Covid 19 and Bauxite

The current crisis of the CORONAVIRUS / COVID-19 has affected production and consumption tendencies in all industrial areas. This global pandemic affects the global economy at all levels with unpredictable changes and extreme impact on the industry.
Each sector is experiencing its own challenges, most of them consist of dealing with low demand, lack of liquidity, interruptions or blockages in the supply chain, transport constraints, and compliance with the "new normal", etc.
Regarding both raw and refractory materials, which have a high dependence on the Chinese market , the situation has passed from high prices and lack of supply in the first quarter of the year, to lower prices in the second quarter of the year because of low demand and uncertainty in deliveries caused by poor availability of transport.
This new pandemic factor and its consequences add to the instability of supply and prices that have been observed in recent years and this makes it even more necessary for refractory producers to make an extra effort to find new synergies in the industry that can mitigate the dependence on critical raw materials outside of Europe. In this context, the BAUXAL II project highlights its strategic nature.