"Wirtschaft am Rohstofftropf"

"Trade and Industry on the drip feed of raw materials"

“We have no choice, we must now take up the fight for raw materials if we do not want to be amongst the losers in future”, says Günter Pilarsky. As an insider, he has known the players and the developments on the international markets for metal raw materials for decades.

In his book "Wirtschaft am Rohstofftropf – Der Kampf um die wichtigsten mineralischen Rohstoffe" (Trade and industry on the drip feed of raw materials – The fight for the most important mineral raw materials), published by Springer Gabler, Pilarsky shows the relationship between rare raw materials and our prosperity and identifies the raw materials that decide about our future.

He describes in a generally intelligible manner, how raw material transactions are carried out in practice, how the global raw material markets act and how modern mining works. His analysis of the German situation illustrates how strongly Germany is on the drip feed of raw materials, and that so far the manufacturing industry and politics have done far too little to secure raw material supplies.
Pilarsky shows where the raw materials of the future can come from. He reaches the conclusion that it is indispensable that German companies get a direct access to important raw materials, with own mines or the participation in mining projects. He believes that this requires, however, more effective support by politics. “Only with a holistic approach, trade, industry  and politics will be able to meet both the requirements of global technological developments and the individual national interests of specific market players”, says Pilarsky. His advice is that people should speculate less and co-operate more.

Background
Günter Pilarsky founded Cronimet Ferrolegierungen Handelsg. mbH in Karlsruhe as a raw material trading company for the stainless steel producing industries. Today the Cronimet Group is firmly established throughout the world as a specialist for the recycling of stainless steel, trading and production of ferroalloys and primary metals. Founded in 1980, the company boasts an annual sales volume of 3.297 billion USD and an annual sale of 1,101,582 tons in 2010. Today CRONIMET is represented around the world by more than 4,500 employees at 50 locations. As a family-owned business, CRONIMET has grown organically in this very important supply sector. The systematic development of future markets is based on the company's ability to unify traditional entrepreneurship with modern management. What distinguishes the company from all other German raw material traders is the fact that it owns two mines. One produces molybdenum concentrate and copper concentrate in Armenia and the other chromium ore in South Africa.

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