New | Chinese city shutters 11 antimony companies; aimed at fighting pollution

The government of Lengshuijiang city in China’s Hunan province has closed 11 antimony firms to consolidate their assets and form a bigger company as Beijing steps up controls of pollution and protection of the resource.

Lengshuijiang city is the biggest antimony producer in China, which is the world’s top producer of the metal used in fire retardants.

The firms include an antimony mine, two ore-dressing plants and 8 smelters with about 50,000 tonnes of combined annual capacity, said Duan Shaoji, the chairman of Lengshuijiang Antimony Association. All the firms were members of the industry body, he added.

The mine had produced 600-700 tonnes of antimony in ores before the closure, Duan said.

He added that the closure would remain until the completion of consolidating the assets and forming the bigger company.

"The plan is to close for 3 months...though it may take a longer time. The consolidation progress should be done by September at the latest," Duan told Reuters.

The Lengshuijiang government ordered those private firms to close on April 1, according to a statement on the government website, which did not provide a timing of reopening.