Global prices of drilling grade barytes have continued to increase as the ongoing boom in oil and gas drilling worldwide encourages more energy exploration while supply remains constrained.
“Prices of drilling grade barytes are going up all over the world partly in tandem with tighter supply and higher prices in China. Whether it’s just a temporary bubble in the market or the start of a longer term trend remains to be seen but consumers, especially those dependent on China, are getting more and more nervous”, said one industry source.
In China, by far the world’s largest supplier, supply has been blighted by floods and droughts in the main mining regions. Tighter supply has coincided with increased local demand and ongoing...