Burning up: Refractory clays face an unclear future
By Siobhan Lismore-Scott
Published: Wednesday, 24 October 2012
In the aftermath of a global economic crisis which refuses to wane, all eyes are on refractories and the industries which support them. For refractory clays — the name given to a group of specific grades of calcined kaolin, fireclay, chamotte and flint clay — however, the outlook is more positive, in the long run at least.
Because refractory clays are undoubtedly linked to
refractory markets, which are in turn affected by markets such
as construction, there has been a fall in demand for their use
on the back of the global economic downturn. It was because of
the downturn that the housing market plummeted in 2008...