With roofing, which is likely a fair percentage of overall use of zinc, there is the option of making the galvanizing thinner, partly by alloying with aluminium i think, and layering over it stuff like 'silicon modified polyesters, flouropolymers' [getting that off a roofing brochure here] ... in Chiapas the price of roofing has gone completely through the roof, first a lot of the subsidies of the old PRI were removed with their removal, then came zinc prices, so now it's quite a multiple of whatever price it was say six years ago ... all over the world you see the basic corrugated roofing, the good stuff that will last has a lot of zinc on it, we call it lámina, at current prices there will be a lot more roofs made of concrete, builders there have quite a technique for making a strong and surprisingly thin slab, called losa ... in a few months we'll be deciding final details for another family house in Chiapas, we'll probably go losa this time, not only for zinc prices but because that leaves you the option of adding another storey later ... which is why you see rebar sticking up out of houses in a lot of places, they're thinking ahead ... and, not using much zinc ... DAK has a point there, imho, alternatives might not be so limited as thought, plus who knows what can happen with the chindians, things are booming there now but 'this too shall pass' ... because it always does
With current supply/demand for Zn i don't fear much for my mmgg shares, given their current valuation ... but it bears watching .... same with silver if/when lots of new Zn supply comes online, as Ag is often a byproduct .... but none of this is going to happen by monday's open, so everybody relax -g- .... cheers |
