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Article: Soda ash industry fights recession, Chinese rivals
- Article from:
- AP Online
- Article date:
- July 26, 2009
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. (Hide copyright information)
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Beneath the arid sagebrush flats of southwest Wyoming, miners work around the clock to grind out millions of tons of trona rock that's hoisted to the surface and processed into a key ingredient for everything from baking soda and detergent, to glass and paper.
Four of the United States' five soda ash producers are located above the Wyoming's vast trona reserves, which were formed by an evaporating lake 50 million years ago. Soda ash, or sodium carbonate, has been an anchor of the region since the 1940s, but these days, the industry is facing a confluence of difficult challenges.
The economic recession, including weak demand for glass in the auto and construction sectors, contributed to a 24 ...