Abstract:Limestone is one of the ubiquitous rocks in the geological world, in the long geological history of the earth, limestone mainly comes from the sedimentation of seabed organic matter and marine organisms, in addition, some limestone is formed in the process of underground dissolution. In recent years, the market size of the limestone industry in mainland China has shown a fluctuating trend as a whole, and the market size of China's limestone industry in 2022 will be about 172.32 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 14.14%.
1. Definitions and Classification
Limestone is a common non-metallic mineral and a valuable resource with a wide range of uses. Limestone is a trade name for limestone as a mineral raw material. Limestone is widely used because of its wide distribution in nature and easy accessibility. Limestone can be divided into high-calcium limestone, low-calcium limestone, gypsum limestone and chalk according to its chemical composition, and can be divided into crystalline limestone, microcrystalline limestone and amorphous limestone according to the crystallization method.
Second, industry policies
Limestone is an indispensable raw material for all sectors of the national economy and people's lives. In recent years, the relevant state departments have issued a series of policies to encourage the development of the limestone industry. In January 2023, the Hunan Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology and other four departments issued the "Implementation Plan for Carbon Peaking in the Building Materials Industry of Hunan Province", encouraging the use of low-carbon raw materials to replace limestone as raw materials for cement production and reducing the amount of limestone used in cement production. Encourage the deep processing of mixed materials such as slag, fly ash, limestone, etc., and partially replace clinker after improving the gelling activity of mixed materials. In January 2024, the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology and other four departments issued the "Zhejiang Provincial Building Materials Industry Carbon Peak Action Plan", proposing to focus on reducing cement clinker production capacity in areas with scarce limestone resources and poor air quality, and supporting clinker production enterprises to carry out layout outside the province and transfer to key construction areas determined by the province.
Third, the development process
At the beginning of the 20th century, the limestone industry was mainly in its infancy due to a weak industrial base. At this time, limestone was mainly used in infrastructure construction and agriculture, and its mining and processing technology was relatively backward and the production efficiency was low. In the 50s and 70s of the 20th century, China began to build limestone factories on a large scale to promote the rapid development of limestone technology. At this stage, China developed and produced a series of small and medium-sized limestone production equipment, and made certain technological breakthroughs. During this period, the limestone industry has developed rapidly, providing important raw material support for the country's economic construction. With the implementation of the reform and opening up policy, China's limestone industry has ushered in new development opportunities. Since 1980, China has begun to introduce limestone production technology and equipment from abroad on a large scale, and carry out technological transformation and upgrading. As a result, China's limestone industry has made significant technological progress, and production efficiency and product quality have been greatly improved. In the 21st century, with the acceleration of industrialization and the improvement of environmental awareness, China's limestone industry has begun to focus on large-scale, intensive and environmentally friendly development. Through the introduction of advanced technology and equipment, optimize the production process, improve the efficiency of resource utilization, and reduce environmental pollution. At the same time, the limestone industry has also begun to develop in the direction of high value-added and high-tech content, and constantly improve the quality and competitiveness of products.
Fourth, industry barriers
1. Technical barriers
Limestone mining, processing, and production involve complex technologies and processes. Limestone enterprises need to have advanced technology and equipment, as well as professional technicians to ensure the smooth progress of production. Technical barriers limit the ability of new entrants, leaving only a few companies in the limestone industry with the ability to master core technologies and competitive advantages.
2. Barriers to mineral resources
In recent years, in order to meet the needs of environmental protection, ecological balance, prevention and control of soil erosion, scenic tourism, etc., especially with the continuous improvement and implementation of the construction plan of small towns in the mainland, the state has carried out unified and centralized management of mining resources, rectified and shut down a large number of unqualified limestone small mines, which directly led to the gradual reduction of limestone mining and supply and the rise of limestone prices. Whether there is a stable supply channel for limestone will directly limit the development of limestone enterprises, and the limestone industry has high barriers to mineral resources.
3. Financial barriers
The limestone industry is a capital-intensive industry, especially for the new limestone production line encouraged by the policy, the amount of fixed asset investment required for production is huge, and the project construction cycle generally takes 1-2 years, and a large amount of working capital is required to maintain normal production turnover, therefore, the limestone industry has high financial barriers.
Fifth, the industrial chain
1. Analysis of the industry chain
The upstream of the limestone industry chain is limestone mining and mining machinery, the middle of the industrial chain is limestone mining, and the downstream of the industrial chain is mainly the application fields of limestone, including building materials, highways, metallurgy, chemical and other industries.
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