This growth will take place against a background of profound changes in the industry, with new environmental and legislative pressures pushing the development of practical end uses for non-ferrous slag as an alternative to landfill.

The largest end-use application in volume for non-ferrous slag is for civil engineering, which is estimated to take around 35% of total global volume usage of non-ferrous slag in 2019. Civil engineering includes its usage in areas such as roads (beds), ground improvement, in-house, land reclamation, sand compaction and ballast for railways. In 10 years from now its share in cement and concrete is expected to further increase because of demand for these and also the higher value that can be made when using it in higher-quality cement and concrete applications.

The decline in supply of aggregates for use in the construction sector in some regions makes other metallurgical slags – such as those derived from the smelting of copper, lead, zinc, nickel, chrome and manganese – of considerable interest as an alternative source of supply to the customer base that has to rely on aggregates, cements, mortars, fly ash, or ground-granulated blast furnace slag.

This opens the door for ferrous and non-ferrous slags which, depending on the type, can enhance the performance of the materials, are price competitive and also can provide an important environmental benefit in their use. Non-ferrous slags have made some headway in speciality areas depending on their regional availability.

This report analyses comprehensively the key trends and drivers that are set to affect the global non-ferrous slag market to 2024 such as:

• Regulations - for non-ferrous slag often differ from country to country, or even within countries from state to state, as in the US.
   
• Environmental impact-the European metallurgy industry and supply chain has moved away from focusing entirely on primary resource extraction (mining) and production, towards emphasising recycling of secondary raw materials.
   
•  Taxation -Usage of non-ferrous slag may also be driven by applicable taxes per country.
   
• Ecological footprint of non-ferrous slag - Ecological aspects of buildings and building materials are expected to play an increasingly important role in public and other awarding authorities.
   
• Regional trends – in some regions more mining takes place due to more resources being available to extract.

• Shifting manufacturing capacities operations are affected by market demand. In general, China and India are swing producers that will keep a very large capacity available, but may use it only when market prices rise to a level that justifies operating the facilities.
   
• Impact of Competitive materials increasing interest in slags as a useful by-product that can be reintroduced into the supply chain as a useful resource is relatively recent.

• Pricing issues  - metals and minerals are subject to pricing, which is regulated by the London Metal Exchange (LME). Which  quotes prices on a daily – even hourly – basis.

The Future of Non-Ferrous Slag to 2029 provides in-depth quantitative market information and forecasts for the global label printing industry, segmented by 12 slag product types, types of production by slag type, by end use, and by geographic regions; together with expert analysis of the key drivers and trends affecting the non-ferrous market  to 2024.

Notes for Editors            

 The Future of Non-Ferrous Slag to 2029  is available to purchase. for more information download the report brochure. 

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Joanna Gibson:

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jgibson@smithers.com