Tantalum, tungsten: Coronavirus weighs down market sentiment
roskill.com
Posted 28th February 2020 in ?Industry news.
By Jessica Roberts
The tantalum and tungsten sectors are in a “holding pattern” at present, which could lead to a stagnant H1 2020, as minor metal markets grapple with the full implications of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak on supply chains.
Attendees speaking to Roskill during the Argus Metals Week conference, held in London on 17th-19th February, noted the usual post-Lunar New Year recovery had yet to materialise as major Chinese refiners struggled to return to normal working conditions. Demand from end-user sectors such as automotive markets and consumer electronics was also reported to be down, affecting domestic consumption of raw materials.
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The Covid-19 outbreak has come at a poor time for minor metals such as tantalum and tungsten, which were expected to see an uptick in prices and demand following a run-down of upstream inventories in 2019. With travel between provinces in China still limited, refiners are largely unable to return to normal operating levels. Those with clear access to ports are understood to be increasing raw materials sourcing from overseas suppliers.
Other market-specific factors of concern to tungsten and tantalum market participants raised during the conference included uncertainty surrounding the EU’s new Conflict Minerals Regulation, covering tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold (“3TG”) which is due to come into force on 1 January 2021; class 7 radioactivity issues affecting tantalum concentrate shipments from Africa; and a lack of financing for new tungsten and tantalum mines.
Such factors will likely come more into play later in 2020 and 2021, when the full ramifications of the Covid-19 outbreak will be clearer.
Roskill’s inaugural Technology Metals 2020 conference—the international event for the tungsten and tantalum markets—will take place in Berlin at the Crowne Plaza Potsdamer Platz on June 29–30th. For more information visit the conference webpage here.
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