Is the rare earths metals hype overblown? Yes, says Jack Lifton, co-founder of Technology Metals Research, who adds that although the panic over Chinese “hoarding” is misplaced, the U.S.’ dissolution of its domestic rare earth metals production has been equally “foolish.”
Events, Trends, and Issues: Domestic consumption of rare earths in 2009 decreased substantially, based on apparent consumption (derived from 8 months of trade data). Only one of seven rare-earth import categories increased when compared with those of 2008—the category “mixtures of REOs (except cerium oxide).” Prices were generally lower in 2009 compared with those of 2008 for most rare-earth products amid decreased consumption and a declining supply. Consumption for most rare-earth uses in the United States decreased as a consequence of the worldwide economic downturn. The economic downturn lowered consumption of cerium compounds used in automotive catalytic converters and in glass additives and glass-polishing compounds; rare-earth chlorides used in the production of fluid-cracking catalysts used in oil refining; rare-earth compounds used in automotive catalytic converters and many other applications; rare-earth metals and their alloys used in armaments, base-metal alloys, lighter flints, permanent magnets, pyrophoric alloys, and superalloys; yttrium compounds used in color televisions and flat-panel displays, electronic thermometers, fiber optics, lasers, and oxygen sensors; and phosphors for color televisions, electronic thermometers, fluorescent lighting, pigments, superconductors, x-ray-intensifying screens, and other applications. The trend is for a continued increase in the use of rare earths in many applications, especially automotive catalytic converters, permanent magnets, and rechargeable batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles.
The rare-earth separation plant at Mountain Pass, CA, resumed operations in 2007 and continued to operate throughout 2009. Bastnäsite concentrates and other rare-earth intermediates and refined products continued to be sold from mine stocks at Mountain Pass. Exploration for rare earths continued in 2009; however, global economic conditions were not as favorable as in early 2008. Economic assessments continued at Bear Lodge in Wyoming; Diamond Creek in Idaho; Elk Creek in Nebraska; Hoidas Lake in Saskatchewan, Canada; Nechalacho (Thor Lake) in Northwest Territories, Canada; Kangankunde in Malawi; Lemhi Pass in Idaho-Montana; Nolans Project in Northern Territory, Australia; and various other locations around the world. At the Mount Weld rare-earth deposit in Australia, the initial phase of mining of the open pit was completed in June 2008. A total of 773,000 tons of ore was mined at an average grade of 15.4% REO; however, no beneficiation plant existed to process the ore into a rare-earth concentrate. Based on the fine-grained character of the Mt. Weld ore, only 50% recovery of the REO was expected.
http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/rare_earths/mcs-2010-raree.pdf
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