Search

The global high-purity quartz market remains as tightly controlled as ever, despite efforts by China, junior companies and synthetic material producers to open up the supply chain, correspondent Rose Pengelly writes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A shale oil resource has been identified in shallow water off the coast of the Gulf island state of Bahrain, and the country will probably have to import frac sand to exploit it, and perhaps develop new technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cold water was thrown on the lithium market in 2018, with prices falling and lithium miners' equity prices declining alongside. Fastmarkets IM believes the price weakness was front-loaded, with the market deleveraging into the prospect of two to three years of supply surplus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's Dalmia-OCL has bought German refractory producer GSB for $17 million, thereby entering the EU market with a focus on 'cleaner steel'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An uptick in mineral exploration financing since 2017 is welcome but may not be enough to undo years of under-investment in identifying new economic deposits, correspondent Rose Pengelly finds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japanese carmaker Honda has set itself an ambitious target that hybrid electric vehicles will make up half of its output by 2030, while sourcing its raw materials responsibly and seeking transparency in the market for cobalt for use in batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth in demand for electric vehicles has pushed Japanese electronics manufacturer Panasonic to investigate investments in battery raw materials, but this will not include the purchase of a mine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A strong rand is putting pressure on miners' margins while dollar weakness is 'killing business'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geopolitical uncertainty could affect mergers and acquisitions (M&A), PwC said highlighting Brexit and US elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

US carmaker Ford sees partnering with other organizations as the way forward when it comes to developing electric vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The collaboration between MineHub and IBM will improve logistics for bulk and trucked minerals, with air and container freight targeted as the next venture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The removal of US sanctions on producer Rusal has added strength to Alcoa's forecast of a surplus in alumina in 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vietnam has ambitions to become one of Asia's biggest glass exporters. Tran Kim Phuong looks at how the country is trying to achieve this by exploiting its high quality domestic silica sand reserves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian lithium producer Alliance Mineral has established a new offtake agreement and pricing strategy for spodumene produced at Bald Hill in Western Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Output rises are likely for rutile, ilmenite and zircon despite the problems caused by the US-China trade tensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continuing budget standoff in US politics between the president and the legislature has put TiO2 producer Tronox' takeover of Cristal on hold because no government staff are able to work on the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Production assets for fluorspar outside China are opening up as the East Asian country takes capacity out of the market and prices rise in response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frac sand buyer STC is trying to 'walk away' from an offtake deal, Smart Sands alleges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese market has veered away from NCM811 batteries in electric vehicles, with them used predominantly in consumer goods in 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether you call them technical ceramics, engineering ceramics or advanced ceramics, these materials have advanced steadily through the past year, and 2019 holds a great deal of potential for more widespread adoption, notably in the high performance industrial arena, as Charlie Wallin reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing use of moveable processing technology on mine sites that can be set up and shifted around at short notice and quickly packed up after use is revolutionizing the way mineral ores are sorted. Correspondent Rose Pengelly looks at how lower costs and faster turnaround times are fuelling the growth in demand for mobile mining equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New European regulations that come into force in January 2020 will require manufacturers, importers and users of chemicals made from minerals to check for 'nanoparticles' and assess the risks they may pose to health and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vanadium-redox battery market is growing, but a spike in raw materials prices and squeezed supplies remain concerns for end users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Albemarle would pay $1.15 billion for the stake in the joint venture (JV), which will own and operate the Wodgina mine and aim to develop lithium hydroxide on site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key takeaways from independent consultant TZMI's 2018 congress held on November 12-14 in Singapore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complexity of the graphite market is one of the main reasons why new producers struggle to establish profitable businesses in this sector, even if they manage get new mines into operation. Correspondent Rose Pengelly examines the intricacies of the graphite supply chain and considers who may be able to step in to help break China's dominance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The broad upward swing has been welcomed by the beleaguered sector but there is cause for caution, writes Will Fray, senior analyst at Maritime Strategies International. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Funding remains a problem for almost all junior mining companies but, for industrial minerals developers, the market is particularly tough because new ways of raising money do not sit well with the sector's opaque and illiquid pricing practices, which makes it harder to communicate value, Rose Pengelly reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key dates for your diary in 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A round-up of all this year's events in the global industrial mineral sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bosai has made a $1.2 billion acquisition of Shandong Qixing's idled operation, however this is not expected to ease the tightness in the Chinese alumina market with production not due until the first quarter of 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With trade wars once again exacerbating concerns over critical mineral supplies, Fastmarkets correspondent Rose Pengelly looks at whether new technologies can make coal a viable alternative source of rare earths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A round-up of commodity price movements in September 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese sales of new electric vehicles has rebounded in line with Fastmarkets' expectations following a temporary dip during a transition to new government subsidies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fastmarkets IM looks at India's titanium dioxide supply and demand dynamics, as well as the future of the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diary dates for key conferences, events and exhibitions in October, November and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal Bulletin's price development manager Jon Mulcahy, group statistician Inaki Villanueva and battery raw materials team leader Charlotte Radford elaborate on the pricing process for lithium amid a rapidly evolving market, and explain how Metal Bulletin is adapting its existing coverage to provide increased transparency in this sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The non-metallurgical alumina market is diverse and complex and, over the past year, its main sub-sectors have been under pressure from rising costs and hiccups in supply, limiting availability of white fused, alumina hydrate and calcined alumina to the wider market, independent consultant, Ted Dickson, discovers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollution regulations and their enforcement in China, coupled with the maturity of the steel and refractory industries, are causing a third major disturbance to the global magnesia market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a quest to make HarbisonWalker International its customers' 'first and only call,' Carol Jackson has pulled out all the stops. "We are not your old refractory company," she tells Jo Isenberg-O'Loughlin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interview with John Coetzee, the chief operating officer of Desert Lion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combined value of merger and acquisition deals in the metals and mining sector is rising even though the numbers of such deals is falling, according to consultancy EY. But in battery metals, activity is actually increasing, as Andrea Hotter reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legislation to increase the share of jobs and financial benefit taken by domestic interests is once again being considered by the Kenyan parliament. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian refractory industry is heading into an exciting period. It is heavily dependent on the domestic steel sector, and government plans for greatly expanded capacity for production of steel and cement in the next few years is expected to propel the refractory sector to new highs, Industrial Minerals correspondent Sunder Singh reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automotive manufacturers are demanding better accuracy and longer life from abrasive tools, and this has created an opportunity for a new family of high-performance synthetic abrasives, as Industrial Minerals correspondent Rose Pengelly discovers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]