Popular special metals from Gerd Braune Their economic meaning excels by far her Bekannheitsgrad: the " rare earth ". Without them almost nothing more goes in the communication technology or environmental technology. Because China needs more and more of this earth for own industry, now present customers must come along on the search for own springs.
" The day will come in which we have no mobile phones and Blackberrys because it lacks of rare earth ", says Detroit Autoanally Jack Lifton. Photo: AP OTTAWA. The " rare earth " is required for catalysts and batteries for hybrid cars, for highly competitive Magnete and fiberglass cable. Above all the inquiry for hybrid vehicles increases the need. Because China needs more and more of the support for own industry, now the present customers must open own springs.
The worldwide need in oxide of rare earth (Rare Earth oxide / REO) lay in 2006 with 110,000 metric tons to the value of 1.3 Bn. US dollars. Around 95 percent get away from China. Dudley Kingsnorth of the Australian Industrial of mineral Company estimates that the need will rise till 2012 on 185,000 to 195,000 metric tons. China will increase the support on 125,000 metric tons, need this, however, itself. " The rest of the world will have to promote in 2012 about 60,000 to 80,000 metric tons ", he warns. The offer of " rare earth " for the world market comes only from few springs. Three biggest ones lie according to mineral TZ Internationally (TZMI) in China: the Bayan Obo mine in Mongolia, Mianning-Dechang in the province Sichuan and scattered camps in the south of China, above all with Ganzhou.
" These elements are no exotic plants from Zentralafrika. They are necessary for our everyday life ", says the Detroit autoanalyst Jack Lifton. " Gold and silver are nice for earring. But the day will come in which we have no mobile phones and Blackberrys because it lacks of rare earth. The special metals are the precious metals of 21 Of century. Without them we are thrown back in 20. or even 19-th century ", he foretells gloom.
" Because the technological applications of the rare earth have multiplied in past decades, the inquiry for several of the less frequent and earlier quite obscure rare earth has dramatically risen ", judges US-professional authority Geological Survey (USGS). Erbium possibly raises the achievement of cables of the fiberglass communication, europium becomes as a red phosphorus for screens by monitors and television sets used and can be substituted by no other material. Rare earth, under it cerium, are also used for autocatalysts.
The biggest bottleneck threatens by the inquiry for hybrid cars which reduce the fuel consumption. " The rare earth is indispensable for the production of hybrid car. Without them nothing goes ", says Lifton. Toyota and Honda want to increase the production clearly. According to Kingsnorth only Toyota wants in 2010 at least a million hybrid cars produce, the worldwide production can lie in 2012 with three millions.
Prices of well-chosen special metals. " With the current growth the inquiry for rare earth will excel in 2011 the global production ", thinks Lifton. The nuclear problem lies in the fact that China is virtually a monopolist by the support of rare earth and throttles the export by an export tax. From about 100,000 metric tons which China produces only 40,000 went to the export. This is that amount which only car manufacturers of Japan need. " The growth potential for hybrid vehicles is high because of the costs of petrol and the discussion about climate protection very much, but there is no security on the offer side ", says John Kaiser, expert for raw material enterprise with kaiserbottomfish.com, San Francisco.
The prices rose according to USGS and Metal-Pages.com clearly. Example dysprosium for Magnete and electronics article: It cost in January, 2006 still about 70 dollars / kg and today 110 to 115 dollars. Now western industrial lands feel that they have opened no new occurence. Even the Geological Survey belonging to the US Ministry of the Interior practices indirectly criticism. She found out that the USA could cover her need in rare earth still ten years ago, now is dependent, however, on import from China.
Only the development of mines can preserve from a dramatic bottleneck beyond China. " The beds beyond China earn more investments sowoby the industry as well as potential investors ", says emperor. TZMI expects because of the tense market to a positive prize trend with rare earth.
However, the possibilities are limited. In Australia the Mount Weld occurence of the Lynas Corp. is one of two bigger beds beyond China. Now Mount Weld has begun the production; in 2009 she should lie with 10 500 metric tons. The second occurence is Mountain passport in California of company Molycorp belonging to the chevron group, where from soon 20,000 metric tons could come. In Canada the Great western of mineral Group in the Hoidas wants to take up brine in Saskatchewan the production in 2011. In the northwest territories Avalon Ventures in the Thor has discovered brine a significant depot.
" There is no lack of interest in our project and no problems to win capital for the other Exploration ", says Avalon-CEO Don Dubar to the trade paper. However, also he finds out that the USA and Europe wake only slowly and recognize which explosive effect is in the forthcoming bottlenecks for rare earth. ' The Japanese know for many years that a problem could become. '
Rare earth
Elements: The ' rare earth ' is summarized into a group of 17 elements: Scandium, yttrium, lanthanum and 14 elements which are called Lanthanoide: Cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, Samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium and lutetium.
Name: The name is delusive, because it concerns not earth, but metals. However, these metals were found at first in rare minerals and was isolated as oxide - what was called earlier than earth. Even rare under the " rare earth ", in addition belong thulium and lutetium, are represented in the earth crust 200 times more often than the precious metal gold.
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