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Tata Chemicals Ltd’s soda ash facility in Mithapur, India. The group is the world’s second largest soda ash producer
Tata Chemicals Ltd |
A major consequence of the financial downturn has been the reconfiguration of the manufacturing footprint of core mineral-consuming industries.
The resultant rationalisation - as markets such as automobiles, construction, and glass relocated part or all of their manufacturing centres to emerging markets - uprooted traditional supply chains.
The subsequent recovery in industrial output has been highest in these rapidly developing regions, where modernisation and wealthy middle classes are ensuring demand for anything from new housing to high-tech goods.
Soda ash has been no stranger to this reconfigured commodity landscape. Its end markets, comprising staples such as glass, detergents and chemicals, have been part of the rapid recovery in consumerism.
As a result, the alkali chemical - which can be produced from naturally occurring sources or synthetically...