20th Industrial Minerals International Congress & Exhibition

21 - 24 March 2010

Roskill's Managing Director, Judith Chegwidden and Senior Consultant, Robert Baylis, will be giving papers.

ROSKILL REPORTS

Our Reports provide information you can rely on for your business.

• Explore commercial opportunities
• Forecast market trends
• Monitor new end-use applications
• Plan materials buying and sourcing
• Gather intelligence on your competitors
• Establish sales targets for your products

Save time searching for specialist information on industrial minerals markets - take a look at our reports.

New Reports

Boron
Global demand for borates grew strongly in the three years to 2008, at up to 8%py, largely driven by growth in the Chinese market ? now the world?s largest ? where consumption rose by 15%py from 2000 to 2008. Growth in the market share held by Asian countries partly reflects the shift in production of textile-grade fibreglass, borosilicate glass and ceramics away from North America and Europe to countries with lower production costs.Following the years of strong growth, 2009 saw a sharp drop ...

Magnesium Compounds and Chemicals
China accounts for around two thirds of world production of refractory grade magnesia and has been a major supplier to the rest of the world. Over the past ten years, however, exports have declined by 5%py as domestic demand has increased and stringent export controls have been introduced. The main factor behind the growth in Chinese refractory production capacity has been demand from local steel mills, but exports of refractory bricks have also grown by 20%py since 2000. Environmental appl...

Molybdenum
Between August 2008 and March 2009, molybdenum prices, responding to the global economic downturn, fell from US$34/lbMo to US$8/lbMo. This followed a four-year period when supply limitations and growing demand, principally from low alloy and stainless steels, sustained an average price of US$30/lb.Stockpiling of imported roasted concentrates by Chinese traders and consumers resulted in prices rallying for a while in mid 2009. Through 2010 and 2011, market volatility is likely to continue but...

Nickel
The devastating financial crisis that affected the world in 2008/9 has had a wide-ranging impact. As with most commodities, participants in the nickel industry have had to make adjustments. Producers have been forced to make severe cuts to output, while stocks at LME warehouses have been rising steadily. China has proved the exception, with both demand and production rising. Ever increasing demand from emerging markets, coupled with a return to positive growth in the developed world should ...

Gypsum
Demand for gypsum is closely linked to general economic activity due to its use in construction in plasterboard, plasters and cement. Overall, world consumption of gypsum dropped 4% between 2006 and 2008, a total reduction of 8Mt, as a result of the global financial crisis and associated recession. Plasterboard and cement production are expected to take at least 2-3 years to regain the 2006 peak levels, but full economic recovery will see growth rates of between 4 and 7%py for cement and plast...

Tantalum
There are mounting fears in the tantalum market that serious shortages are looming. Weak demand in consuming industries, particularly capacitors, coupled with large inventories in the supply chain, has kept tantalum prices low. Primary output has been slashed and processors are increasingly relying on stock drawdowns to make up the shortfall. If there is even a modest recovery in demand for tantalum in the near future, the market faces a difficult period.A key issue is the continuing supply...

Natural Graphite
Over the last decade, the development of thermal and chemical processes to produce high-purity natural graphite has enabled a more effective use of graphite resources, as lower grade ores and fines can be transformed into grades suitable for use in demanding applications such as batteries. Markets previously lost to synthetic graphite, such as batteries and carbon parts now offer opportunities for growth....

Chromium
The impact of the downturn on the global economy, starting in mid 2008, had a marked impact on the chromium market, as both prices and demand plummeted. In March 2009, European importers paid around US?86/lb for South African ferro-chrome, some 60% lower than prices (US?213/lb) paid in September 2008. Demand for chromium over this period has fallen sharply, as demand for stainless steel, the primary end-use for chromium, has collapsed. However, the predicted negative outlook for the chromium...