No antimony has been shipped from China to Europe since October 2024, according to custom records.
China has imposed export controls on the metal, and there has since been a surge in prices.
In August, it was announced that Beijing would put export controls in place using reasons of national security.
There had been a stockpiling rush due to the rule taking effect in September, according to Reuters.
But a full ban on exports to the US was issued in December, which also included other critical minerals.
The country with the most imports in 2023 was the Netherlands, with 3,011.98 metric tons of antimony. In 2024, shipments decreased to 1,016.65 tons, according to Chinese customs data.
The export ban is different this time around, as previous bans have shown a slow resuming within a few months as exporters were able to receive new licences, according to Reuters.
This has not happened this time.
The surge in process has only gotten more severe due to there being such low amounts of stock available in Europe.
Cristina Belda, senior analyst at Argus told Reuters that regulus grade II material has increased over 300% compared to a year ago.
Antimony from China has continued to be exported to other countries, however.
This includes Russia, Brazil and Thailand who have had uninterrupted shipments since September 2024.
However, China’s total antimony exports fell 24% to 38,632 tons according to customs data.
