Melanie Burton
5 min read
By Melanie Burton
MELBOURNE (Reuters) -When China restricts exports of a key mineral, sometimes the pain is sudden and even crippling - enough to spur a major outcry almost immediately. Other times, it takes longer to be felt.
For the world's makers of lead-acid batteries, China's restrictions on critical mineral antimony that were put in place late last year have become a major headache - one that their customers also now have as sky-high procurement costs are passed on.
"We consider it a national emergency," said Steve Christensen, executive director at the U.S.-based Responsible Battery Coalition, whose members include battery maker Clarios, Honda and FedEx.
He noted the key role batteries play in industry and civilian life, how antimony is used in military equipment, as well as the surge in spot prices. Antimony now costs more than $60,000 per metric ton, having more than quadrupled over the past year.
"There are no quick solutions... We were completely caught off guard collectively, as an industry," he said.
China likely produced 60% of all antimony supply in 2024, according to the United States Geological Survey. Much of antimony mined in other countries is also sent to China for processing.Beijing added the mineral to its export control list last September, requiring companies to gain licences for each overseas antimony deal. It then followed up in December with an outright ban on shipments to the U.S. - an action seen as retaliatory after Washington further restricted exports of advanced semiconductors to Chinese companies.
China's global exports of antimony are now just a third of levels seen this time last year.
Christensen said U.S. companies are hugely reliant on China for their supply of antimony and buyers are increasingly having to procure from an emerging "grey market", where sellers that have stocked up on the material are charging extremely high prices.
China's restrictions on antimony precede its controls on rare earths and rare earth magnets that were imposed in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and do not appear to have been discussed in last week's efforts to stabilise a truce in trade tensions between the two countries.
Last week's talks between China and the U.S. also did not include any agreement on specialised rare earths such as samarium needed for military applications.
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Lead-acid batteries, commonly found in gasoline-engine vehicles, are mostly used to start the engine and to power low-voltage instruments. They are also used as sources of backup power in various industries and to store excess energy generated by solar and wind systems.
