High Tech Metals and the Needs of Society

Transcription

1 High Tech Metals and the Needs of Society Yasushi Watanabe Geological Survey of Japan 7 th FEM Finland 7 FEM 2009@Rovaniemi, Finland ( )

2 Contents High-tech products and uncommon metals Biased distribution of uncommon metals Chinese government policy on uncommon metals Case study: indium Future of rare earths Summary

3 Metals used in high tech products Strategic (rare) metals of Japan Elements that are vital to the security of a nation, but that must be procured entirely or in large part from foreign sources. PGE, REE, Li (Ni, Cr, Mo, Mn, W, Co, V,In, Ga-stockpiled)

4 Modern electric products Solar panel Digital camera Mobile phone Hybrid vehicle LCD, LED TV PC

5 Application of uncommon metals Commodity Application Products Li battery, heat-resistant glass HEV, EV, mobile electric materials Pt, Pd, Rd automobile catalyst diesel engine vehicle REE Si magnet, phosphors, glass, lens, ceramics, catalyst, polishing material, hydrogen absorbing alloy, condenser ferrosilicon, Al addition, silicon resin, polycrystalline silicon HEV, EV, mobile electric materials, fuel battery solar panel, HEV, EV, aluminum can, aluminum sash, semiconductor Ga semiconductor, crystal LED TV, mobile phone, etc. In ITO target, semiconductor, phosphor, alloy LCD TV, solar panel Ta condenser, lens, crystal, superalloy digital camera, PC, mobile phone, ipone, jet engine Nb steel, superconductor, lens, heat-resistant alloy HEV, EV Be neutron reflector, alloy nuclear power reactor Co superalloy, battery, magnet, catalyst, carbide tool, jet engine, HEV, EV, mobile phone, PC, pigment cutting tool Ni stainless, alloy, Ni-H battery HEV, EV Te alloy, catalyst, target, pigment DVD, CdTe solar panel Ge optical fiber, catalyst, lens, phosphor, solar panel, semiconductor telecommunication cable, PET bottle, thermography

6 Applications of rare earths Applications Elements Growing rate* Catalysts 20% Ce 3-6% Magnets 19% Nd, Sm, Pr, Dy, Tb 8-12% Metal Alloys 16% La, mischmetal 5-7% Polishing 13% Ce, 8-12% Glass 12% Ce, La, Y, Gd, Er, Nd, Pm 3-5% Phosphors 8% Y, Eu, Tb, La, Ce 3-5% Ceramics 5% Y 4-8% Others 7% 4-8% *Estimate by China Minmetals Non-ferrous Meals Co. Ltd. (2009)

7 Production of uncommon metals Li Co Cr N i Data source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries (2008)

8 Source of uncommon-metals China South Africa Others Elements Top three supply countries and share (%) Top three share (%) Metal life (year) REE China 95% USA 3% CIS 2% 100% 709 Mo USA 32% China 25% Chile 22% 78% 46 Sb China 88% Guatemala 3% Bolivia 2% 95% 13 Ga China 43% Germany 20% Kazakhstan17% 80% 365 W China 75% CIS 6% Canada 5% 86% 55 In China58% Japan11% Canada, Korea 9% 78% 22 Bi China52% Mexico 21% Peru17% 90% 55 PGE South Africa 80% CIS 12% Canada 4% 96% 154 Cr South Africa 38% India 18% Kazakhstan 18% 74% >24 V South Africa 39% China 32% CIS 27% 98% 221 Mn South Africa 20% Australia 19% China 14% 53% 40 Ni CIS 19% Canada 16% Australia 11% 46% 40 Li Chile 38% Australia 22% Argentina, China 12% 84% 164 Co Congo 36% Canada 13% Australia 12% 61% 22

9 South Africa Sources of uncommon metals Large-scale melting of mantle (ultramafic rocks) k) PGE,Ni, Cr, V China Large-scale melting of crust (reduced type granite) W, Mo, In, Bi, REE, Ga, Ge Merensky Reef at Bushveld Wolframite vein at Damingshan

10 Bushveld Complex in South Africa Melting of mantle with a dimension of 400x300km Redistribution of metals: Pt, Pd, Cr, and V 1000 times PGE concentration compared to host rocks ( ppb) t Pt t Pd 28,860t Pt, 21,110t Pd reserves (89% share)

11 Granite & W deposits in south China and neighboring countries 1:3,000,000 Mineral Resources Map of east Asia (Geological Survey of Japan, 2007)

12 Sweep of a spreading ridge and related Sweep of a spreading ridge and related magmatism and mineralization in east Asia

13 Lifetime of strategic metals (Reserves/annual production in 2007) Data source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries (2008) Variants Data accuracy Change of demand Change of reserves Recyle rate National policy Environmental restriction Most metals will not be exhausted soon.

14 Production and price of uncommon metals Increasing demand Increasing demand abrupt increase in production & price increase of price but no Decreasing demand increase of production decrease in production & price Decreasing demand decrease in production but no price change Data source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries (2009)

15 Metal prices of magnet materials (Nd & Dy) Data source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries (2008) Data source: Rare Metal Data source: Rare Metal News (2009)

16 Production of Rare Earths: Past and future Total REO production during (REO) 2.20Mt Expected REO production during Mt World economic depression

17 Chinese government policy on uncommon metals Metals poor in China (Co, Ni, PGE) Invest in mines in overseas Production and demand of REE Metals rich in China (Sb, In, W, REE, Mn, V) Preserve domestic resources Restrict production to match the domestic demand Restrict metal export Encourage downstream industry Monopolize metal market (& downstream industry) Control metal price & supply Invest in mines in overseas Kingsnorth (2009)

18 Export quotas for uncommon metals by China REO 50,000 45,000 43,600 34,200 31,300 W 16,300 15,800 15,400 14,900 14,600 Sb 65,700 63,700 61,800 59, ,700 CSi 230, , , , ,000 MgO 1,400,000, 1,360,000, 1,327,000, 1,327,000, 1,400,000, Mo 26,300 25,500 In Ag 5100 Unit: t

19 Mount Weld REE Deposit in Australia Owner: Lynas Corporation Ltd. Reserves: (1.19Mt REO) China Nonferrous Metal Mining (CNMC) tried to obtain ownership of Lynas with 51.6% stake with 182MUSD. Australian Foreign Investment Review Board asked CNMC to decrease the ownership below 50% in September CNMC terminated the transaction immediately.

20 Export of uncommon metals from China Japan 28% Japan 26% Japan 23% Japan 22% Korea 33% 2 Korea 12% Taiwan 12% UAE 12% UAE 19% Taiwan 18% 3 Ti Taiwan 11% Korea 10% Korea 10% Korea 13% UAE 12% 5 Japan 7% Xu (2009) Japanese import amount of REO (Nakamura, 2009)

21 Application ITO target in LCD panel, Solar cell (InGaAs, CuInS, CuInGaSe) Resource >60% reserves in China China Restrict export amount from 2008 (2008: 240t, 2009: 233t) Actually exported amount was 122t. Japan Largest consumer (>60%) Case study: Indium Indium occurrence in sphalerite from Toyoha (Japan)

22 Japan s indium import Feng & Yao (2009) Feng & Yao (2009)

23 Indium material flow in Japan JOGMEC (2008)

24 World production of indium Japan Recycle Ore China Recycle Ore Belgium Canada France Korea Peru CIS Brazil 5 20 Others Total Recycle Ore Feng Juncong & Yao Wenyu (2009)

25 Expansion of rare earth industry into the world From bilateral (Japan-China) matter to international matter Expansion of REE exploration in the world Large non-chinese REE production soon (Mountain Pass; USA, Mount Weld; Australia) Formation of supply chain between mining companies and end users Future of REE

26 Owner: Molycorp (USA) Reserves: 1.8Mt Mountain Pass Pause of exploitation from 1998 with limited production from stockpile ( t/y REO) Plan to reopen the mine from 2012 with 20,000t/y production at increased recovery Mining to Magnet Nd oxide, Nd metal, and NdFeB alloy Magnet production with partner

27 REE projects in the world Name Country REE Company Plan Planned production Mountain USA LREE Molycorp 2012 production 20000t Pass Mount Weld Australia LREE Lynas t Nolans Australia REE, U, P Arafura Bear Lodge Thor Lake Hoidas Lake Indian REE Dong Pao USA REE Rare Element Resources in exploration Canad HREE Avalon in exploration, 2014 production Canada LREE GWMG in exploration India Th, LREE Toyota Corp production 7000t Vietnam LREE Toyota Corp, Sojitu Ulba Kazakhstan HREE Sumitomo, Kazatomprom Pitinga Brazil HREE Neo Material Technology, Mitsubishi Corp ,000t 2011 production t t

28 REE exploration for unconventional sources REE production as byproduct Fe, Th, Nb, Sn, U, P, F Unconventional minerals for REE apatite, fergusonite, zircon, columbite, eudialyite it Exploration for mining waste Sn mine (Brazil), U mine (Kazakhstan)

29 Supply chain between mines and end users Pi Private companies Molycorp (Mining to Magnet), Neo Material Technologies (Magnet to Mining) REITA (USA) Rare Earth Industry and Technology Association Association of industry, government and academic partners JOGMEC (Japan) EU Financial assistance, technology development, technical support, stockpiling, providing information, mine pollution control and overseas exploration New policy on raw materials

30 Summary Demand for uncommon metals have exponentially increased in recent years due to the invention and explosive production of hightech and green industrial products. Uncommon metals are classified into 1) metals enriched in South Africa, 2) metals enriched in China, and 3) metals in other sources. Some metals such as W, REE, In and Sb, with production dominated d by China, have had a shortage of production, or their distribution to countries outside China has been curtailed. The Chinese policy to monopolize the production and supply of uncommon metals has resulted in increased exploration for these metals outside China, and formation of supply chain between the end users and mining companies. Mining industry shoulders the important role of sustaining society and environment, e by supplying key metals that are indispensable sab e for the production of energy-saving and/or green energy-producing materials.

31 Merry Christmas!