Game-changer

21 September 2010 By Martin Hutchinson

PRC producers dominate the market, and a sharp cut in export quotas has sent prices soaring. That s a blow to hightech industrial users of the metals elsewhere and a reminder that the assumptions that make globalization beneficial can easily be thrown off.

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China currently produces about 97 percent of the world's rare earth supply, which was of around 124,000 tons in 2009, mostly from Inner Mongolia. In previous decades, Brazil, South Africa and California dominated the market.

In July, China cut its export quota by 72 percent for the second half of 2010 compared with the same period on 2009.

The rare earths are the metals scandium (atomic number 21) yttrium (atomic number 39) and the fifteen lanthanide elements (atomic numbers 57 to 71).

Uses for rare earths include rechargeable batteries, advanced ceramics, computers, wind turbines, catalysts in cars and oil refineries, computer monitors, televisions, lighting, lasers, fiber optics, glass polishing, superconductors and weapons.

Molycorp is in the process of reopening the Mountain Pass mine in California. It is expected to reopen in 2012 after being closed in 2002. The Steenkampskraal project in South Africa, with output contracted to Great Western Minerals Group, is also expected to reopen as early as 2012.

According to data from the website Alibaba.com, lanthanum oxide prices are up 13 percent since Dec. 31, neodymium oxides are up 89 percent, dysprosium oxides 124 percent, praseodymium oxides 89 percent and terbium oxides 66 percent.

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