Sheffield Resources Predicts That The Price Of Zircon Sand Will Remain Stable in The First Half Of 2026.

London, February 4th (Argus) - Sheffield Resources, an Australian ore producer, stated that the price of zircon sand is expected to stabilize in the first half of 2026 after further decline in the fourth quarter of 2025.
By the end of 2025, the price of zircon sand showed signs of stabilization, and this trend is expected to continue at least until the first half of 2026. The executive chairman of the company, Bruce Griffin, said: "The market generally believes that the price has stabilized at the current level, and the subsequent trend still remains uncertain." He also pointed out that the Australian peer company Irukara Resources also expressed similar views last week. The company has finalized a sales contract for approximately 35,000 tons of zircon sand in the first quarter of 2026, with the pricing remaining the same as the previous quarter. Customer feedback indicates that the market has bottomed out and the current price does not have the basis for further decline.
Griffin mentioned that Chinese buyers conducted replenishment purchases before the Spring Festival last year, but the pre-Christmas stockpiling activities have decreased this year. The price cycle of the ore market is usually more gentle than other parts of the bulk commodities, which means that the price of zircon sand may "remain stable for a period of time" at the current level. "In the first half of 2026, we expect the price not to rebound rapidly, but rather to fluctuate slightly within the current range."
Griffin stated that the latest raw ore import data shows that a large amount of ore has flowed into China from Africa, and the transaction of this batch of goods may have been completed before further price decline. Since the titanium minerals in heavy mineral ores are usually higher than zircon sand, the constraint for such imports is the titanium market, not the zircon sand market.
The joint venture company KMS, formed by the company and China Yansteel with a 50% stake each, expects that in the third quarter of the company's fiscal year ending in March 2026, the output of zircon sand concentrate will reach 40,000-50,000 tons, and it will be sold to Yansteel and third parties at a price similar to the previous quarter, with 35,000-45,000 tons.
KMS's output of zircon sand concentrate in the second quarter of the fiscal year was 40,100 tons, a decrease from 45,800 tons in August-September 2025; and due to the impact of earlier goods shipment and transportation, the sales volume in October-December 2025 reached 53,117 tons, an increase from 38,900 tons in the previous quarter.
Griffin said that the decline in production was caused by equipment failures and seasonal weather factors. At the end of March 2026, Tropical Cyclone Haley affected the operation of Bloom Port, delaying the shipment of zircon sand and titanium iron ore concentrate by about 2,000 tons of zircon sand concentrate and 35,000 tons of titanium iron ore concentrate until early January 2026.
KMS's output of titanium iron ore concentrate from the previous period was 178,000 tons, which decreased to 168,100 tons in the second quarter. It is expected that in the third quarter of the fiscal year ending in March 2026, KMS's output of titanium iron ore concentrate will reach 170,000-190,000 tons.
The company plans to sell 190,000-210,000 tons of titanium iron ore concentrate this quarter, based on the mine's full life cycle guaranteed purchase agreement with Yansteel, and will conduct regular shipments on a monthly basis. The contract pricing is based on the assumption of a 38.5% titanium dioxide content in titanium iron ore concentrate, set at $123 per ton.
The zircon sand project produces high-quality titanium iron ore concentrate, which can be used for the smelting of chlorate titanium slag and the production of titanium dioxide. Yansteel has an integrated titanium dioxide processing base with a processing capacity of 500,000 tons per year, including a titanium slag smelting production line.