Resumen de China's refractory consolidation: : a year on

Siobhan Lismore-Scott, Albert Li

• Chinese refractory industry consolidation continues and expands; MTI denies rumours about Minteq's plant closure; RHI halts acquisition of a magnesite plant in Turkey; QMAG cuts personnel at its magnesite mine in Australia;

  Renshou County, Sichuan Province, is the largest refractory base in southwest China. A year ago, there were 67 refractory companies operating in the province alongside three chemical companies and five ceramic companies, which held a cumulative value of Chinese renminbi (Rmb) 4.9bn ($800m*) in 2013 and a tax revenue of Rmb 170m ($27.7m).

  Zhixin Cai, of Danlu Refractory, and Xueliang Deng, of Xiangyu Special Steel Refractory, together invested Rmb 5m ($816,320) to build a 3,000 square-metre factory with a gas tunnel kiln production line of 98 meters, producing a total of 32,000 tpa of high end refractory products.