April 20, 2011 -- Much has already been made of the importance of rare earth minerals in the production of Hybrid Vehicles and EVs, as well as other environmental programs, such as wind turbines. I expect that the noble and well-informed readership of RareMetalBlog is already well aware of the importance of REEs when it comes to 'alternative' energy strategies, and of the need for minerals such as Neodymium and Lanthanum in hot-button properties like the Toyota Prius.
What does surprise me, however, is that while the continued expansion of EV production clearly causes concern of national hoarding (or, at least, relative unavailability) of certain rare earth minerals becoming constrictive to potential production levels, there is still a relative dearth of discussion of the comparative lack of active exploration in countries including the US, Canada, and Australia. All three countries have large rare earth depositories, that have largely gone un-mined since the 1990’s, due to lower-cost Chinese availability. Currently, China is producing some 90% of the earth’s REE product (some estimates take it as high as 97%), from approximately 30% of global rare earth deposits. They have also increasingly imposed REE export quotas, which thus far have culminated in a reduction of more than 40% over the past four years, and rumours of Beijing stockpiling some or all of Baotou Steel’s (their top rare earth producer) output are driving up prices and causing security of supply fears.
Interestingly, 99% of all Chinese production is of LREE Lanthanides, while some North American efforts (such as that of Quest Rare Minerals Ltd in Strange Lake, QC) are finding significant depositories of HREEs such as Dysprosium, Neodymium, and Europium, all of which have been deemed top priority in a Rare Earth Criticality Matrix published by the U.S. Department of Energy.
It’s curious, then, to wonder whether this is one of those unusual and incongruous situations whereby politicization of an environmental nature could be both responsible and profitable. An issue on par with the potential stagnation (regardless of overarching likelihood) of EV production could instantly mobilize anyone who has seen An Inconvenient Truth, and could breed an extraordinarily effective Grass Roots initiative in encouraging western policymakers to further incentivize and fund REE initiatives in the aforementioned Western countries.
Update -- Have just gotten off the phone with Tracy Weslosky, who is currently moderating the Materials and Rare Earth Metals: Ramping Up for the Future Breakout Session at the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) 2011 Conference & Annual Meeting. She mentioned that the specific issue of Dysprosium should be considered first and foremost, as some panellists indicated that there could be a shortage of Dysprosium available for EV production, demanding on the demand of the wind turbine industry.
Tracy further said that she will write a more in-depth piece on the subject later this week.
source http://www.raremetalblog.com/2011/04/rees-make-the-wheels-go-round-1.html#more
