PRCO(002225) 东北证券·2025-05-14 08:41Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for the company [5]. Core Viewpoints - The company is entering the wet metallurgy active magnesium oxide market, which has significant future growth potential. A strategic partnership with GreenMei in January 2025 marks an important milestone for the company's precipitation agent products in the wet nickel extraction field [1][13]. - The company has a competitive advantage with its layout of the Karmado microcrystalline magnesite mine in Tibet, which is expected to achieve domestic substitution. The mine has low extraction costs and good economic benefits, with a theoretical long-term production capacity of 450,000 tons [1][50]. Summary by Sections 1. Active Magnesium Oxide Business - The company is focusing on the nickel-cobalt wet metallurgy precipitation agent market, which shows great potential for development. Laboratory studies indicate that active magnesium oxide offers advantages such as improved nickel-cobalt slag grade and reduced costs compared to sodium hydroxide [13]. - Active magnesium oxide has a wide range of applications and can be developed for high-temperature and high-corrosion conditions. Its properties are significantly influenced by the calcination temperature and time [15]. 2. Supply Side - The company has a strategic advantage with its self-owned Karmado microcrystalline magnesite mine, which is a high-grade large deposit with low impurities and significant economic benefits. The mine's production scale is 1 million tons per year, with a theoretical magnesium oxide output of 450,000 tons [50][51]. - The competitive landscape shows that overseas manufacturers dominate the market, but domestic companies are making significant breakthroughs [33]. 3. Demand Side - The cobalt market is experiencing rapid growth, driven by the expansion of domestic copper-cobalt mines. The global cobalt production is expected to reach 290,000 tons in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 22% [60]. - The nickel market is also growing rapidly, with the demand for nickel in battery applications projected to increase significantly by 2035 [2]. The wet nickel process is expected to see substantial application growth, requiring effective precipitation agents like magnesium oxide [2].