications will gradually concentrate on medium and high grade products with better physical and chemical indicators, and 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 and spices, pharmaceutical excipients, hemostatic materials, etc. From 2016 to 2020, the national demand for medical kaolin has increased from 20,000 tons to 160,000 tons, with an average annual compound growth rate of 51.57%.
2. Special grade fine kaolin
Special grade fine kaolin is mainly used in advanced electronic components, representative products are 5G ceramic filters and multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC). In the field of 5G, the peak period of construction is 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, according to each base station 3-sided antenna, 64 filters per side antenna estimated, ceramic dielectric filter market demand reached 1.6 billion. In addition, MLCC is one of the world's largest and fastest growing chip components, of which the average monthly demand for mobile phones is 120 billion, the average monthly demand for vehicle MLCC is 100 billion, the average monthly demand for home appliances, PCs and servers, and security is 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, the China Non-Metallic Mineral Industry Association expects that the domestic demand for special fine kaolin will rise from 2019 to 2023 from 2019 to 2023 to 310,000 tons, 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 and facial cleansers to ordinary masks and creams to cosmetics such as barrier creams and makeup, which can be used both for fillers (binders) and in formulations. 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, the field of life and packaging for whiteboard paper, coated paper still maintains a high demand, kaolin can make the paper have good covering performance and coating gloss, increase whiteness and printing suitability. From 2016 to 2020, the domestic demand for paper-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 remained at a high level of 80% to 85% for a long time, and although the growth rate of the papermaking market tends to be stable, there is still a large space for import substitution.
Source: Securities Times Network, edited by [Powder Technology Network], please indicate the source when reprinting!
![Haiyue Energy purchased kaolin assets at a premium of nearly 600 times, and the controlling shareholder may enjoy 1.3 billion yuan in cash[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)