With the global trend of lightening and environmental protection of materials, as the lightest, most well-castable magnesium that can shield electromagnetic waves among commonly used metal materials, the demand is expected to increase sharply in the future.
The specific gravity of magnesium is only equivalent to two-thirds of aluminum and one-fourth of iron, and the specific strength (the degree of lightness and strength) is equivalent to six times that of iron. It is a typical lightweight material with high formability. It is also an environmentally friendly material that can be recycled.
Previously, magnesium was mainly an additive material for aluminum alloys. Recently, with the development of technology, it has been used more in small electronic products such as notebook computers and mobile phones, as well as in environmentally-friendly lightweight automobiles, medical treatment, and aviation. Demand will continue to grow.
About 85% of the global magnesium supply comes from China. Among the major magnesium producers, Chinese companies also occupy an absolute advantage. The supply of magnesium in the Korean market also relies on imports from China. At present, South Korea cannot yet produce pure magnesium ingots. There are still some shortcomings in the manufacturing technology of small and medium-sized enterprises in terms of magnesium alloy blanks (the raw materials are compressed into a cylindrical shape and easy to be processed into parts).
In 2015, South Korea imported a total of 26,104 tons of magnesium materials. The proportion of pure magnesium ingot imports accounted for 54% and that of magnesium alloys was 31%. The magnesium components used in South Korea in 2015 were mainly used in the field of automotive parts such as headlights, steering wheel cores and brackets.
On the other hand, developed countries in the world are boldly adopting magnesium materials in transportation equipment, and at the same time, they are accelerating the development of new magnesium alloy materials. The car seat of the French high-speed train TGV uses AZ91 magnesium alloy, and the flame-retardant magnesium alloy developed by Japan has been partially used in some second-generation body parts of AeroTrain in the United States. In Korea, the Korea Materials Research Institute has successfully developed mass production technologies for recycled metals and non-combustible magnesium alloys for casting. Currently, it is developing highly corrosive magnesium alloys by adding alloy components such as calcium and yttrium.