Koffiekamer Terug naar discussie overzicht

Rare earth metals

1. voda 26 juni 2015 15:34

   auteur info

   • voda

     Lid sinds: 02 dec 2005

     Laatste bezoek: 19 apr 2024

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 81660

     Gegeven: 20849

   •    Aantal posts: 363.961

   Rare Earth producer Molycorp declares bankruptcy
   
   Molycorp has started trading on the over the counter market, trading under the symbol MCPIQ in expectation of being delisted from the NYSE in the next few days as the company has long traded below the $1 mark. The delisting reflects that Molycorp, the only producer of rare earths in North America, is officially broke. Today, the mining company presented a request for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an effort to restructure liabilities totaling over USD 1.7 billion.
   
   Investors were not surprised as earlier in June, Molycorp could not afford to make an interest payment of US$32.5 million.
   
   Meanwhile, Molycorp said it had obtained a new temporary funding of USD 225 million and the Greenwood, Colorado based group said it "expects to emerge from Chapter 11 before the end of the year."
   
   Rare earths are, as the name suggests, are not easily available even if the minerals that contain them are abundant. The key is in having the right rare earths, often heavy rare earths (HREE) such as neodymium or dysprosium, needed to make magnets and components for defense and many technology products such as computers, cell phones, wind turbines and batteries. The right deposit also needs the right processing strategy to maximize efficiency, reducing capital costs and most of these remain in China, which, for the time being – at least until new deposits come on line – means that there is hardly any competition.
   Molycorp’s bankruptcy, China’s only potential rival, signals that the United States has thrown in the towel – at least for the next few years. The demand for rare earths remains and China continues to control 90 percent of global production.
   
   While Molycorp’s bankruptcy suggests that rare earth production is not feasible in the United States, there is hope for those miners, perhaps even Molycorp itself, able to supply what the market demands.
   
   Source : Proactive Investor
   
2. voda 18 augustus 2015 14:42

   auteur info

   • voda

     Lid sinds: 02 dec 2005

     Laatste bezoek: 19 apr 2024

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 81660

     Gegeven: 20849

   •    Aantal posts: 363.961

   US licensing of new rare earth recycling approach
   
   A new rare earth recycling technology developed by the US Department of Energy's Critical Materials Institute (CMI) has been licensed to US Rare Earths, Inc. The membrane solvent extraction system is said to be the first commercially licensed technology developed through the CMI.
   
   The innovative technology, invented by CMI partners Oak Ridge and Idaho National Laboratory, uses a combination of hollow fibre membranes, organic solvents and neutral extractants to 'selectively recover' up to 90% rare earths. Lab tests indicate a high success rate for recovering a 'highly pure form' of neodymium, dysprosium and praseodymium from scrap magnets.
   
   CMI director Alex King credits close collaboration with industry as key to making technology transfer happen 'well ahead of traditional time frames'. He adds: 'Going from an idea to a licensed technology in just two years is exactly what CMI is intended to do, and we’ve proven we can do it.'
   
   The recycling of critical materials from e-scrap was previously limited by processing technologies that are inefficient, costly and environmentally hazardous, notes Ramesh Bhave, who led the recycling R&D project. The team's new and simplified process eliminates many of these barriers, he points out.
   
   'Our single-step process to recover rare earth elements from scrap magnets is more environmentally friendly and has the potential to be a more cost-effective approach compared to conventional routes such as precipitation,' Bhave states.
   
   The recycling of electronic waste will provide a 'competitive source' of neodymium, dysprosium and praseodymium for growing the clean tech sector - including electric vehicles, according to Kevin Cassidy, ceo of US Rare Earths, Inc.
   
   Source : Recycling International
   
3. haas 18 augustus 2015 15:29

   auteur info

   • haas

     Lid sinds: 09 apr 2000

     Laatste bezoek: 06 sep 2022

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 2442

     Gegeven: 10807

   •    Aantal posts: 24.865

   RARE EARTH METALS
   
   Nog niet zolang geleden werden de REE's beschouwd als het geheime wapen in de strijd tegen het onkwaad ?
4. voda 8 mei 2016 17:43

   auteur info

   • voda

     Lid sinds: 02 dec 2005

     Laatste bezoek: 19 apr 2024

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 81660

     Gegeven: 20849

   •    Aantal posts: 363.961

   Beleggers storten zich op platinum, uranium en lithium
   Zeldzaam metaal straalt
   
   door Theo Besteman
   
   Amsterdam - Goud en zilver hebben de naam te gloren, maar veel zeldzamere edelmetalen en uranium zijn echt geliefd bij beleggers. Zij drijven op industrieel herstel. In stilte schoten hun prijzen afgelopen maanden omhoog.
   
   Willem Middelkoop lijkt terug. De goudexpert stapte na mooie jaren uit de handel in fysiek edelmetaal. Beleggers en Middelkoop zelf hadden na de piek bij $1770 voor goud fors verloren. De ex-’goudgoeroe’ richtte het Commodity Discovery Fund (CMD) op, met beleggingen in mijnbouwbedrijven die vlak voor de winning van zeldzame metalen staan.
   
   ’Strategische materialen’
   
   Begin dit jaar kwam de omslag voor goud, zilver en andere ’strategische materialen’. Na dramatische jaren ging de prijs van palladium, voor juwelen, tandartsen en autokatalysatoren, met 30% omhoog. Platina, gebruikt in lcd-schermen, pc’s en chirurgische instrumenten, is in vier maanden 21% duurder geworden.
   
   Uranium
   
   Dit voorjaar trof Middelkoop weer de roos. Begin maart schoot het aandeel van mijnbouwer NextGen, met toen $360 miljoen marktwaarde, met 28% omhoog. Het bedrijf had een verse ader uranium in de Canadese provincie Saskatchewan gevonden, de derde in omvang ooit gevonden in het gebied dat te boek staat als het Saoedi-Arabië van uranium. Per jaar hebben de 430 kernreactoren van de wereld 66.000 ton uranium nodig, maar de vraag is tanende. De spotprijs staat rond £27 bijzonder laag. Analisten van de grote zakenbanken zien echter dat bij beperkt aanbod de prijs stijgt. CMD had zeer goedkoop een belang genomen.
   
   Beleggers volgden Middelkoops CMD, dat in maart 25% won, en in april nog eens 10%. Het fonds voor uranium had half januari €19 miljoen onder beheer, eind april €40 miljoen. „We denken in deze herstelbeweging naar €100 miljoen te groeien”, aldus Middelkoop. Het CMD zit met bijna 34% rendement dit jaar aan „het hoogste kwartaalrendement sinds onze start”.
   
   Trage mijnbouwsector
   
   De huidige grote prijsstijgingen komen ook tot stand dankzij de traditioneel trage mijnbouwsector. De ondernemers hebben zich zonder uitzondering diep in schulden gestoken voor exploratie. Mijnen ontginnen duurt jaren. Beursfondsen zijn daarom weinig flexibel.
   
   Na de kater van afgelopen zes jaar met faillissementen en verliezen, zijn de investeerders niet happig om bij de eerste sprankeling van herstel mijnen vol open te zetten. Terwijl de vraag naar platina en palladium weer toeneemt, hopen mijnbouwers op betere prijzen voordat ze vol produceren.
   
   Batterijauto's
   
   Ook de koers van het aan beurs Euronext genoteerde AMG, producent van hoogwaardige metalen als lithium, wint sinds begin oktober vorig jaar onophoudelijk terrein. Lithium zit in batterijen. Analisten van ING zien dat de vraag naar Tesla’s en varianten op batterijauto’s tot schaarste en dus prijsstijgingen leidt.
   
   De markt herkent die lokroep en duikt erbovenop. Patrick Beijersbergen van de Vereniging van Effectenbezitters herinnert beleggers in zijn overzicht van de markten echter aan de cycli met rampen in specifiek de grondstoffenmarkt. Zakenbanken doeken na een grondstoffenmalaise hele handelsvloeren op. Mijnbouwers blijken bovenmatig gevoelig voor prijsveranderingen, waarschuwt de beleggingsexpert.
   
   Marktherstel
   
   Is niet het einde van het groeiend rendement in zicht? Historisch gezien is het onwaarschijnlijk. Decennia oude patronen van de edelmetaalmarkt tonen volgens universitair onderzoek dat herstel van de markt pas komt na 293% positief rendement binnen drie jaar. De toonaangevende HUI-goudindex staat dit jaar op dik 95% winst. „De markt is nog niet op een derde. Deze groei kan twee keer over de kop. Dat zien beleggers”, zegt oprichter Peter Vermeulen van het Phletora Precious Metals Fund. Hoeveel belegd vermogen binnenstroomt, blijft geheim. „Dat is bij ons is substantieel.”
   
   Bron: DFT Premium
   
5. voda 22 juni 2016 16:49

   auteur info

   • voda

     Lid sinds: 02 dec 2005

     Laatste bezoek: 19 apr 2024

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 81660

     Gegeven: 20849

   •    Aantal posts: 363.961

   Research project identifies agents for separation of better-performing rare-earth metals
   
   Published on Wed, 22 Jun 2016
   
   A research project led by the Critical Materials Institute, a US Department of Energy Innovation Hub, has identified agents for the separation of rare-earth metals that are potentially much less costly and better-performing than those currently used.
   
   Rare-earth metals are in increasingly high demand for their use in consumer electronics and clean energy technologies. While these materials are not actually rare, they are difficult and costly to refine, usually through solvent-extraction processes that rely on ligands—molecules that act to bind with and separate the metals.
   
   Through the use of computer–aided molecular design, a collaboration of researchers from the Supramolecular Design Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Ames Laboratory, and Idaho National Laboratory identified several new low-cost, highly effective ligands.
   
   Mr Vyacheslav Bryantsev, a CMI researcher in Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Chemical Sciences Division said that “Development of each ligand by industry can take up to five years and cost millions of dollars. Guiding the design computationally prior to experimental testing allows us to really narrow down and focus only on the very promising ligands, ones that are very strong and very selective.”
   
   The researchers used a program called Host Designer, a molecule-building software program that is capable of very quickly exploring millions of possibilities by broadly categorizing them according to their molecular architecture.
   
   Mr Benjamin Hay, the creator of Host Designer and CEO of Supramolecular Design Institute, said that “Think of a box of TinkertoysTM. If we were asked to build every possible structure out of those pieces, it would take a long time, maybe years. But our computer code has a database of molecular links that are like the chunks of those Tinkertoys, and can build those 3D structures in every conceivable way possible. It can produce a million structures a minute, and find the ones with the shapes and properties we’re looking for.”
   
   Once millions of potential molecules were reduced to a more manageable number of about 3,000, said Bryantsev, successively more complex computational analyses were used to narrow the number of potential ligands to a handful.
   
   Some of those have been created at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and they will be tested experimentally in realistic processing conditions by a team at Idaho National Laboratory.
   
   The research used resources of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, a DOE Office of Science User Facility at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
   
   The science is further discussed in a paper, “Computer-Aided Molecular Design of Bis-phosphine Oxide Lanthanide Extractants,” co-authored by B.W. McCann, N. De Silva, T.L. Windus, M.S. Gordon, B.A. Moyer, V.S. Bryantsev, and B.P. Hay. The discovery and the computer programs developed to make it have been chosen as the cover story of the June 20 issue of the scientific journal Inorganic Chemistry, published by the American Chemical Society. The article was originally published online in February.
   
   The Critical Materials Institute is a Department of Energy Innovation Hub led by the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory and supported by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office. CMI seeks ways to eliminate and reduce reliance on rare-earth metals and other materials critical to the success of clean energy technologies.
   
   Ames Laboratory is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science national laboratory operated by Iowa State University. Ames Laboratory creates innovative materials, technologies and energy solutions. We use our expertise, unique capabilities and interdisciplinary collaborations to solve global problems.
   Source : Strategic Research Institute
6. voda 19 juli 2016 15:09

   auteur info

   • voda

     Lid sinds: 02 dec 2005

     Laatste bezoek: 19 apr 2024

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 81660

     Gegeven: 20849

   •    Aantal posts: 363.961

   Honda engineers scale back rare earth metals in hybrid engines in Japan
   
   Honda said that it had created the first commercial hybrid-electric vehicle motor without using any heavy rare earth metals. (Rare earth metals are often divided into “heavy” and “light” categories.) Working with the expertise of Daido Steel Co., Honda’s new motor will appear in this year’s Honda Freed, a hybrid minivan sold in Japan.
   
   Rare earth metals are essential to making a plethora of items, including smartphones, laptops, missiles, and electric cars. Unfortunately, that group of elements are at risk of shortage, and many of them are mined predominantly in China, adding a special political flavor to ensuring a global supply for industry.
   
   In 2009, Reuters reported that Toyota, maker of the popular hybrid-electric Prius, risked suffering at the hands of a rare earth metal shortage. And in 2010, China temporarily banned exports of rare earth metals to Japan during a standoff over territory.
   
   The Japanese automaker bristled at that turn of events. Although Honda told Reuters that it started looking into ways to reduce rare earth metal use a decade ago, the recent risk of shortage and the growing popularity of hybrid vehicles spurred the company to look more seriously into ways to "avoid resource-related risks and diversify channels of procurement.”
   
   Honda’s report said that a magnet made of rare-earth metal neodymium is necessary for a hybrid motor, but without the addition of heavy rare earth metals like dysprosium or terbium, the neodymium magnet is susceptible to damage and performance issues from exposure to high temperature. Daido Electronics (a subsidiary of Daido Steel) worked with Honda to develop a neodymium magnet that could tolerate high temperatures without help from heavy rare earth metals.
   
   Instead of sintering the neodymium magnets (a process that can use heat to compress an element but doesn’t liquify it), Daido used a “hot deformation” process to make the magnets. According to Honda and Daido, the hot deformation technique “enables nanometer-scale crystal grains to be well-aligned in order to realize a fine crystal grain structure that is approximately ten times smaller than that of a sintered magnet, which makes it possible to produce magnets with greater heat resistance properties.”
   
   While this method had been tested before, Honda took the tests a step further by preparing to use hot deformation magnets in a production vehicle. Specifically, it revised the shape of the magnet and the rotor to “to optimize the flow of the magnetic flux of the magnet.”
   
   Source : arstechnica.co

   Bijlage:
7. voda 20 december 2016 17:15

   auteur info

   • voda

     Lid sinds: 02 dec 2005

     Laatste bezoek: 19 apr 2024

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 81660

     Gegeven: 20849

   •    Aantal posts: 363.961

   One of the rarest crystals on Earth has been found in a Russian meteorite
   
   Science Alert reported that physicists have uncovered an ultra-rare quasicrystal in a piece of Russian meteorite, and it’s only the third time ever that we’ve seen one of these strange materials in nature. Originating in outer space, these crystals aren’t just incredible because of how rare they are - their atomic structure is so peculiar, for decades their existence was dismissed as "impossible", and they cost the scientist who first discovered them his job.
   
   This new quasicrystal specimen was found by a team led by geologist Luca Bindi from the University of Florence in Italy.
   
   They’d been examining a tiny grain of meteorite that landed in the Khatyrka region of the Russian far east five years ago, and identified piece of quasicrystal inside, just a few micrometres wide.
   
   This is the third quasicrystal found in grains of this particular meteorite so far, which suggests that there might be more out there, and with even stranger structures.
   
   "What is encouraging is that we have already found three different types of quasicrystals in the same meteorite, and this new one has a chemical composition that has never been seen for a quasicrystal," one of the team, Paul Steinhardt from Princeton University, told Becky Ferreira at Motherboard.
   
   "That suggests there is more to be found, perhaps more quasicrystals that we did not know were possible before."
   
   If you’re wondering what the hell a quasicrystal is, they consist of an entirely unique atomic structure that basically combines the symmetrical properties of a crystal and the chaos of an amorphous solid.
   
   Regular crystals, such as snowflakes, diamonds, and table salt, are made up of atoms that are arranged in near-perfect symmetry.
   
   Polycrystals, including most metals, rocks, and ice, have more randomised and disordered structures, just like amorphous solids, such as glass, wax, and many plastics.
   
   Source : Science Alert

   Bijlage:
8. voda 5 januari 2017 17:06

   auteur info

   • voda

     Lid sinds: 02 dec 2005

     Laatste bezoek: 19 apr 2024

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 81660

     Gegeven: 20849

   •    Aantal posts: 363.961

   China to become net importer of some rare earths
   
   Mining.com reported that China produces more than 85% of the global supply of rare earths and the country is also the largest consumer. After hitting the stratosphere in 2011 prices have been decimated. And a surge in exports from China since a ruling by the WTO deemed the country's export quotas illegal and particularly after the lifting of exports tariffs in May last year, caused a further slide.
   
   The price index for the 17 elements compiled by China's Rare Earth Industry Association hit six-year lows hit in September 2015 and have been bobbing around these levels since then.
   
   A new report by Adamas Intelligence, a rare metal research firm, says since 2011, the market has suffered large-scale demand destruction. "By 2025 China’s domestic demand for neodymium oxide for permanent magnets alone is poised to exceed global production"
   
   According to the Adamas outlook for rare earth demand from 2016 through 2025 over the past five years upwards of 30,000 tonnes of annual rare earth oxide demand were lost due end-users’ growing concerns over supply security. On top of that more than 20,000 tonnes were lost as a result of the ongoing phase out of several mature technologies, such as fluorescent lamps, NiMH batteries, and hard disk drives used in PCs.
   
   According to the authors following the lengthy and painful adjustment, the REE market will return to strong global demand growth for a number of rare earth elements including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and lanthanum. The resulting rise in price will help "sustain the profitability and growth of today’s dominant producers, and incentivize continued investment in exploration and resource development globally":
   
   REE demand will boom from 2020 onwards as growth rates of top end-use categories including electric vehicles, wind turbines and other hi-tech applications accelerate. Among the high-level findings of the report:
   
   1. Government-led initiatives will fuel over half of all new demand growth through 2025
   
   2. Global rare earth demand has become inextricably and inadvertently linked to government policies, regulations, mandates, and initiatives concerning electric mobility, clean power generation, energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, urbanization, and industry modernization. Looking ahead, we forecast that over 50% of all new global rare earth demand growth over the coming ten years will be directly or indirectly driven by government-led actions.
   
   3. China will become a net importer of certain rare earths by 2025
   
   4. As China’s insatiable demand for rare earth elements continues to grow over the coming ten years, China’s domestic production will struggle to keep up in all scenarios examined herein, leading the nation to become a net importer of certain rare earths at the expense of the rest of the world’s supply security. In fact, by 2025 China’s domestic demand for neodymium oxide for permanent magnets alone is poised to exceed total global production of neodymium oxide by 9,000 tonnes in our base case scenario, highlighting the imminent need for additional sources of supply.
   
   5. The market calls for development of a new mine every year by 2025
   
   6. From 2016 through 2020 demand for neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and lanthanum will grow relatively strongly, but, from 2020 through 2025 the rate of global demand growth for these rare earths will accelerate year-over-year, resulting in major annual demand increases by 2025 that can only be satisfied by the continuous and accelerated development of new mines.
   
   7. In-lieu of conventional sources of capital, China will become a major investor in development of foreign rare earth resources
   
   8. As the supply and demand sides of the global rare earth market continue to evolve on dichotomous paths, and China comes to terms with the fact that domestic demand will soon outgrow domestic production, we believe China’s investments in development of foreign rare earth resources will rapidly accelerate should conventional sources of capital continue to ignore the rare earth industry. Evidence of this likely outcome is already emerging.
   
   Source : Mining.com

   Bijlage:
9. h980577. 22 januari 2017 11:19

   auteur info

   • h980577.

     Lid sinds: 23 mrt 2003

     Laatste bezoek: 19 apr 2024

   • Aanbevelingen

     Ontvangen: 121

     Gegeven: 68

   •    Aantal posts: 2.533

   Nog een tijdje in Avalon gezeten (jr of 2 terug); daar is echt niks meer van over.... zou dit nog eens iets kunnen worden??
10. voda 10 mei 2017 16:52

    auteur info

    • voda

      Lid sinds: 02 dec 2005

      Laatste bezoek: 19 apr 2024

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 81660

      Gegeven: 20849

    •    Aantal posts: 363.961

    Philippine University to study potential of rare-earth elements
    
    Manila Times reported that University of the Philippines is set to embark on a survey that could lead to the exploration, development and commercial production of scandium deposits and other rare-earth elements in the country. Mr Carlo Arcilla director at the UP National Institute for Geological Sciences, said that his agency was working with the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) to identify scandium-rich areas. He said that “Our aim this year is to determine the level of scandium concentrates. The process of isolation will be part two of the research. We have a very good chance of becoming big on scandium.”
    
    With PHP 10 million in funding from the DoST, UP will study the economic potential of scandium in nickel-rich areas of Palawan, Surigao, Zambales and Mindoro.
    
    Scandium, along with other rare-earth elements, is dubbed the “metal of the future” and a “strategic mineral” because of its uses in the development of weapons guidance systems and “space-age technologies.”
    
    Rare-earth elements are immensely valuable and, even in small quantities, can drastically change the properties of materials. This makes them irreplaceable in the manufacture of wind turbines, cars, computers, smartphones and other high-tech applications.
    
    Despite their name, rare earth elements are relatively plentiful in the earth’s crust. They are not particularly rare, but are difficult to separate from each other. The principal concentrations of rare-earth elements are associated with uncommon varieties of igneous rocks.
    
    Potentially useful concentrations of rare earth-bearing minerals are also in placer deposits, residual deposits formed from deep weathering of igneous rocks, pegmatites, iron-oxide copper-gold deposits, and marine phosphates.
    
    Mr Arcilla is hopeful the result of the research will pave way for a government policy on the development of a downstream industry for rare-earth elements. Even without a downstream industry, however, the occurrence of scandium in nickel ores can potentially give miners higher values for ores shipped to China.
    
    He said that “If we can detect very high content [of scandium], then the next phase will be how to try to recover it with existing technologies. If it can’t be recovered, too bad. But if we can do something, then we might be able to prevent the export of raw ores and then increase the value added.”
    
    UP plans to discuss the matter with the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines and mining companies for possible partnerships and funding for research on scandium and other rare-earth elements.
    
    Source : Manila Times

    Bijlage:
11. voda 15 september 2017 15:32

    auteur info

    • voda

      Lid sinds: 02 dec 2005

      Laatste bezoek: 19 apr 2024

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 81660

      Gegeven: 20849

    •    Aantal posts: 363.961

    Rare earths price defying gravity
    Published on Fri, 15 Sep 2017
    
    China Daily reported that the price of rare earths may fluctuate at high levels in the next months, According to a research note from China Merchants Securities, despite the government's efforts to curb financial speculation, supervise environmental protection and prohibit illegal mining, there is still strong demand in the market. With the supply of rare earths - especially light rare earths - unable to meet short-term demand, prices still have room to rise.
    
    By Sept 7, the average price of praseodymium-neodymium oxide, the iconic rare earth product, rose to 520,000 yuan (USD 80,280) per metric tonne, a 6.1% increase over the price only a week ago, and double the price at this time last year, according to Baiinfo.com, a raw material information provider.
    
    Source : China Daily

    Bijlage:
12. voda 30 oktober 2017 17:06

    auteur info

    • voda

      Lid sinds: 02 dec 2005

      Laatste bezoek: 19 apr 2024

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 81660

      Gegeven: 20849

    •    Aantal posts: 363.961

    Rhodium price roars to six-year high
    
    Mining com reported that price of rhodium has more than doubled this year, adding USD 1,000 an ounce since hitting 12-year lows mid-2016. Like its sister metals, rhodium's main application is to clean vehicle emissions and the price quoted by Johnson Matthey, the world's number one manufacturer of autocatalysts, hit USD 1,650 an ounce, a six year high.
    
    Due to rarity, the small size of the market and concentrated supply South Africa alone produces roughly 80% of the world's rhodium prices are typically volatile.
    
    Rhodium (and sister metal ruthenium) stands out when it comes to price swings – rhodium touched USD 10,025 an ounce just before the 2008 financial crisis hit, but would drop 90% before the end of that tumultuous year.
    
    Johnson Matthey's Rupen Raithatha told Reuters that "The South African producers bled their stocks dry to achieve a balance (in the market) last year.”
    
    Robust car sales in China and the US, where gasoline vehicles dominate, coupled with rising emissions standards worldwide has been a boost for the metal.
    
    Rhodium and palladium finds application in gasoline vehicles while diesel-powered mostly use platinum for autocatalysts. Platinum at $925 an ounce is trading flat in 2017, while palladium has surged more than 40%, breaching USD 1,000 last week for the first time since 2001.
    
    Platts News reports most of the recent buying of rhodium has come from the automotive sector, but companies in other industrial sectors were also picking up metal.
    
    Rhodium has also benefitted from speculative demand. Deutsche Bank launched a rhodium exchange traded fund as far back as 2011 while South Africa's Standard Bank listed its own physically-backed rhodium ETF at the end of 2015.
    
    South African PGM producers extract a mix of metals comprising roughly 60% platinum, 30% palladium and 10% rhodium.
    
    Ruthenium prices have also been moving with the metal trading at $100 this week after languishing in double digits since end-2012. Ruthenium, used in the aerospace industry thanks to a very high melting point and in distinctive jet black jewellery, peaked in 2007 shy of $900 an ounce.
    
    Source : Mining com

    Bijlage:
13. voda 20 februari 2018 17:12

    auteur info

    • voda

      Lid sinds: 02 dec 2005

      Laatste bezoek: 19 apr 2024

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 81660

      Gegeven: 20849

    •    Aantal posts: 363.961

    Sweden Poised to Become 'Battery Metal Mecca,' Challenge China's Dominance
    
    Sputnik News reported that after a new report suggesting that rare-earth metals have a bright future, the Swedish government has green-lit a further investigation into opportunities that could give a new lease on life for the country's historic mining area of Bergslagen, the daily newspaper Helsingbors Dagblad reported.
    
    The report published by the Geological Survey of Sweden highlighted opportunities for mining many innovation-critical resources in Sweden, including graphite, lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements and tungsten. In the coming years, SGU will receive SEK 10 million (USD 1.3 million) to explore mining possibilities in the historic area of Bergslagen as well as the northern Norrbotten and Västerbotten provinces. The first results will be presented in the first half of 2020.
    
    The international demand for cobalt, lithium and REEs has skyrocketed due to their use in sought-after innovations, such as electric cars and wind power stations, together with mobile phone batteries.
    
    In Sweden alone, the demand shows no signs of receding. Volvo Cars pledged to go totally electric by 2019. Additionally, Swedish battery developer Northvolt plans to construct Europe's largest lithium-ion battery factory in the city of Skellefteå with a staff of up to 2,500.
    
    However, an overwhelming majority of raw materials are imported, despite Sweden's expertise in mining traditional minerals such as copper or zinc. Sweden previously tried mining lithium, but this activity was later put on ice. The newspaper Svenska Dagbladet went so far as to call Sweden the "Mecca of Battery Metals."
    
    At present, Congo is the world's leading producer of cobalt, accounting for 65 % of the total output, whereas China dominates the REE market, mining an astonishing 95 % of the produce.
    
    Damberg predicted a further explosion in the demand for these minerals, venturing that Sweden could become a world-class contender in this area. Furthermore, he ventured that Europe might want to revise the idea of import-dependence from, say, Congo, where a lot of exploration is done "in pretty dire conditions."
    
    While praising the "unique assets in Sweden's bedrock" as well as the country's expertise in the mining area, Damberg, admitted, however, that it is unclear when large-scale industrial production may start.
    
    Damberg also conceded that mining is an industry often associated with protests from environmental activists or causing conflicts with locals due to contradictory interests.
    
    At present, Boliden and LKAB are Sweden's largest mining companies. Privately-owned Boliden has a staff of 5,500 and a turnover of SEK 40 billion (5 billion). LKAB, by contrast, is wholly owned by the Swedish state; it has 4,000 employees and turns over SEK 16 billion (USD 2 billion).
    
    Boliden was previously involved in a controversy in Chile, where it dumped approximately 20,000 tons of smelter sludge from its arsenic plant in Sweden in the 1980s. The controversy resurfaced in the 2010s, as 700 Chileans claimed arsenic poisoning and filed a lawsuit against Boliden, Swedish Radio reported.
    
    ?Bergslagen is a historical district located north of Lake Mälaren, where mining and metallurgy have been important since the Middle Ages. In the 20th century, though, Malmfälten, a region in northernmost Sweden, centered around the town of Kiruna, became the focal point of Sweden's mining industry.
    
    Source : Sputnik News
14. voda 5 juni 2019 15:35

    auteur info

    • voda

      Lid sinds: 02 dec 2005

      Laatste bezoek: 19 apr 2024

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 81660

      Gegeven: 20849

    •    Aantal posts: 363.961

    Amerikaanse plan om aanvoer zeldzame metalen veilig te stellen - media
    
    (ABM FN) De Verenigde Staten onthulden dinsdag een plan om de aanvoer van strategische mineralen, waaronder zeldzame aardmetalen, veilig te stellen. Dit schreef persbureau AFP woensdagochtend.
    
    Volgens de krant zei Wilbur Ross, de Amerikaanse minister van Handel, dat "deze kritieke mineralen vaak worden genegeerd, maar zonder hen zou het moderne leven onmogelijk zijn". Volgens Ross zal de federale regering "ongekende maatregelen nemen om ervoor te zorgen dat de Verenigde Staten niet van deze essentiële materialen worden afgesneden.”
    
    Deze mineralen zijn bijvoorbeeld essentieel voor alle elektronische apparatuur en China heeft gedreigd de toegang ertoe te beperken na de intensivering van de Chinees-Amerikaanse handelsoorlog.
    
    In het actieplan worden volgens AFP 35 strategische elementen geïdentificeerd, waaronder uranium, titanium en verschillende zeldzame aardmetalen, waarvoor de Verenigde Staten bijzonder afhankelijk zijn van het buitenland.
    
    Door: ABM Financial News.
    pers@abmfn.be
    Redactie: +32(0)78 486 481
    
    © Copyright ABM Financial News B.V. All rights reserved.
15. hirshi 6 juni 2019 14:56

    auteur info

    • hirshi

      Lid sinds: 02 jul 2013

      Laatste bezoek: 23 feb 2024

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 5173

      Gegeven: 2340

    •    Aantal posts: 16.574

    De Chinezen weten de waarde van hun zeldzame aardmetalen als wisselgeld goed in te schatten en hebben een sterk instrument in handen ter verdediging en als inzet in de handelsoorlog met de Verenigde Staten.
    
    Bovendien lijkt goud nu meer dan voorheen hun vluchthaven hetgeen tot uitdrukking komt in de recente waardevermeerdering van dit edele metaal.
16. alexnr75 6 juni 2019 15:07

    auteur info

    • alexnr75

      Lid sinds: 08 nov 2004

      Laatste bezoek: 18 apr 2024

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 1184

      Gegeven: 1780

    •    Aantal posts: 3.483

    De zeldzame metalen zijn niet zeldzaam, alleen de winning is kostbaar en vooral vervuilend.
17. hirshi 6 juni 2019 15:19

    auteur info

    • hirshi

      Lid sinds: 02 jul 2013

      Laatste bezoek: 23 feb 2024

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 5173

      Gegeven: 2340

    •    Aantal posts: 16.574

    quote:

    alexnr75 schreef op 6 juni 2019 15:07:

    De zeldzame metalen zijn niet zeldzaam, alleen de winning is kostbaar en vooral vervuilend.
    

    Voor China van strategisch belang in de handelsoorlog met de V.S.
18. ffff 6 juni 2019 16:01

    auteur info

    • ffff

      Lid sinds: 01 jan 2000

      Laatste bezoek: 18 apr 2024

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 13759

      Gegeven: 18011

    •    Aantal posts: 38.335

    Hirshi,
    
    Ik heb afgelopen dagen nu juist een artikel gelezen waarin gewezen werd op het feit dat momenteel de Chinezen weliswaar 70 procent van de zogenaamde zeldzame aardmetalen produceren, maar dat het relatief gemakkelijk is de productie op totaal andere plaatsen in de wereld waar die 30 procent nu al geproduceerd wordt op te drijven. En de teneur van dat artikel was nu juist dat de Chinezen verdomd voorzichtig te werk moeten gaan, want anders gaat men gewoon in Afrika, Australië, Zuid-Amerika die producten delven/ ontginnen. De huidige situatie is in het voordeel van de Chinezen, maar zelfs de Chinezen begrijpen ( volgens de auteur van dat artikel) dat dat voordeel maar relatief, maar beperkt is.
    
    Zie de handelsboycot van Europa naar Rusland...Binnen de kortste keren halen de Russen het elders....
    
    Zie de handelsboycot die men met IRAN wil opleggen. Dat lukt alleen maar als Trump er ook bij eist dat de rest van de wereld ook een boycot toepast op IRAN. De meeste Europese landen doen dat braaf, maar heel wat Aziatische landen laten Trump maar eisen en doen hun zaken met Iran...
    
    Peter
19. hirshi 6 juni 2019 16:20

    auteur info

    • hirshi

      Lid sinds: 02 jul 2013

      Laatste bezoek: 23 feb 2024

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 5173

      Gegeven: 2340

    •    Aantal posts: 16.574

    Dit recente artikel geeft een aardig inzicht in prijsontwikkeling en strategisch belang van zogenaamde zeldzame aardmetalen.
    
    www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-...
20. ffff 9 juni 2019 14:39

    auteur info

    • ffff

      Lid sinds: 01 jan 2000

      Laatste bezoek: 18 apr 2024

    • Aanbevelingen

      Ontvangen: 13759

      Gegeven: 18011

    •    Aantal posts: 38.335

    quote:

    hirshi schreef op 6 juni 2019 16:20:

    Dit recente artikel geeft een aardig inzicht in prijsontwikkeling en strategisch belang van zogenaamde zeldzame aardmetalen.
    
    www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-...
    

    Ik vind dit artikel dan toch echt erg onvolledig en daarmee dus van relatief weinig waarde.
    Er wordt niet één letter , niet één zin gespendeerd om aan te geven waar de andere leveranciers van de zogenaamde zeldzame aardmetalen over de gehele wereld zitten, waar ik al op wees.
    
    Uiteindelijk gaat het over een dominante positie in een trade-war. Maar als je de Chinese leverancier kunt inruilen voor een Australische, nergens genoemd, een Afrikaanse , nergens genoemd, een Zuid-Amerikaanse, nergens genoemd…. tja dan geef je de krachtsverhoudingen in een trade - war naar mijn mening slecht weer. Akkoord er worden wat prijzen genoemd, maar bij een trade-war over zeldzame aardmetalen gaat het niet zo zeer om prijzen, maar om potentiële leveranciers.
    
    Peter