Boron: Trading
A handful of producers, priced on B2O3 grade
What this tab covers How and where it is bought and sold: who buys and sells, exchanges and benchmarks, contract types, the big trading houses and how prices are discovered.Borates have no exchange. Prices are set in contracts between a handful of producers, chiefly Turkey's state miner and one US major, and glass, ceramic and fertiliser makers. Contracts specify product and B2O3 grade. Industry press reports indicative prices. Scheyder notes that a Nevada lithium-boron developer agreed to sell half its future boron to a Chinese buyer. Boron gave the project a hedge against lithium prices.
Where it is bought (buyers)
- Glass fibre and insulation makers in China, the US and Europe on annual contracts
- Ceramic tile and frit producers in China, Brazil, India and Italy
- Fertiliser blenders in Brazil, India and Southeast Asia
- China imports concentrates and refined borates from Turkey and the US
Where it is sold (sellers)
- Eti Maden from Turkey (Bandirma and other refineries)
- Rio Tinto's Boron operation in California via US West Coast ports
- Bolivian, Chilean, Argentine and Peruvian ulexite producers
- US boric acid exports to China, the Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan (USGS 2025)
Exchanges and benchmarks
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| No exchange market | No futures; nothing on MCX or NCDEX | Contract prices quoted by product and B2O3 grade |
Contract types
- Annual or multi-year supply contracts priced per tonne of product at a stated B2O3 grade
- Distributor sales of bagged borax and boric acid
- Offtake agreements for future co-product supply (e.g. a Nevada developer's boron sales to a Chinese buyer, Scheyder)
Top trading houses
- Eti Maden marketing
- Rio Tinto commercial
- Specialty chemical distributors serving glass, ceramic and fertiliser buyers
How prices are discovered
- Producer list prices and contract settlements
- US import and export unit values (USGS, US Census)
- Assessments by price reporting agencies