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“Alvin Donovan”: (Alison Withers) June 2012 Has Brought More Developments in the World of Rare Earth Metals
“Alvin Donovan”
June 2012 Has Brought More Developments in the World of Rare Earth Metals
Copyright (c) 2012 Alison Withers
Since March 2012, when concerns were raised over China’s plans to restrict its exports of Rare Earth Metals, there has been a growth in efforts worldwide to seek out alternative sources of supply.
This follows the action taken by the USA, Japan and Europe to have the World Trade Organisation investigate the Chinese decision.
While China has indicated that it is willing to co-operate in the negotiations, it has also issued warnings about the dwindling of its own reserves of these valuable commodities, which are essential to the manufacture of many high tech products and to developing clean energy technology.
This month, June 2012, China has issued a report detailing the current state of its REE extraction industry which includes measures to better regulate and strengthen control over mining, as well as protecting its environment from the damage resulting from mining and processing. In addition the paper confirms the country’s commitment to continuing to supply the rest of the world.
This month the USA has also increased its pressure on China by asking the WTO to establish a dispute settlement panel to take the negotiations started in March forward to the next steps in resolving the issue.
Meanwhile the search for alternative sources continues following an announcement earlier in the years by Japanese car company, Honda, of a partnership agreement with a Japanese recycling company to recover the REEs used in batteries for Hybrid cars.
Two significant announcements have come in June, one from Canada and the other from Japan.
Canadian company, Orbite Aluminae Inc, Quebec, has revealed that it has successfully developed patented technology and extracted the first commercial samples of REEs heavy rare earth oxides and scandium from its shale clay deposits.
The Orbite technology has been independently evaluated and verified by European group CMI-UVK and German firm MEAB, confirming an extraction rate of 93%. The company expects to be able to use its green technology to become the first in North America, and perhaps the world, with the capacity to produce separated heavy rare earth oxides and scandium oxide possibly by 2014.
Japan has also announced the results of under-sea explorations 2,000 Km off the coast of its easternmost island, Minami-torishima, where samples of mud have revealed high concentrations of REEs over a 1,000 Km area of seabed indicating the existence of 6.8 million metric tons of rare earth minerals, including dysprosium, – sufficient to ensure supplies to its industries for up to 200 years.
There is a long way to go before this discovery reaches any certainty of production, however, since the area of the deposits is some 5,000 metres below Pacific Ocean and the cost of extraction and the technology for lifting the mud from the sea bed have yet to be worked out, leaving question marks over the commercial viability of such an enterprise.
—————————————————- In June 2012 there have been developments both in negotiations over China’s REM export quota restrictions and in the search for alternative sources of supply. By Ali Withers. https://www.denver-trading.com/