China Restricts Export of Nitrocellulose and Antimony

lash

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We were discussing this very subject in a thread here a couple weeks ago and I maintained that we (the U.S.) needed to do what is necessary to bring mining and production of these items back. That it’s our own regulatory barriers that are the true cause of the loss of almost all domestic production.

China’s Export Restrictions Create Chokehold On US Ammo Market​

Posted on September 26, 2024 by The Notorious FDE
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The recent decision by China to halt the export of two critical components —nitrocellulose and antimony— has raised alarms within the U.S. ammunition manufacturing industry and among defense experts. These materials are indispensable in the production of propellant powder and primers, and their restriction threatens to create significant supply chain disruptions.
AmmoLand News Continues
As geopolitical tensions rise and global conflicts, like the war in Ukraine, drive up demand for ammunition, the U.S. faces an uncertain future in maintaining adequate ammunition supplies for both military and civilian markets.

China’s Stranglehold on Critical Materials​


China’s dominance in the production of antimony and nitrocellulose cannot be overstated. As the world’s largest producer of antimony, China accounts for nearly half of global production and supplies 63% of U.S. antimony imports. Antimony plays a vital role in the defense industry, from armor-piercing ammunition to night vision goggles and precision optics. Nitrocellulose, or “guncotton,” is essential for making propellant powder used in ammunition.
Without these core materials, the U.S. ammunition supply chain is left extremley vulnerable.
In August 2024, China announced that it would discontinue the export of these materials to the United States. This decision follows a series of similar moves by China in June of 2024 to restrict the global flow of critical minerals and materials in the name of national security. For example, China imposed export controls on graphite and rare earth materials in 2023, impacting industries from semiconductors to electric vehicles. Now, the defense and ammunition sectors are bracing for the impact of these new restrictions.

Antimony’s Critical Role
Antimony is a crucial material for the U.S. defense sector, particularly for hardening lead bullets and creating other munitions. The closure of domestic antimony mines in the early 2000s has left the U.S. entirely dependent on foreign sources, with China being the most significant supplier. Recent efforts, such as the proposed reopening of the Stibnite Gold Mine in Idaho, are intended to reduce reliance on Chinese imports. However, these projects will take years to come online, meaning the U.S. remains vulnerable to supply chain disruptions in the short term.

Nitrocellulose and Ammunition Production
Nitrocellulose, another critical component in ammunition manufacturing, has also become a point of geopolitical tension. Nitrocellulose is used in propellant powder and is necessary for both firearms and artillery. Europe, too, has felt the pinch, as European countries rely on China for the bulk of their nitrocellulose imports to supply Ukraine with ammunition during its ongoing conflict with Russia.

Impact on U.S. Ammunition Supply​

As China’s export restrictions take effect, U.S. ammunition manufacturers are already struggling to keep up with demand. Many companies report that their supply of components, especially propellant powder, has dwindled throughout the year, with much of the global supply being diverted to military efforts in Ukraine and domestic military stockpiles. As a result, civilian ammunition consumers are likely to experience increased shortages and higher prices.
John Farnam, an industry expert, warns that these supply chain issues will only get worse. Farnam shared insights from his connections in the ammunition business:
“Right now, most components are reasonably available, but that will begin to change soon! Two weeks ago, the CCP precipitously announced that it was discontinuing the export to the USA of nitrocellulose and antimony. These two products are indispensable in the production of propellant powder and primers. There are other, lesser sources, but the CCP has always been the main supplier. I predict significant commercial ammunition shortages, starting shortly!”


This was as almost guaranteed to happen sooner or later and those that couldn’t see it coming were blinded with folly.
 
This is typical of the CCP long game plan....sell into markets so cheap they become the main supplier, then once the domestic production tapers off, squeeze the supply. Most times for profit and control of the market...in this case totally strategic from a military standpoint. I would not be surprised if this is a precursor to some type of military action.
 
If we were not sending Ukraine so much money and munitions there would be enough nitro cellulose to keep up with ammo/powder manufacturing until an alternate source could be secured wether in the US or other countries. The money is my opinion the rest came from a represenative of a major ammo company I deal with at work.
 
White River Energetics needs to get their expansion done. One of their employees was in the shop a few days ago and I should have hit him up about the progress.
 
If we were not sending Ukraine so much money and munitions there would be enough nitro cellulose to keep up with ammo/powder manufacturing until an alternate source could be secured wether in the US or other countries. The money is my opinion the rest came from a represenative of a major ammo company I deal with at work.
In case you missed it, that’s a nice major point for this being done now versus later. You may recall that recently, Russia and China agreed to somewhat support each other in their mutual disagreements with the west. This plays into that agreement.
 
definitely a precursor to military action against Taiwan. they'll need the minerals in a year or two, might as well stockpile now.
It isn't just Taiwan they're after. They want the entire world.

I think they are preparing for WW3, and accelerating the process to collapse the USA after our military is defenseless. It's a long game takeover. It doesn't help that our politicians are beholden to them, and trillions of dollars are owed. They'll collect sooner than later.
 
We did kind of decide to start a not so cold war with China. Trump started it and was criticized in the media over it and then Biden continued it and nobody said nothing. The USA has actively been trying to destroy China's ability to become an industry leader and not just the spot the USA puts all it's polluting factories.

Expecting China to supply us with stuff to make all our weapons when we have been actively trying to destroy their high tech and telecom industry is pretty stupid.

As far as they are concerned it's fair payback.
We do stuff for "National Security", well expect others to "National Security" right back at us.

Too many folks in the USA are totally blinded by their jingoism to understand how things look to the rest of the world.
 
We did kind of decide to start a not so cold war with China. Trump started it and was criticized in the media over it and then Biden continued it and nobody said nothing. The USA has actively been trying to destroy China's ability to become an industry leader and not just the spot the USA puts all it's polluting factories.

Expecting China to supply us with stuff to make all our weapons when we have been actively trying to destroy their high tech and telecom industry is pretty stupid.

As far as they are concerned it's fair payback.
We do stuff for "National Security", well expect others to "National Security" right back at us.

Too many folks in the USA are totally blinded by their jingoism to understand how things look to the rest of the world.

Bingo!…
 
It isn't just Taiwan they're after. They want the entire world.

I think they are preparing for WW3, and accelerating the process to collapse the USA after our military is defenseless. It's a long game takeover. It doesn't help that our politicians are beholden to them, and trillions of dollars are owed. They'll collect sooner than later.
Easy there rattlesnake…….
 
Well lets just say US is not only one doing the national security trick ,in most cases its just about protecting domestic manufacturer not really any genuine national security grounds.

But like all sanctions , there is typically a spur to develop domestic alternatives. Just like china will in couple of years replace all banned chips and litography machines with domestic alternatives so will others in regards to chinese nitrocelulose. ,Both Russians and Finns have already started playing with wood vs cotton based nitrocelulose for gunpowder use , tech is not new it just needs scaling.

Yes but like folks mentioned Ukraine and Israel consume so much extra that there was bound to be shortages.
Single 155 propelant charge is equal to cca 5000rds of 5.56 , so do the math , million rounds of 155 to be supplied to Ukraine not to mention all the other shit that goes boom


When it comes to Cotton pulp its Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan that are source of most raw material China is just processing most nitrocelulose

 
Decades ago...when I was a butter bar Lt....out government had protecting our internal supplies of defense related material as a foundational policy. Then came "globalization".

I”m at a loss in naming a single state - run arsenal.

They’ll all privatized and for profit, with hyperinflated costs exactly like our medical system (different mechanism, same endpoint).

We make fancy million - dollar hot wheels race car tech extravaganzas, not tools for drawn - out conflicts.
 
I”m at a loss in naming a single state - run arsenal.

They’ll all privatized and for profit, with hyperinflated costs exactly like our medical system (different mechanism, same endpoint).

We make fancy million - dollar race car tech extravaganzas, not tools for drawn - out conflicts.
We protected our supply with profitable contracts....multiple contracts to keep multiple lines open for everything from raw material to finished complex weapons. It may not have been the least expensive way to go, but we had the stuff available and available from multiple sources in many/most cases.

In the 70's, which is what I was referencing, this was commonly our policy.
 
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We did kind of decide to start a not so cold war with China. Trump started it and was criticized in the media over it and then Biden continued it and nobody said nothing. The USA has actively been trying to destroy China's ability to become an industry leader and not just the spot the USA puts all it's polluting factories.

Expecting China to supply us with stuff to make all our weapons when we have been actively trying to destroy their high tech and telecom industry is pretty stupid.

As far as they are concerned it's fair payback.
We do stuff for "National Security", well expect others to "National Security" right back at us.

Too many folks in the USA are totally blinded by their jingoism to understand how things look to the rest of the world.
Jingoism? You want a totalitarian country that puts little or no value on human life to become the world's superpower? Yea, we are corrupt, but that's because our system has been corrupted, not because the ideas are inherently evil. Chinese communism is nothing more than feudal mercantilism. Look at what they're doing to Africa. While our billions are ineffectual and have been mostly stolen, they are gobbling it all up like we have been accused of doing to three generations. They're pretty much guilty of everything we've been wrongly accused of, and the the world is silent.

There's no question they're ascendant unless the people revolt, and we've also seen how the CCP deals with that.
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The death toll was 10,000, and even Wikipedia is afraid to tell the true story.

Human life means nothing to people who owe all allegiance to a totalitarian government. They're worse than nazis, and when we are on the pointy end all will find out.
 

The article above’s much closer to what happened.

Western Media frequently cuts the video right before bystanders drag “Tank Man” out of the way.

Most Americans remember “Tank Man” getting crushed by the tank, as a result.

The Tianamen Riot was another one of our failed “Color Revolutions,” just one of many maneuvers to Balkanize countries of any significant size.
 
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“Debt Trap Diplomacy” in Africa is largely a lie we concocted, that much is known.

There are numerous lectures by Deborah Bräutigam on this.
 
The Chinese are sooo evil, and yet they lifted their billion - plus population out of poverty…

…in one generation.

Results speak for themselves.

One might trade that “oppression” for our “freedom.”
 
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Money well spent, money well spent!

We are under an intense wave of propaganda which has worked very well.

You can almost trace appearances of the stories in the news and social media coincident to the upslope in the graphs above.

99.99% of us and our "pundits" have no connection, no relatives, do not speak the language, do not know the history of, much less read or listen to the local news from the "other side" - making us such deliciously easy pickings in our own little echo chamber.


Easier to recycle an older post.
 
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We are under an intense wave of propaganda which has worked very well.

You can almost trace appearances of the stories in the news and social media coincident to the upslope in the graphs above.

99.99% of us and our "pundits" have no connection, no relatives, do not speak the language, do not know the history of, much less read or listen to the local news from the "other side" - making us such deliciously easy pickings in our own little echo chamber.


Easier to recycle an older post.
For having 730 posts since 2013 you sure are posting a lot
 
More like we hate them because they’re not like us, honestly…

We have a very established track record of such.
 
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The Democrat Party is controlled by Globalist with a one world order agenda. Everything they do undermines our nation's best interest. The #1 biggest threat concern is detonation of a nuke 20 miles above the midwest knocking out power and communications as Chinese troops and equipment pour out of container ships in our ports. They get all we have, everything they lack and the rest of the world is convinced they cannot win cuz they crushed America. This is a topic of conversation among those deployed in East Asia.
 
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The Chinese are sooo evil, and yet they lifted their billion - plus population out of poverty…

…in one generation.

Results speak for themselves.

One might trade that “oppression” for our “freedom.”
How much time have you spent in China in the last 20 or so years?

And, how exactly did China perform this "miracle"?
 
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We Americans really need to man up, tighten our belts, work harder and smarter to compete with them…

Infantile tantrums accomplish nothing.
 
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