Pyrite is a basic chemical raw material. The vast majority of it is used in sulfuric acid production, while a small portion is applied in other special industries, such as smelting sulfide additives, roasting of non-ferrous scrap metals, sewage treatment, abrasive disc fillers, copper removal agents in crude lead smelting, counterweight materials, etc.
China is rich in pyrite resources, far ahead of all other countries in the world. The proven ore reserves of pyrite stand at 4.634 billion tons, mainly distributed in provinces such as Guangdong, Anhui, Jiangxi, Inner Mongolia, Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi. Among them, Guangdong Yunfu Pyrite Mine, with an annual production capacity of 3 million tons, is China's largest pyrite mine.
China's pyrite resources are characterized by few high-grade ores and many low-grade ores. Grade Ⅰ ores with a sulfur content exceeding 35% account for only 3.7% of the total pyrite reserves, while 96.3% of the pyrite ores are medium and low-grade ores with a sulfur content of 12% to 35%. Most of them need to be processed into high-grade pyrite concentrate through flotation technology.
The vast majority of pyrite is used to meet domestic sulfuric acid production demand, and a small amount of high-grade massive pyrite is exported to countries such as Japan, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, and Turkey for applications in other special industries.