Magnesium is one of the lightest non-ferrous metals which has quite interesting characteristics. As for its density, it is 1.5 times lighter than aluminum (1,738 g/cm3), 2.5 times lighter than titanium, and 4.5 times lighter than steel. The electrochemical activity of pure magnesium in air is limited by oxidation at a moderate rate. Alloying additives allow obtaining normal and very light structural metal. Being slightly lighter and more stable, beryllium is the only material that can compete with magnesium. However, its price is higher and characterized by extremely toxic production and processing technology.
Like all light elements, magnesium is abundant in the Earth's crust. According to various estimates, its average content is 18.7–24 kg per ton of the earth's crust. Even a cubic meter of seawater contains 1.2–1.3 kg of magnesium in the form of salts. The production of magnesium compounds is estimated at 29 million tonnes per year. Its reserves comprise about 8.5 billion tonnes (excluding aqueous solutions).
As usual, China is in the lead, with the production of 19 million tonnes of magnesium compounds and 800-900 kt of metallic magnesium. Turkey (3.3-3.4 million tonnes), Brazil (1.8-1.9 million tonnes), and then Russia (1.5 million tonnes still lag far behind China. It is worth saying that the majority of magnesium is not produced for the sake of metallurgical processing but rather for compounds required in the production of refractories, medicine, paper as well as in construction and chemical industries.
This category will arouse interest among the customers dealing with mechanical and instrument engineering as well as the chemical industry. The platform helps in finding magnesium ingots suppliers.
Magnesium is a silvery, very light, non-magnetic, and plastic metal. It has high thermal conductivity. Under normal conditions in the air, the metal is covered with oxide film. Magnesium has low corrosion resistance. The mechanical properties of magnesium are changed by adding small amounts of titanium, manganese, zinc, and zirconium to the alloy. Magnesium alloys are light, solid, durable, and corrosion resistant.
The leader of magnesium ingots production is China. It manufactures about 60% of the total global amount. In 2017, China produced 18 million tons as well as other major manufacturers like Turkey (2.7), Russia (1.3), Austria, and Brazil (1.2 each). In 2018, magnesium production declined.
Light magnesium alloys are used as a construction material for various parts of the aircraft as well as rail and road transport. Magnesium alloy parts produced by injection moulding are used in the manufacture of optical and precision instruments. In chemical industry, magnesium powder is applied for the dehydration of organic substances and synthesis of complex organic substances.
Magnesium is also used as a deoxidising agent in the production of steel and non-ferrous castings, and even as anode material for cathode corrosion protection of steel products and structures.
In the category, the majority of suppliers (China, Belgium, Germany, and Ukraine) offer magnesium ingots at an average price of $2000 - 2500 per 1 ton depending on the purity of ingots and their chemical composition. The minimum order is from 1 kg to 25 tons with a weight of 7-8 kg per ingot. Depending on their needs the customers can choose magnesium ingots with the required chemical composition specified in each position of the category.
