Despite headwinds such as the NAFTA renegotiations, Mexico’s steel sector is seeing large investments by the likes of Ternium and ArcelorMittal and is moving up the value chain, driven by a booming automotive sector.
"The market in Mexico used to be only based on price, but now clients are also looking for quality and are able to pay a little more. Companies must have high efficiency and be prepared to produce products when the client needs them.”
Despite headwinds such as the NAFTA renegotiations, Mexico’s steel sector is seeing large investments by the likes of Ternium and ArcelorMittal, and is moving up the value chain, driven by a booming automotive sector.
It is said that mining is a patient industry. Current demand projections are not. Demand for minerals deemed ‘critical’ is set to increase almost fourfold by 2030, according to the UN. Demand for nickel, cobalt and lithium is predicted to double, triple and rise ten-fold, respectively, between 2022 and 2050. The world will need to mine more copper between 2018 and 2050 than it has mined throughout history. 2050 is also the deadline to curb emissions before reaching a point of ‘no return.’ The pace of mineral demand and the consequences of not meeting it force the industry to act fast and take more risks. Mining cannot afford to be a patient industry anymore. The scramble for supply drives miners back to geological credentials, and therefore to places like the African Central Copperbelt.