Rare Earth Elements: Supply and Demand Issues
There are a group of specialty metals with unique physical, chemical and light-emitting properties. These unique properties have become increasingly important in powering new technological applications, particularly in the consumer and defence markets, markets that are seeing dramatic increases in demand despite the global financial crisis. They are called Rare Earth Elements (REEs).
The REEs include the 15 lanthanide elements: holmium, samarium, europium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, thulium, ytterbium, promethium, neodymium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, erbium, and lutetium plus yttrium and scandium, making 17 REEs in total.
In the move towards a more low-carbon economy, digital and renewable energy technologies rely heavily on metals which, just 10 years ago, would have been of little interest to industry. Today, these elements are ubiquitous, being used widely in flat screens, wind turbines, electric cars, rechargeable batteries and many other technologies including smart mobile devices. Without REEs defence technologies would become inoperable.
For example mobile phones embrace the use of these technology metals, with indium in the screen, REEs in the circuitry and lithium batteries. With around a billion mobile phones being made every year, the volume of REEs required is astonishing and with demand growing at 20% per annum control of the supply of these materials has become of major political and financial interest.
Internal and external strife, geopolitics, accidents, and the length of time between the discovery of a resource and it being extracted efficiently can threaten the supply of the metals on which modern technology relies. The actions of some countries with monopolies make these issues especially important.
China for example, produces 97% of all rare earth elements (REEs), including neodymium and scandium. The growth of industrialization in China and the importance of REEs therein have led to the prioritization of domestic markets by way of rising export taxes and reducing export quotas. Reduced supply of these metals causes concerns in countries which have industries dependent upon REES.
Fortunately there are many more locations on Earth where it is becoming economic to mine these critical metals, including Southern Africa, Australia, Brazil, and Greenland. In the US, mines once considered uneconomical and closed down are being rapidly reopened. Once in production the effect will be to remove the monopoly of current suppliers.
Greenland and in particular the Kvanefjeld Plateau is a case in point. Covered by an ice shield the area was first surveyed by Danish scientists in the 1970s and uranium was defined but other metals remained undiscovered. Licencing issues and environmental concerns delayed further serious exploration until 2006 but now Kvanefjeld is recognised as one of the world’s largest undeveloped resources of rare earth elements and uranium. The ores are also strongly enriched in zinc and sodium fluoride.
Cost of production remains an issue, as always, but access to deep water fjords for port facilities and extensive hydroelectricity are helpful factors. Improved beneficiation, the process of crushing and separating ore into valuable substances, opens the opportunity for further reductions in the capacity and cost of the REE leach circuit. Reaching the production stage will take another two years but the field has an estimated life of 40 years.
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