Future production of rare earths is being planned outside China
By Tom Stundza -- Purchasing, 11/19/2009 2:00:00 AM
Exploration of rare earths—metals used in hybrid cars, laser equipment, computer hard disks and a diverse range of other technologies—is shifting to Canada, Brazil and South Africa. Mining companies are looking for sources that would loosen China's lock on supplies.
Reason: China produces about 97% of the world's rare earth metals—scandium, yttrium and the 15 lanthanoids—and concerns are mounting that Beijing could further restrict rare earth exports and even impose an outright ban on shipments of some key metals. China regulates its exports with quotas and duties. Since 2004, exports from China have shrunk by about 10% each year. Analysts say the export quotas for this year could range between 32,000 metric tons to 34,000 metric tons.
There are supply worries because demand for rare earth metals is likely to increase between 10% and 20% annually from growing use of such lanthanoid elements as neodymium, used to make generators for wind turbines, and dysprosium, used to make parts for hybrid car motors. The other lanthanoids are lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium and lutetium.
However, there is sufficient rare earth mineralization accessible by current technology in North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and South Africa to make world supply less dependent on China, says independent nonferrous strategic metals consultant Jack Lifton in Farmington Hills, Mich.
He says Avalon Rare Metals in Toronto and Great Western Minerals Group in Saskatchewan "both will be producing heavy rare earths within 3 to 5 years in countries outside of China."
He also says that MolyCorp Minerals of Greenwood Village, Colo., will ramp up production from existing ore concentrate stocks to 3,000 metric tons next year, and plans to restart mining in 2012 and to ramp up its refining capacity so that it can produc 20,000 metric tons/year by 2015.
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