Tungsten, tantalum, rare earths emerging as ‘critical’ Tungsten, tantalum and rare-earth elements (REEs) have started to emerge as “critical” global metals and are expected to become highly scarce from 2015
GaiusOctavius wrote: By: Natalie Greve 3rd July 2013 - JOHANNESBURG Tungsten, tantalum and rare-earth elements (REEs) have started to emerge as “critical” global metals and are expected to become highly scarce from 2015(miningweekly.com) – , Core Consultants MD Lara Smith said on Wednesday. “While the European Union and the US Department of Defence somewhat disagree on the full list of those metals that are deemed critical, they do agree that these three are [at the top of the list],” she said at the Geological Society of South Africa’s 2013 GeoForum conference, in Johannesburg. Critical metals are defined as those metals with a critical risk to supply, on which humans are highly dependent for survival, and which are necessary for the continuation of a modern way of life. Smith noted that these minerals were conventionally dominated by a single supplier or country, commonly experienced underinvestment in the development of new projects, and presented limited potential for substitution. “In addition, critical metals are finding increased application in modern, portable devices, as well as in military or defence applications and are, therefore, of strategic importance to several countries,” she commented. TUNGSTEN Based on these parameters, tungsten had increasingly emerged as a critical metal, most notably as a result of its limited supply. Smith noted that China, which produced the majority of the world’s tungsten supply, also accounted for more than half of world demand and was its fastest-growing consumer, which had driven the State to take certain measures to ensure that its own domestic needs were met. “This has placed an unprecedented threat on the tungsten sector outside of China, which presents enormous opportunities for the development of tungsten ores, concentrates and intermediary products outside of China,” she said. Moreover, in recent years, demand had outpaced supply, necessitating the sale of stockpiles held by the governments of China, Russia and the US. According to the US Geological Survey, from 2000 until 2011, the US stockpile fell from around 35 500 t to 7 500 t. “Based on China’s decision to limit exports to the rest of the world, we estimate that the primary tungsten market is in deficit and, this year, we expect the deficit to be in the order of 15 000 t,” cautioned Smith. In addition, tungsten prices were expected to rise in tandem with increased Chinese input costs, such as labour, as well as rising taxes and high inflation.
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