selenide

The Rare Industrial Metals and the World

Published October 3, 2011 | By Swiss Metal Assets
Neodymium Magnets

Over the last year the markets have been up and down.  One sector of metals has been rising steadily for years.  This is the Rare Industrial Metals and Rare Earth sector.  One way or another everyone on the planet is dependent on these metals.  Imagine a world without them; no cell phones, no iPads, no LCD’s, no lasers, no jet aircraft, no electric vehicles, no alternative energies and no nuclear energy.  National Geographic calls the rare earth complex of elements, ¨The Secret Ingredient of Almost Everything¨.

Something is happening under the radar that is having a huge impact on the price of many of the metals.  China has a 90% control of all Rare Industrial Metals.  China has decided to cut its exports of metals like tungsten, cobalt, indium, tellurium, tantalum and gallium.  The Chinese believe that if they make the prices of these metals out of reach for European, Japanese and American industry the industries will have to bring their jobs to China.  For example, this is already having an effect on the magnets industry.  These magnets are critical for electric vehicles, wind power and many other applications.  The USA, UK, EU, Japan and South Korea have all put the elements needed for the magnet industry and many others on their critical lists.

Over the last year, China has had a slash fest.  In 2010 they cut a whopping 72% of their RIM export quotas for the last part of the year.  In December, they again whittled 35% off the quota for the first half of this year and are talking about another 30% for the fall of 2011.   Some speculate that the country will completely shut out the world by 2014 in order to secure their own demand and manufacturing dominance.

Obviously this is creating somewhat of an international crisis.  Nations with technology backbones are currently taking heed and hedging themselves with alternative suppliers – and they are limited.

In the US, politicians are getting involved pointing out how critical RIMs / Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are to National security.  Congressman Mike Coffman (R-CO) is proposing the RESTART Act of 2011 which essentially admits the US dropped the ball while depending on China to supply these vital resources.  The act proposes to jumpstart a RIM/REE supply chain in the US over the course of five years.

There is no doubt other producers will pop onto the scene due to rising values.  Many organizations are now making efforts to explore and exploit in light of recent economically feasible price ranges.  Despite their efforts however, there are no indications the supply will outweigh demand in the short, medium or long term.  With the exploding technology sectors and a push for clean energy, industry simply won’t let it happen.

What’s interesting is that RIMs are very inelastic.  Their economic presence is so small in the supply chain that they barely affect end users.  Take for instance indium, critical to flat panel TV’s, smart phones and solar CIGS (copper, indium, gallium selenide) solar cells.  In 2003, the metals’ price was pegged at $60/Kg.  Today, in a world with an average annual output over 1.2 billion smart phones and 200 million flat screens, Indium hovers around $800/kg in China before exorbitant export taxes and other duties, which in turn increases the price by 100% or more for the Western world. Despite this increase the public hasn’t felt a significant blow.  In fact, many of these gadgets are getting cheaper.

As we eventually see more of an abundant supply in years to come, it will likely be allocated immediately.  With emerging powerhouses like India and China growing at alarming rates, technology and clean energy advancing into the 21st century, it’s difficult to conceive how new sources will keep up.  Nations will do their best to bring mines online to produce these critical rare industrial metals, the problem is that in the west these processes take years.  The technology is there to produce metals much cleaner than in the past.  Nations have a choice to make, either mine and have jobs in your jurisdiction or let China do the mining and have all the industrial production jobs.

By: Randy Hilarski - The Rare Metals Guy

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Alternative Metals to Gold and Silver

Published September 1, 2011 | By Swiss Metal Assets
Rare Industrial Metal - Cobalt

The last decade has been a wonderful time for Gold Bugs and Silver Bugs. We have profited and protected our wealth against inflation. Gold has risen from around $250 per ounce in 2001 to a recent high of $1917.90 and silver has risen from around $5 per ounce in 2001 to a recent high of $49.81. These numbers are quite exciting for anyone involved in the precious metals markets. Being a Silver Bug myself, I have to admit the ride up has been rather erratic. Long ago I had to learn to ignore the daily Comex price of Silver. Gold and Silver will continue to be an important part of my future holdings, but going forward I am beginning diversification into other metals. Here is a brief overview of some of the rare industrial metals I like and why I believe they are a good choice for anyone who believes in holding physical metals as part of their asset strategy.

There are many who believe the world is in a recession and this may be true in the USA, EU, and other Western nations. There are a few of us who still believe that the speed of industry and commerce is accelerating. I have spent time in Africa, had an opportunity to live in Europe for a few years and I currently live in Panama. This experience has opened my eyes to what is happening outside of the USA. What I see is a great mass of people who were once walking now driving cars. These same people are talking on mobile phones, watching television on a flat screen, using their laptop at a cafe, getting better medical care, flying on vacations, living in modern homes and working jobs that require technology. This is happening across the planet! Can you imagine the impact on demand for rare industrial metals from countries of the BRIC, (Brazil, Russia, India, China), with the size of their populations? Like it or not commercialization was tested in the USA and was a huge success and now it has been exported worldwide. Here in Panama with a population of just over 3 Million we are adding 3000 automobiles a month to the roads. There are enough mobile phones in Panama to give every citizen 3 handsets. All of this takes a lot of natural resources and metals. Below are some of the important metals I would like to introduce to you.

Tantalum, the rare technical and industrial metal that gives technology the ability to be compact. Have you ever wondered why we no longer have to carry around mobile phones the size of a brick? The tantalum capacitor was a revolutionary invention for the world. Today you find tantalum in all of your personal electronics. Tantalum is now being used in in medical implants because it is non-toxic and does not react with body fluids. It is also used in jet aircraft as an alloying agent. Current worldwide production of tantalum is approximately 1160t annually. By 2030 just the demand is estimated to be 1410t. A few years back there was a lot of controversy surrounding tantalum because of its “Conflict Metal” tag. The metal was originally being mined in the Congo but most tantalum is mined in Australia, Brazil, and Canada.

Indium, how do you like that touch screen on your mobile phone? This rare technical and industrial metal has become a star among the elements recently. Indium’s uses in phones, computers, semi-conductors and televisions are well known. The one use that I would really like to highlight is in CIGS (copper-indium-gallium-selenide) thin film solar cells. These solar panels are the latest technology to hit the solar industry. Recently we have heard India, Japan, USA, Germany, Spain and many other countries announce huge solar initiatives. India alone signed into law a US $19 billion plan to produce 20 GW of solar power by 2020. Under the plan, the use of solar-powered equipment and applications would be made compulsory on all government buildings, as well as hospitals and hotels. This initiative alone will use up all the entire world’s production of solar cells. According to the USGS 84% of all indium production is currently used in solar cell production. Current worldwide production of Indium is approximately 600t per year. The future amount of indium required will depend greatly on the solar industry. Indium is mined in China, Canada, Bolivia and Japan.

Cobalt, have you driven a hybrid or electric vehicle lately? This rare technical and industrial metal is the one of the elements that makes the batteries in these cars possible. Cobalt is also used in pigments, super-alloys, non-corrosive medical implants, dental implants and jet engines. The top use today is as an alloy to make metals resistant to corrosion. The one I see real promise in is the use of hybrid and electric vehicle batteries. By 2012 the estimated sales of hybrid vehicles worldwide is approximately 2.2 Million and by 2015 to be at least 10% of the world auto market. Currently the biggest hurdle to these vehicles is the added cost and the ability to produce enough batteries to meet the demand. Cobalt has gained a lot of attention since the London Metal Exchange (LME) launched a cobalt contract in February 2010. Current worldwide production of cobalt is approximately 57,500t annually. The future is bright for cobalt. Every aircraft that goes in the air and every hybrid vehicle sold will put greater pressure on the supply of this metal. Cobalt is mined in Australia, Congo, Russia, Zambia and a few other countries.

These are just a few of the metals that our world needs to operate and the future is looking great for all commodities. I like the rare technical and industrial metals because of the tight supply and all of the wonderful uses for them. The mining of these metals is often a by-product of base metal like copper, lead and zinc. Most of the large deposits have been found and are in production. This translates into a very tight supply for the future and profits for investors. Silver and Gold have been my metals of choice for many years, but I see great opportunity for the person who is adventurous and willing to add another asset to their portfolio before the masses catch on.

By: Randy Hilarski - The Rare Metals Guy
Source: http://www.buyrareearthmetalschinaprices.com

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Thin-film PV comes one step closer to rivaling crystalline PV in efficiency

Published December 10, 2010 | By Swiss Metal Assets
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)certified a thin-film MiaSolé photovoltaic (PV) panel at15.7 percent, the most efficient copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) panel the lab has tested.It’s an important step as CIGSmanufacturers strive to close the efficiency gap with the more expensive crystalline silicon PV, which has traditionally been more efficient.While NREL has tested a CIGS PV cell that reached about 20 percent efficiency, that cell was specially developed in the lab and was only a square centimeter in size.

“The significance of the modules tested at NREL is that they’re all done on the product line,” said Stephen Barry, vice president of corporate development at MiaSolé.

The news, he said, comes on the heels of MiaSolé’s announcement of modules rated at 14.3 percent efficiency in September 2010. The goal is to achieve a CIGS module that is as efficient as the most powerful CIGS cells tested at NREL,

“We believe there’s more headroom there [for efficiency increases],” he said.

“This is a very exciting result, especially when it comes so soon after the previous 14.3 percent achievement from last September,” NREL solar researcher Dr. Rommel Noufi said in a press release. “An almost 1.5 percent absolute increase in efficiency in such a short time on a continuous roll-to-roll manufacturing line is impressive and demonstrates good process control and a validation of the MiaSolé approach.”

At present, because thin-film PV is behind crystalline silicon PV in terms of efficiency, it need more space to produce electricity. Therefore, most thin-film PVs available today are being used in large-scale applications like commercial warehouses and solar farms and not for residential purposes. As firms like MiaSolé close that efficiency gap, they will likely become more suitable for residential installations. Barry realizes this and said that the application of their product will change as they gain ground with efficiency.

Thin-film PV also allows for more flexibility in design and use.

For instance, MiaSolé’s modules are deposited on a flexible steel substrate, which makes them physically flexible, something that crystalline silicon panels can’t achieve. However, at present, they’re encapsulated in glass, Barry said. But the company has an active building-integrated PV program, he said. And in the future, its PV materials could take the form of roofing for instance.

Don’t expect the 15.7 percent efficient module on the shelf at your neighborhood PV store tomorrow, however.

“We have our MR-107, a 10.5 percent efficient module,” said Barry. “We’re shipping those now in volumes. We have submitted to UL a 13 percent efficient module.”

He said the 13-percent efficient modules will be in production in the second quarter, and couldn’t estimate when the new, more powerful modules would reach commercial availability.

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