China has long been the world’s dominant steelmaker, but the spread of coronavirus has exposed how dependent some global producers are on specialized Chinese raw materials to make the metal.

China provides or refines around 97% of the steelmaking ingredient manganese metal and a large slice of silicon and other key raw materials. Prices of these resources rose sharply in January, when the spread of the novel coronavirus hampered refining and distribution of steelmaking ingredients in China.

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