About Magnesium
Some technical details and a brief overview about magnesium:
![]() | |
The Element | |
Symbol: Mg | |
Name: Magnesium | |
Atomic number: 12 | |
Relative atomic mass: 24,305 | |
Valency: 2 | |
Relative density: 1.738 | |
Melting point: 651° | |
Boiling point: 1107° | |
Crystal structure: Close packed hexagonal (a=3.2030 c= 5.2002) |

Source
Where Magnesium can be retrieved:
- In the Earth's crust (~ 2.5%): minerals such as carnallite (KCl·MgCl2·6H2O) and dolomite (CaCO3·MgCO3).
- In the Oceans, MgCl2 (~ 0.13% - 1.3 kg per m3 of seawater)

Production
Worldwide production of Metallic Magnesium: 600'000 T/year (80% in China)
Processes
Two fundamental processes:
1. Thermal reduction (Pidgeon process, mainly used in China): reduction of calcined Dolomite with ferrosilicon2. Electrolytic reduction of MgCl

Price Evolution
Magnesium Price Evolution comparing China and Europe market