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US Geological Survey finds global rare earth metals reserves currently sufficient
(Author: Dorothy Kosich, Mineweb.com) The U.S. Geological survey says the long term outlook for rare earth elements "appears to be for an increasingly competitive and diverse group of rare-earth suppliers."
In the advance release of a USGS minerals yearbook article, USGS scientists advised, "As research and technology continue to advance the knowledge of rare earths and their interactions with other elements, the economic base of the rare-earth industry is expected to continue to grow."
"New applications are expected to continue to be discovered and developed, especially in areas that are considered essential, such as energy and defense," the agency said.
Rare earth elements are critical to information and communication, and are an important component of clean and potentially green energy. They are used in magnets in electric motors for electric cars, and allow companies to refine oil.
The world's major supplier of rare earth metals, China, is increasingly withholding rare earth metals for its own needs and reducing export quotas for Europium and Yttrium oxides by 6% and 34% respectively this year.
Meanwhile, in the U.S. the last of government's stock of rare earths in the National Defense Stockpile was shipped in 1998. Rare Earth elements are unique in many electronic, optical and magnetic military applications. The USGS advised that national defense material requirements "may necessitate the inclusion of rare earths, including scandium and yttrium, in the NDS at a future date."
Last month, the publication Defense News warned, "Now armed with its monopoly, China is jacking up prices by cutting production and exports and pressuring high-tech manufacturers to set up shop in China, where supplies are more plentiful."
"The combination of rising costs and tighter control on exports, however, is alarming companies worldwide, including U.S. weapons makers and Pentagon officials."
In 2007, the USGS found that rare earth exports in three out of four trade categories decreased. The principal destinations that year were Japan, Canada, China, Germany, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Egypt, the Republic of Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Estonia, and the Netherlands.
Interestingly, imports of rare earth metals and alloys into the U.S. decreased 10% that year to 653 tonnes valued at about $6.5 million.
Rare earth producers outside of China are generating less than 5% of the world's supply, the USGS noted. They are expected to continue to struggle to remain competitive with China's lower wages, inexpensive utilities and less restrictive environmental and permitting requirements.
However, the USGS suggests, "Increasing prices, export limits, rising demand within China, and a ban on new mining permits were expected to make rare-earth deposits outside of China more economic."
In the meantime, "Economic growth in several developing countries could provide new and potentially large markets in Eastern Europe, India and Southeast Asia."
The USGS has visited or researched rare earths deposits for Colorado, Idaho and Montana, Missouri, Utah and Wyoming.
The agency also examined deposits and projects, as well as rare-earth metal industrial manufacturing processes in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Japan, Malawi, Malaysia and Zambia.
Their conclusion: "World reserves are sufficient to meet forecast world consumption well into the 21st Century."
"Several very large rare-earth deposits in Australia and China (for example, Mianning in China and Mount Weld in Australia) have yet to be fully developed," the scientists noted. "Existing production is currently not sufficient to meet world demand, and shortages exist for neodymium and dysprosium for magnet alloys and europium and terbium for phosphors."
"Although the Mountain Pass deposit on the United States contains sufficient resources to meet domestic demand for light-group REEs, the deposit does not contain sufficient heavy-group REEs to meet demand for those elements," the agency asserted.
The Colorado-based Molycorp Minerals, the owner and operator of California's Mountain Pass Mine, has formed a U.S. Rare Earth Industry and Technology Association (REITA). The association's executive director Keith Delaney said much of America's rare earth technology and manufacturing infrastructure was moved to China. As a result, there are significant gaps in entire supply chains for rare earth material and products which no longer exist in this country.
Charter members of REITA include General Electric and the Colorado School of Mines among others.
