As the minor metals industry prepares to gather in Edinburgh, Scotland, for the annual Minor Metals Trade Association (MMTA) conference on April 9-11, Fastmarkets outlines some of the key topics likely to dominate discussions this year.
Where is the bottom for minor metals prices? This time last year, the minor metals industry was heading into the conference with optimism because prices were trading at multi-year highs. But uncertainty in the global arena in 2019 has pushed prices down dramatically with some of the metals already at historical lows. Fastmarkets looked at the price moves in the minor metals complex since last year's conference, here. Prices for some of the minor metals, such as bismuth and gallium, are already down to their production costs and the question of how much lower prices can go is dampening sentiment. Can China's policies boost its slowing economy? The economic health of China, the world's biggest minor metals producer and consumer, has been a point of concern for the industry this year. China contributes an estimated minimum of 70% of world output of indium, bismuth, gallium and germanium. At the beginning...