Source:Windpower MonthlyA sudden spike in the price of rare earths in 2011 rang alarm bells in the wind industry, particularly among turbine manufacturers using permanent-magnet generators.Prices soon fell back to almost pre-crisis levels, but increasing global demand is now starting to push them up again with significant implications for the wind energy industry.The backgroundRare earth elements (REEs) are minerals found in relative abundance across the globe.The challenge is that they typically do not occur in concentrated deposits, are often found mixed together and are difficult — and ther...
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Source:Recycling InternationalChina remains the world’s largest producer and consumer of rare earth metals. However, it has lowered production of the highly valued materials in the second half of the year by 36%. This move is forcing carmakers and electronics producers to find alternative supplies to meet strong demand in these two sectors.According to Adamas Intelligence, a research firm that closely tracks the rare earths industry, the cut in China’s quota for separation and smelting is an attempt to better control the market.Production decreaseChina is limiting domestic rare earth productio...
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Souece:Phys.OrgIf rare-earth metals can be extracted from previously quarried ore, the environmental hazards of new mines and mining waste can be mitigated. In his doctoral research, Wenzhong Zhang from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Helsinki developed a new material by which scandium, a rare-earth metal, can be extracted from the waste of the aluminium industry.The amount of bauxite needed to manufacture one aluminium tin produces some 60 grams of a reddish, clay-like substance called red mud that manufacturers used to dump in the sea. Now, it is amassing as ever-growing hea...
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Kuantan, Malaysia - The Lynas rare earths processing plant on Malaysia's east coast, a major producer of the elements vital for mobile phones and other gadgets, is facing a battle for survival as the country's new government investigates the facility's waste management policies and environmental impact.The government, which won the general election six months ago, announced in September it would probe long-standing environmental concerns surrounding the six-year-old plant and how it handles the radioactive waste created during processing.The previous government, which had ruled Mal...
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