Rare-earth metals
What are
rare-earth elements.
[Rare-earth
oxides - clockwise from top center: praseodymium, cerium, lanthanum,
neodymium, samarium, and gadolinium.]
Rare-earth
elements is a group of 17 metallic
elements, some
with exotic names like lanthanum and europium, which form unusually
strong lightweight magnetic materials for
use in emerging technology including renewable sources like wind and
solar.
Despite
their name, most earth metals are not particularly rare, but most of
the industry has moved to China over the last two decades because of
lower costs. China's dominance in mining and
processing the elements has raised alarms in
Washington.
In the late 1980's the US was global leader in production but mines around
the world were closed when China undercut world prices in the
1990s. The
difficulty today is extracting in profitable quantities. (At right: Rare earth
metal lanthanum poured into moulds at the Jinyuan smelting workshop near Damao
in China.) According to an April 2010 Government
Accountability Office report,
China now produces approximately 97% of the world's rare-earth
oxides, the
raw materials that can be further refined into metals and blended into
alloys
that can be made into finished components. (China held about half of the world’s reserves of rare earths in
2011, with 55 million metric tons, compared with 19 million tons in Russia and
13 million tons in the U.S. link)
________________________________________________________________
Below:
- Importance in new "green' technology
- Are these elements really "rare"?
- Supply and demand
- Japan's need for rare earths
- Situation in the USA
- Environmental questions
| Importance
in
new "green" technology. |
Rare-earth metals
are used in computer hard drives, digital cameras, cell
phones among many other things. They are also key to
"green" technology such as energy-efficient light bulbs which use
europium and
yttrium, while hybrid car batteries and
wind-power turbines use neodymium. Lanthanum is also used in the
batteries of hybrid cars, and Toyota, for example, uses
an estimated 7,500 tons of lanthanum and 1,000 tons of neodymium per
year to build its Prius cars. A Nissan Leaf contains 11kg of lanthanum. A major concern for the US military
is that these metals
also have important military
applications because of their magnetic strength, which allows for
extraordinary
miniaturization of components. The fins that steer precision bombs, for
instance, have samarium-cobalt permanent magnet motors. The motors that
run the
rudder and tail fins on a high-performance fighter aircraft like the
Air Force
F-22 Raptor are built with lightweight, rare-earth magnets. Neodymium
is found
in the solid-state lasers used to designate
targets. [Pictured - Laborers work at a rare earth mine at Nancheng county, Jiangxi
province, China.]
November 2012. Next generation of electric vehicles may exclude rare earths. A variety of electric motors that use no rare earth minerals are being
developed in the United States to power future generations of electric
vehicles. Private U.S. companies, universities and national government
laboratories are designing and beginning to manufacture electric motors without
rare earth minerals that are expensive and in limited supply. link
| Are these elements really rare? |
Not
really. The term "rare earth" is an archaic one dating back to the
elements' discovery by a Swedish army lieutenant in 1787. Most, but not
all, are fairly common, but scattered throughout ores that make them
hard and expensive to secure. They have been used in the flints in
cigarette
lighters and incandescent gas lamps for more than a century, but today
mining is almost nonexistent outside of China. Cerium is used in
batteries and to cut auto emissions and is more common in the earth's
crust than copper. The United States' only
major rare-earth mine, a complex in Mountain Pass, California, was once
the world's leading producer but was shut down in 2002. "Light" rare
earth elements such as cerium, an ingredient used in enamels and
glasses, are plentiful, but "heavy" ones such as europium, used for
color TVs and other screens, are growing harder to come by.
The
limited supply of the minerals in the marketplace is the result of
economic and environmental concerns, not scarcity. The world consumes
only a tiny amount of rare earth, about 130,000 metric tons a year. The
U.S. Magnet Materials Association predicts that China's own demands
for some of the minerals will outstrip supply in two to five
years.
| Are there alternatives to rare earths?
Researchers in the US are already working on making rare earths
redundant. The University of California at Irvine has already done
research indicating pyrite, sometimes called "fool's gold", may be able
to replace rare earths in many green applications, though it's future
isn't yet proven. link |
March
2011: China to cap 2001 rare earth output at 93,800 tonnes. China’s land and
resources ministry said this would up 5% on 2010 figures and added the ministry
would not approve any new prospecting or production licenses for rare earths,
tungsten or antimony until June 30, 2012. link (2012 quotas unvchanged from 2011 - link)
September 2012: Will there be enough? According to a recent Congressional Research Service report, world demand for rare earth metals is estimated
to be 136,000 tons per year, and projected to rise to at least 185,000 tons
annually by 2015. With continued global growth of the middle class, especially
in China, India and Africa, demand will continue to grow. High-tech products and renewable energy technology cannot function without rare earth metals.
Neodymium, terbium and dysprosium are essential ingredients in the magnets of
wind turbines and computer hard drives; a number of rare earth metals are used
in nickel-metal-hydride rechargeable batteries that power electric vehicles and
many other products; yttrium is necessary for color TVs, fuel cells and
fluorescent lamps; europium is a component of compact fluorescent bulbs and TV
and iPhone screens; cerium and lanthanum are used in catalytic converters;
platinum group metals are needed as catalysts in fuel cell technology; and
other rare earth metals are essential for solar cells, cell phones, computer chips, medical imaging,
jet engines, defense technology, and much more. link
(More at Congressional Research Survey - June 2012 - pdf)
July
2012: WTO Panel established on China’s rare earths exports. The three complainants,
European Union, USA and Japan, requested
that a single panel be established to examine complaints including export
quotas and duties. The EU said that export restrictions constitute a violation
of China’s WTO ((World Trade Organisation) commitments undertaken under the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade (GATT) as well as commitments undertaken in China’s Accession
Protocol specifically aimed at these types of restrictions. China argued that
it has no intention of protecting domestic industry through means that would
distort trade. link
February 2012: Curtailing China’s monopoly. Malaysia has granted a license
for an Australian mining company to operate the first rare earths plant outside
China in years, despite public protests over fears of radioactive
contamination. Lynas Corp. says its refinery could meet nearly a third of world
demand for rare earths, excluding China. It also may curtail China's
stranglehold on the global supply of 17 rare earths essential for making
high-tech goods, including flatscreen TVs, mobile phones, hybrid cars and
weapons. link
Rare earth
prices less than stable.
June 2011: Prices spike as China builds stockpile. Prices for rare-earth metals, which are used in everything from iPods
to flat-screen TVs to missiles, are rising sharply as China builds up a
stockpile and cuts quotas, so much so that some industries fear global supplies
may be in serious jeopardy. Rare-earth metals are among some of the most
sought-after materials in modern manufacturing, and demand is soon set to outstrip supply. link
November 2011: Prices decline sharply.
After nearly three years of soaring prices, with the coost of some
metals rising nearly thirtyfold, the market is rapidly coming back
down.
International
prices for some light rare earths, like cerium and lanthanum, used in the
polishing of flat-screen televisions and the refining of oil, respectively,
have fallen as much as two-thirds since August and are still dropping. Prices
have declined by roughly one-third since then for highly magnetic rare earths,
like neodymium, needed for products like smartphones, computers and large wind turbines. link
January 2012: Shortages occurring and prices soaring. Shortages of a handful of rare
minerals could slow the future growth of the burgeoning renewable energy industries,
and affect countries' chances of limiting greenhouse gas emissions, business
leaders were told at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. Last year,
prices of many scarce minerals exploded, rising as much as 10 times over 2010
levels before dropping back. In a survey of some of the largest clean energy
manufacturers, 78% said they were already experiencing instability of supply of
rare metals, and most said they did not expect shortages to ease for at least
five years. Currently, 95% of the rare earth minerals needed by clean tech
industries come from China which has set strict export quotas. Last year China
reserved most for its own for its domestic wind, solar and battery industries,
shifting costs to the US and Europe which do not mine any of the minerals. None
of the minerals is likely to physically run out, but it can take 10 years for
countries to open new mines. link
|
May 2011: Low recycling rates threaten future supply, A UN-backed report warns that lack of recycling threatens
the future of hybrid and plug-on vehicles. In particular, the report, issued by
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), claims that: Less than one third
of metals globally have a recycling rate of more than 50 percent. Many metal
recycling rates are discouragingly low, and a recycling society appears no more
than a distant hope. This is especially true for many specialty metals, which
are crucial ingredients for key emerging technologies. UNEP says that there is virtually no recycling for
neodymium, dysprosium and lanthanum – rare earth metals commonly found in
hybrid and plug-in vehicles. Of course, without recycling, continued use of
these metals could quickly exhaust the available supply. link
| Japan's need for rare earths |
July 2011: Japan finds rare-earths in Pacific seabed. Japanese
researchers say they have discovered vast deposits of rare earth minerals in
the seabed in international waters east and west of
Hawaii, and east of Tahiti in French Polynesia. Geologists estimate that there are about 100bn tons in 78 locations
in the mud of the Pacific Ocean floor. Analysts say the Pacific discovery could
challenge China's dominance, if recovering the minerals from the seabed proves
commercially viable. The prospect of deep sea mining
for precious metals, and the damage that could do to marine ecosystems, is
worrying environmentalists. link However
developing the offshore bounty
could take decades and cost billions, making it little more than a pipe dream,
analysts say. link
April 2012: Honda debuts world's first rare earth auto recycling plan. Honda
has teamed up with the Japan Metals & Chemicals Company to develop what is
being hailed as the world's first mass-production rare earth recycling process.
The companies confirmed that they have developed a new technique for extracting
17 rare chemical elements from used nickel-metal hydride batteries collected
from Honda hybrid vehicles at dealers in Japan, North America and Europe. Previous
techniques for extracting rare earth metals have been undertaken on a
relatively small scale and have required highly controlled conditions, Honda claims
to have developed the first process in the world to "extract rare earth
metals as part of a mass-production process at a recycling plant". link
|
February 2011: Japan aims to reduce reliance on China. The Japanese government
and private sector plan to invest $1.3 billion in efforts to reduce domestic
industry’s dependence on rare-earth metal supplies from China by a third. Japan
currently imports 90% of the rare-earth metals it uses from China. Japan, the world’s
largest rare-earth importer, is seeking to cut rare-earth use by
10,000 metric tons a year. link
Japan's
response to limited supply.
(October 2010:) Japan's trade minister,
Akihiro Ohata, has asked the government
to include a "rare earth strategy" in its supplementary budget.
In Kosaka, Dowa Holdings, a company that mined there
for over a century has built a recycling plant which extracts valuable
metals and other minerals. S alvaged parts come not only from Japan, but
from around the world, including the USA. Dowa Holdings is trying to
develop ways to reclaim earth metals. A government affiliated research
group says that used electronics in Japan hold an estimated
300,000 tons of rare earths. (Pictured: Motherborads which will be melted for minerals at recycling plant in Kosaka.) link
October 2010: Vietnam agrees to help supply Japan as Tokyo tries to reduce its dependence on China. link
|
November 2010: According
to the first-ever nationwide estimate of rare earth metals by the U.S.
Geological Survey, there are approximately 13 million metric tons that
exist within known deposits in the U.S. Although many of these deposits have yet to be proven, at recent
domestic consumption rates of about 10,000 metric tons annually, the US
deposits have the potential to meet our needs for years to come. link
December 2010: U.S.
called vulnerable to rare earth shortages. A report says it could take 15 years to break American dependence on Chinese supplies of these critical manufacturing minerals. link
January
2013: New $120 million center will
tackle rare earth shortage. The U.S. Department of Energy is fighting back
against China’s stranglehold on global rare earth mineral supplies--or at least
throwing money at the problem--by awarding $120 million to Ames Laboratory to
set up a new innovation hub aimed at shoring up American energy
security. Officially titled the Critical Materials Institute (CMI), the DOE lab
will roll the resources of more than a dozen national labs, universities, and
industry partners into one place in an effort to make rare earths less rare. CMI
has the un-enviable job now of figuring out a solution to this problem. link
April 2011: Seeking technologies free of rare
earth elements. The Department of Energy has made $30 million available to
help produce turbines and EVs without the crucial rare earth minerals. (The
United States consumes about 10,000 metric tons of rare earths annually,
according to the U.S. Geological Survey.) The next generation of wind turbine
and electric car parts could be rare earth-free, if the United States succeeds
in its push to produce clean technologies without the crucial metallic elements.
Avaialble rare eraths in the U.S. The United States could offset supply restraints by ramping up mining of the 13
million metric tons of rare earth minerals that are spread across 14 states. Colorado-based
Molycorp Inc. has said it will reopen its rare earth mine in Mountain Pass,
Calif., which closed in 2002, with a $500 million renovation to reduce the
environmental impacts of its mining, namely water pollution and radioactive
sludge. link
August
2012: China's heavy environmental cost from poisoning and pollution. The town of Baotou
in inner Mongloia, is the largest Chinese source of strategic rare earth elements,
essential to advanced technology, from smartphones to GPS receivers, but also
to wind farms and, above all, electric cars. The minerals are mined at Bayan
Obo, 120km farther north, then brought to Baotou for processing. From the air
it looks like a huge lake, fed by many tributaries, but on the ground it turns
out to be a murky expanse of water, in which no fish or algae can survive. The
shore is coated with a black crust, so thick you can walk on it. Into this
huge, 10 sq km tailings pond nearby factories discharge water loaded with
chemicals used to process the 17 most sought after minerals in the world. link
February
2012: Malaysian activists protest Australian refining
plant. About 3,000 Malaysians
have staged a protest against a refinery for rare earth elements being built by
the Australian mining company Lynas over fears of radioactive
contamination. It was the largest rally so far against the £146m plant in a
central state of the Malaysian peninsula, and could pose a headache for the
government with national elections widely expected this year. Authorities
recently granted Lynas a licence to operate the rare earth plant in Pahang
state, the first outside China in years, and it has been the subject of heated
protests over health and environmental risks posed by potential leaks of
radioactive waste. Lynas says its plant, which will refine radioactive ore from Australia has
state-of-the-art pollution controls and plans to start operations by June. link
| Discovery in Afghanistan:
September 2011: Afghanistan holds enormous
bounty of rare earths. The rugged, dangerous desert of southern Afghanistan has
identified world-class concentrations of rare earths, the prized group of raw
materials that are essential in the manufacture of many modern technologies,
from electric cars to solar panels. So far, geologists say, they have mapped
one million metric tons of these critical elements, which include lanthanum,
cerium and neodymium. That's
enough to supply the world's rare earth needs for 10 years based on current
consumption. Alas, the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) has no plans to
send its scientists back anytime soon. The agency's Pentagon funding has run
out, and it is simply too dangerous for Americans to go again without military
protection. link
|
