Neodymium nickel magnets. Neodymium-iron-boron compounds for the production of strongest magnets. They are used for magnetic resonance tomographs, micromotors and hard disks (positioning of the read / write heads), permanent magnet rotors (e.g. stepper and servo motors, efficient permanently excited DC machines, e.g. in some types of wind turbines, for driving electric and hybrid vehicles, and as model building Drives), linear motors for positioning axes, e.g. B. CNC machines, high quality speakers and headphones. Compared to the samarium cobalt magnets, they are stronger and much cheaper, but also much more sensitive to heat.
The United States is introducing an online tool to secure access to the world's rare earths
The U.S. State Department has launched an online tool to stake America's claim to many of the world's rare earth minerals, in a high-tech variant that is aimed at helping emerging economies find certain standards in funding show.
The United States is increasingly concerned about maintaining a stable supply of critical minerals used in car batteries, solar panels, and wind turbines. Many of these resources are located in emerging markets that may be considered too risky by American investors looking for “best-in-class” standards.
That increases the potential for "two really negative outcomes," said Francis Fannon, US Deputy Secretary of State for Energy Resources, in an interview. "Either the world will not get the minerals it needs to promote energy transition technologies," or "Those investments would only come from those less concerned with governance, transparency, corruption, environmental standards and best practice To take care of".
The new initiative aims to address these issues by providing countries with nascent extractive industries with an online “toolkit” to help them develop assets to meet US investor standards.
Fannon spoke ahead of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada’s annual meeting in Toronto, where the online toolkit will be presented.
By 2050, 24% of the world's electricity will be used to power electric cars, and solar and wind power will provide almost half of the world's electricity, BloombergNEF predicts. Many of the minerals needed for decarbonization are used in other high-demand products, including smartphones. As just one example, the BNEF predicts that the demand for nickel from lithium-ion batteries alone will increase 2018 times between 2030 and 15,6.
China, which already produces about 70% of the world's rare earth minerals, delivered about 2018% of America's rare earth imports by 80, according to the US Geological Survey. State-owned Chinese companies have also actively bought up critical mineral deposits outside the country.
"Africa is a huge continent for many of these critical minerals and the Chinese have made great strides, offered support and invested in this area," said Colin Hamilton, chief executive of natural resources research at BMO Capital Markets, on the sidelines of a conference in Florida last week . Meanwhile, coronavirus has "crystallized" America's determination to diversify its supply chain of key materials and products, he said.
Last year, the State Department's Energy Resources Office launched an international partnership, the Energy Resources Governance Initiative, to promote responsible mining of key minerals.
The website is the newest part of this initiative. Founding members with a track record of responsible development, including Canada, will share strategies and tips for project development, production and management with other nations, Fannon said. The website contains specific information such as the creation of data management systems to quantify a mineral resource and complex “decision trees” to weigh the costs and benefits of different approaches.
In 2017, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order protecting America from interruptions in supply of critical minerals, saying that such interruptions represent "a strategic vulnerability" to the security and prosperity of the country. ERGI has identified 17 rare earth elements and 14 minerals, including copper, lithium and uranium, that are considered essential to renewable energy equipment and infrastructure.
At the height of the trade war between the two countries, China proposed to restrict the export of some rare earth metals. These concerns have subsided with the signing of a phase-one trade agreement, but Trump remains committed to increasing domestic production and partnering with other countries to secure supplies. American production rose 44% last year.
"We know that being dependent on one country for anything or any source puts all customers in a risky supply chain if there is any sort of disruption to supply," said Fannon. “The earth's crust is blessed with good rock everywhere. It is what lies above the earth that determines whether a US company - a first class company - will invest in this country ”.
Mining News + ISE; Photo ISE - March 2020
