Vanadium outlook9 Nov 2020 21:08
INTL FERRO-ALLOYS CONF: ‘Incredible’ Chinese vanadium consumption supports market in Europe, US absence - Largo CEO
Chinese steel production has been enough to cushion the global vanadium market from weaker demand in Europe and the United States in the fall-out from the coronavirus pandemic, according to Paulo Misk, president and chief executive of Largo Resources.
“China – the country we [in February] thought was most affected [by Covid] – actually saw a surge of vanadium consumption. In the first half of 2020, Chinese vanadium consumption went up 20% compared with 2019, and this is truly incredible,” Misk told delegates during Fastmarkets’ virtual International Ferro-alloys conference on Monday November 9.
“If you look at how much steel production has increased, and rebar has seen a 5.3% increase in production in the first half [of 2020], it was enough to take all of the vanadium that was not consumed in Europe and the US [due to the pandemic],” he continued.
Vanadium is added to steel rebar to increase its tensile strength and improve its resistance to earthquakes.
Covid-19 resulted in widespread industrial shutdowns earlier in the year in a bid to curb the spread of the virus,...
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