Overview
The tantalum and niobium industry is tumbling in 2015 amid the global economic downturn accompanied with continuously tepid demand from the electronic product industry, which accounts for more than 60% of tantalum applications, and shrinking demand from the tantalum capacitor industry. In order to lower the production cost and evade risks from price fluctuations of raw materials, the majority of consumers have switched to other materials as substitutes of tantalum materials.
However, the continuous price declines of tagged ores and domestic ores are still confined within a reasonable range due to the tight supply. As the midstream industry, the tantalum processing industry has been like a “sandwich” squeezed from both sides owing to the weaker end user demand, sluggish prices, rising environmental cost of domestic plants and price inversions.
The ceaseless production of most plants has added fuel to the fire based on the surging domestic inventories of niobium oxide and the market is severely undermined by sales at lower prices. However, some plants can still actively expand the market and manage to get out of the hot water by seizing opportunities; to obtain more scraps and high-quality ores both at home and abroad has received more importance in sourcing raw materials. Can the demand of tantalum and related products see the dawn light? How will the processing plants cope with the long-term sluggishness in demand? When will the global economy achieve a full recovery? Will new applications occur in the tantalum and niobium industry?
The frequency of tantalum and niobium projects are slowed down by the persisting price declines of tantalum and niobium products, gradually dampening the frenzy of “mining craze”. In 2015, the tantalum and niobium industry moved slowly in Africa, Australia, Europe and other regions, where the production cost is far beyond the expectation of consumers. As a result, producers have to lower the price to boost sales. How will overseas producers reduce the production cost to stay competitive faced with the escalating market competitions? What kind of opportunities and challenges will newly-built tantalum and niobium projects face amid the shrinking global demand?