Magnesium Buyers Warn Crunch Threatens Millions of European Jobs
- Europe buys almost all of its magnesium from Chinese producers
- Chinese exports have plunged due to curbs on power usage
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Europe’s magnesium shortage could shutter industrial operations within weeks, threatening thousands of businesses and millions of jobs in sectors from cars to packaging, associations warned.
Chinese exports of magnesium -- a critical material for hardening aluminum alloys and used in everything from power tools to laptops -- has plunged as the nation cuts output because of an energy crunch. That’s caused prices to spike and left buyers worldwide exposed.