Examining the silica market, page-3

I noticed that this info was sourced by ?? For another silica company but all the information that was used was sourced from VRX. Maybe we should check out the vrx website.


And domestic solar panel uptake in Asia is yet to hit its peak.The market in Asia is growing at a rate of about 30 per cent each year and is currently sitting around 3.5 billion solar panels. But within the next decade that is expected to reach 50 billion solar panels.Meanwhile, the casting industry is particularly big in Korea and the foundry industry in India is one of the fastest growing.Carmakers Audi and VW now get all their parts cast in India and BMW is looking to do the same. Strategic mineralThe supply shortage is becoming such an issue that China has added it to its list of “strategic minerals”.And that’s because you can’t just take good old beach sand and sell it to a glassmaker, according to the boss of one ASX-listed small cap silica sands explorer.“There is becoming an issue with sand supply and the sand you see down the beach is not suitable for concrete or glassmaking, it’s predominantly calcium carbonate,” VRX Silica (ASX:VRX)managing director Bruce Maluish told delegates at the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) Convention in Perth.“It is a finite resource. It’s not like you can drill deeper with gold or copper and find a bit more.“Also, they are variable grades. Predominantly, sands have got contaminants in them like aluminium, titanium and iron, which make it unsuitable for many uses, particularly in glassmaking.”According to Australian Silica Quartz, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bauxite Resources (ASX:BAU), traditionally the Australian silica market has been dominated by Japanese trading houses operating as private Australian companies and supplying the South East Asian markets.But the growing supply deficit is forcing the price higher, which has made it possible for ASX-listed players to join the game.Maluish said the price of raw materials to make glass had been steadily rising at 5 to 10 per cent each year.“Australia can now compete on the global stage in this particular industry … because the price now can handle the shipping cost from Australia,” he explained.“So until now there hasn’t been a silica sands sector in Australia, but there will be and it’s mainly because the price has steadily increased.”