Good riddance 2016
It is the year of new beginnings - of Iluka Resources beginning to work in Sierra Leone, after the Sierra Rutile merger completes; of, potentially, the creation of a refractories behemoth following the RHI/Magnesita merger; of Tesla's Gigafactory gloriously ramping up production; and of what many hope will be the slow creep back upwards for oil prices following OPEC's promise to cut oil output for the first time in almost a decade.

High purity quartz (HPQ) is another mineral market which has an upwards trajectory. The solar industry has played a big part in HPQ demand in the last decade and its role is set to grow as new large and innovative solar investments are announced. US electric vehicle maker, Tesla Motors Inc., in 2016 announced its intention to acquire Californian solar energy producer, SolarCity Corp., for $2.6bn. The cost of installing solar is also going down. Anglo-Australian mining giant, BHP Billiton Ltd, recently stated that, average, wind and solar energy are expected to reach cost-parity with incumbent technologies on a new-build, unsubsidised basis in about a decade.