In response to Beijing’s ongoing trade war with the West, China may hinder shipments of antimony for national security reasons. The mercantilist estimate will become effective on September 15.
According to trading CICC, the gleaming white metalloid’s main software is as a fire retardant, which accounted for roughly half of global use in 2023. Around 20 % is used to produce renewable cup to improve the performance of solar cells, with the remainder used in lead-acid batteries, the Reuters statement said.
Antimony is also used as a softening agent for guns and tanks as well as in defense equipment like thermal rockets, nuclear weapons, and night vision glasses.
In a statement released on Thursday ( August 15 ), the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MC) and the General Administration of Customs stated in a statement that businesses need government approval to export gold-antimony separation technology, oxides and hydrides, indium antimonides, and organo-antimony compounds.
Antimony, superhard supplies, and another related items are subject to export controls, according to a MoC director in a statement.
The spokesperson claimed that imports that are in line with applicable regulations will get approved regardless of the country or region are subject to export controls. He added that the action seeks to fulfill global commitments, including those relating to non-proliferation, and protect regional security.
He claimed that the Chinese govt is opposed to any nation or region engaging in activities that violate China’s national independence, security, and development objectives.  ,
But, a Guangdong-based IT journalist claims in an article published on Friday that China wants to fight against the US device restrictions by using the export settings of arsenic.
The author says China has the world’s largest arsenic reserves and manufacturing capacity, and really enjoy an advantage in developing thermal tools, high-performance communications devices, aluminium products and next-generation semiconductors.  ,
He mentions that Optics Technology Holding and Qingdao Haohan Quancai Semiconductor Co Ltd have already begun producing next-generation bits made of chromium and vanadium antimonides.
According to the US Geological Survey, China has oxide deposits of 640, 000 lots, representing 30 % of the world’s total payments. That’s followed by Russia’s 350, 000 tons ( 16 % ) and Bolivia’s 310, 000 tons ( 14 % ). China accounted for 48 % of the world’s antimony supply in 2023, followed by Tajikistan at 25 % and Turkey at 7 %.  ,
In the semiconductor industry, silicon is doped with a small amount of antimony using the chemical vapor deposition ( CVD ) process.
Antimony narrow films are great photodetectors.  , Trimethylstibine, an organoantimony compound, is the raw material in the metalorganic CVD ( MOCVD ) process used to make infrared light-emitting diodes ( IR LEDs ).  ,
All of these elements, including those made by US defence companies Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, have been vetted by China since 2019.
Superhard elements
The MoC and Chinese Customs said China will also restrict the exports of cubic press and microwave plasma-enhanced CVD ( MPCVD ) machines, which can make synthetic diamonds and diamond coatings, respectively.  ,
At high temperatures and force, square press machines can produce lab-grown diamonds. Gallium nitride ( GaN ) semiconductors with a diamond substrate, or GaN-on-diamond, are ideal for the making of high-power, high-frequency devices such as amplifiers and transmitters for military use.  ,
Luoyang Qiming and Guilin Metallurgical Machinery General Factory are two of the Chinese square media producers, according to press reports. International players include Germany’s Max Voggenreiter GmbH, which has a system in Beijing.  ,
Due to their high thermal conductivity, high thermal conductivity, and waters repellency, MPCVD machines are able to create stone coatings, which are vital to military detector and detector applications. In 2019, AKHAN Semiconductor, a tech company in the US, said it would use its diamonds covering technology in Lockheed Martin’s weaponry.
Already, Chinese MPCVD equipment manufacturers include Wattsine, Uniplasm, Newman-hueray Microwave Tech. WEC Superabrasives in Taiwan, Seki Diamond Systems in the US, and Iplas GmbH in Germany are just a few examples of international participants.
In August 2023, China imposed import restrictions on chromium and tungsten. Substance semiconductors made of chromium are frequently used to increase radar transmission speed and effectiveness. Germanium is used to power numerous observatories and in night vision glasses.  ,
China controls about 80 % of the world’s gallium supply and 60 % of germanium, according to European industry association Critical Raw Materials Alliance ( CRMA ).  ,
However, some researchers claimed in October that there were n’t any indications of a global market shortage for the two minerals.  ,
Read: China racing to hoard AI-powering HBM bits
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