With the global trend of lightweight and environmentally friendly materials,magnesium,which is a common metal material with light weight,good castability and can shield electromagnetic waves,is expected to see a sharp increase in demand in the future.

The global magnesium market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 7.1 percent between 2016 and 2019,according to a recent strategic industry overview report released by the Korea industry research institute.

Magnesium,which is only two-thirds the weight of aluminum and a quarter the weight of iron,is six times stronger than iron.It is a typically lightweight material with a high formability and is an environmentally friendly material that can be recycled.

Previously,magnesium was mainly used as an additive material for aluminum alloy.Recently,with the development of technology,it is increasingly used in small electronic products such as laptop computers and mobile phones,as well as environmentally friendly lightweight automobiles,medical care,aviation and other fields,and the demand will continue to grow in the future.

About 85%of the world's supply of magnesium comes from China,which is also the dominant player among major magnesium producers.The south Korean market is also largely dependent on the supply of magnesium from China,South Korea is not independent production of pure magnesium ingots.Small and medium-sized enterprises still have some shortcomings in the manufacturing technology of magnesium alloy blank(the raw material is compressed into a cylindrical shape and easy to be processed into spare parts).

In 2015,South Korea imported 26,104 tons of magnesium,accounting for 54%of pure magnesium ingots and 31%of magnesium alloys.Magnesium components used in South Korea in 2015 were mainly used in auto 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 accelerating the development of new magnesium alloy materials.AZ91 magnesium alloy is used in the seats of the TGV,a French high-speed train,and the indigestible-burning magnesium alloy developed by Japan has been used in some second-generation body parts of AeroTrain,an American company.In South Korea,the Korea institute of materials has successfully developed the technology of mass production of recycled metals and refractory magnesium alloys for casting.Currently,it is developing highly corrosive magnesium alloys by adding alloy components such as calcium and yttrium.