Weak demand from the aerospace sector will maintain the pressure on the tantalum sector in the short term, Dharam Kotecha, director at minerals trader Halcyon, said during a virtual conference hosted by the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Centre last week.
"In terms of short-term demand, in what was a buoyant aerospace industry, [Covid-19] will create a big hole when the international travel industry cuts back, airlines fail, capacity is cut and aircraft are retired," Kotecha said."Lots of tantalum and niobium scrap will become available," he said, "but this will lead to lack of capacity along the supply line, and...