/ world today news/ The inter-industry group of European companies for the production and use of metals issued a warning about the catastrophic consequences of the shortage of Chinese magnesium and called for action against the imminent risk of stopping production in Europe.
With the European Union almost entirely (95 percent) dependent on China for its magnesium needs, European industries producing and using aluminum, iron and steel, as well as their raw material suppliers, are already suffering from shortages.
In the future, the problem threatens to spread through supply chains to thousands of European businesses and threaten millions of jobs, including in key sectors such as automotive and construction. The authors of the appeal call the prices of magnesium in Europe in the amount of 10-14 thousand dollars per ton “predatory” against the background of the price of two thousand dollars at the beginning of the year. They predict that by the end of November, magnesium reserves in Europe will finally run out, leading to, if not a complete collapse, then a very serious collapse of European industry.
What actually happened and what are the reasons for it?
To begin with, it is worth mentioning that magnesium is widely used in metallurgy and engineering. Magnesium is the lightest building material used commercially. Magnesium alloys weigh four times less than steel. In addition, magnesium is highly processable. Therefore, its main field of application is as a light structural metal in a wide variety of alloys. In particular, it is actively used in the automotive and aviation industries.
China has provided 80-85 percent of total world magnesium production in recent years. By the way, Russia, which has the largest reserves of this metal in the world, is at the same time China’s closest competitor, but the volumes it produces are 13-15 times less than China’s.
Production is concentrated in factories in Berezniki (AVISMA) and Solikamsk (“Solikamsk Magnesium Plant”). And it is quite telling that after several years of disputes and procedures for the transfer of ownership of the shares of the Solikamsk plant, the General Prosecutor’s Office recently requested that they be withdrawn in favor of the state, citing the illegality of the privatizations in the period 1992-1996 years.
But back to the European magnesium deficiency. Consuming about 17 percent of the world’s magnesium, Europe itself produces minimal amounts of it. Therefore, it is almost entirely dependent on supplies from China. But the PRC government decided in September to close 35 of 50 smelters and cut production at the rest by half. In fact, it led to such a severe deficit.
And then it’s time to ask a question in the voice of Mikhail Galustyan: “Who did it?” I mean: why did China drastically reduce magnesium production?
The answer is simple: because of the energy crisis.
Due to the energy crisis caused by the Western Green Agenda. Because of the very “green transition” to carbon neutrality that the West is imposing both on itself and on the rest of the world.
As part of meeting these requirements, China has not only pledged to achieve the aforementioned carbon neutrality by 2060, but has also begun actively moving in that direction. In July, China introduced a new CO2 allowance trading system. Even before that, China began to actively close coal mines – many hundreds were closed in a few years.
And in September, the country faced a severe energy crisis, which had to be overcome not only by opening the previously banned mines, but also by a directive reduction in electricity consumption.
By the way, the problem of magnesium deficiency has already reached North America. Canadian aluminum-magnesium billet manufacturer Matalco Inc. told customers last week that magnesium supplies had “dried up” and if shortages continued, it would have to cut production and supply next year.
The European Union is currently in talks with China to encourage it to increase its magnesium production. But, of course, without offering help in the form of additional energy supplies: it is assumed that the Chinese must find additional energy themselves to meet European needs.
But is magnesium the only problem?
Last year, a shortage of microcircuits appeared in the world, due to which the automotive industry (and not only it) already suffered and continues to suffer losses, since it was not possible to cope with the shortage of chips. Most recently, we wrote about a very different kind of shortage – a truck driver shortage that is particularly acute in the UK.
However, an interesting follow-up emerged here: after the forced increase in truck drivers’ wages /on average 2 times/, Britain is now starting to face an acute shortage of …bus drivers.
Everyone has heard about the shortage of coal and gas in the same Europe (and in Southeast Asia, by the way). By spring, a shortage of fertilizers is predicted in Europe. In addition, the whole world is also on the verge of a copper deficit – its stocks on the London Stock Exchange have fallen to a record low for half a century of trading, and the price has increased by one and a half times in one year.
The list goes on. And all these problems are not only related to the COVID-19 pandemic. They are no less, if not more, generated by the actions of the West. First, through the “specific” methods of dealing with the crisis, based on the issuance of unthinkable and unsecured volumes of world currencies (primarily dollars).
Second, the Western-inspired “green transition”, which in its current proposed and popularized form is less about caring for nature than about maintaining the economic superiority of some countries at the expense of others.
Against the background of these actions, inflation, situational shortages of various goods and permanent manifestations of the energy crisis throughout the world will become more and more common. As today, photos of half-empty shelves in American, British and other supermarkets are becoming more and more common, reminiscent of the shelves of Soviet stores in the late 80s and early 90s of the last century.
Translation: ES
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