Mining and Chemical Products Limited (MCP) was formed in London in 1929 to take over the refining and marketing of Aramayo Bismuth in Europe.

When the Company's mines in Bolivia were nationalised in 1952, MCP became the focus for global expansion of the Group, and following ventures into Pure Drugs, Electronic Materials and Component Distribution, MCP has crystallised into the Group we know today.

There are major companies in England, Germany and America, along with growing subsidiaries in France, Italy, Spain.

Bismuth and Minor Metals remain at the heart of the MCP Group. The introduction in the 1970's of 'Rapid Prototyping' - a fast and inexpensive process for the production of prototype and short-run tooling - began a quarter century of intensive innovation and expansion within the Group.