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American Resources Policy Network
Promoting the development of American mineral resources.
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  • Through the Gateway: “Fairy Dust” Supply Woes Loom

    As we continue our look Through the Gateway, comes a stern reminder by way of Canada that the geopolitics of resource supply represents a complex issue warranting comprehensive policy approaches.  

    And it literally concerns a metal that touches us — more precisely, we touch it — every day, too many times to count.

    decision to close metallurgical operations at the Kidd Creek Copper-Zinc-Silver deposit in Ontario, Canada, will effectively remove more than ten metric tons of Indium – a co-product metal the Gateway Metals to which include Zinc and Tin – from the global market.   As MetalBulletin points out, the mine is not closing per se, but concentrates from the mine will be taken to a different smelter without Indium processing capabilities, meaning the Indium is effectively going to be lost.

    While ten metric tons does not sound like much, this is significant, as we’re talking about Indium here, which is one of the rarer tech co-product metals. USGS pegs total global refinery production of Indium at 755 metric tons in 2015.  With the United States not producing any Indium – making us 100% import-dependent — and Canada – which is our biggest supplier of Indium – accounting for 66 metric tons, removing more than ten metric tons from the global market is a big deal just in terms of numbers.

    But why is this relevant? Aside from being a key component for the construction of CIGS (i.e. Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenide solar panels) Indium happens to be the “fairy dust” that turns a regular computer, tablet or smart phone screen into a touch screen.   The majority of newer smart phone and tablet makers have turned to ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) to form the conductive layer, which is used to monitor changes in electrical state as you touch and swipe the screen.” AZoMaterials has a great write-up and quick video explaining the technology.

    Rumors that new IGZO (Indium, Gallium, Zinc Oxide) semiconductor technology has found its way into the displays of the just-released iPhone 7 (we discussed this a few weeks ago here  have not yet been confirmed, but the bottom line is that Indium is one of the tech metals that is growing in importance. 

    Last year, the United States consumed 124 metric tons of refined Indium. With Canada removing a significant percentage of Indium from the global market, the United States may now be forced to turn to China to meet demand even more than before – a daunting proposition. 

    Meanwhile, there is a serious disconnect with regards to resource policy.  Most policy makers – and candidates for political office for that matter – fail to connect the dots – everyone is in favor of strengthening our manufacturing base, but they fail to acknowledge that we need “stuff” to make “stuff.”  Maybe if their touchscreens stopped working all of a sudden they’d get the memo, and would focus on devising a comprehensive mineral resource strategy.  Word of a potential Indium shortage may cause our eyes to glaze over — but if we lose touch with our touch-screens, maybe then we’ll get a feel for the role co-product metals play in our 21st Century lives.

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  • Through the Gateway: Vanadium – Next-Gen Uses Drive Co-Product Challenge

    As we continue our look “Through the Gateway,” one thing has become abundantly clear already:  Beyond their traditional uses, both Gateway Metals and their Co-Products have become building blocks of our renewable energy future.  This held true for Copper and its Co-Products, but it is also equally true for Aluminum and its Co-Products. While Gallium’s ability to form compounds with various elements lends itself to its application in smartphones and other wireless devices, as well as solar technology, Vanadium – another material “unlocked” by Aluminum – is making an entry.

    Traditionally known as an alloying component in various steels, where its strengthening properties come to bear, it has been used in the building and construction industry for a long time.  Ferrovanadium alloys have also been used in protective military vehicles while a Titanium-Aluminum-Vanadium alloy is used in jet engines and high-speed aircraft.

    More recently, however, the material’s use in energy storage technology has been making headlines.  With the demand for renewable energy continuing to soar, the energy storage market itself is booming.  As Cleantechnica.com explains:

    “Since wind and solar energy come and go, energy storage fills a critical gap in terms of availability and reliability. (…) So far, lithium-ion (Li-ion) technology has staked a claim to the gold standard for energy storage in terms of performance relative to cost. (… ) However, other energy storage technologies have an eye on the prize as well.”

    First generation flow battery technology using Vanadium was initially mired by inefficiencies and costliness, but research efforts, in particular by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), have since resulted in significant improvements of the technology.  A breakthrough came with PNNL’s 2011 development of a flow battery design, which added a new electrolyte mix to traditional Vanadium batteries.  This led to a 70 percent increase in storage capacity.

    The vastly improved third generation technology is now being applied in national grid modernization efforts: Earlier last month, a new collaboration between industry, the utility EPB of Chattanooga and three U.S. national laboratories using Vanadium flow battery technology was launched in an effort to “develop metrics for evaluating renewable energy and storage integration and demonstrate the benefits of leading energy storage technology to our nation’s grid modernization efforts.”

    The bottom line:  demand for Vanadium may well increase as technology advances, with new challenges looming large.  It’s a story with a familiar theme for ARPN followers — the co-product challenge:

    According to USGS, Vanadium is at least as plentiful as Nickel and Zinc – at least in terms of its availability in the earth’s crust. However, it rarely occurs in deposits that can be economically mined for the element alone. Between 2009 and 2013, some co-product vanadium production occurred domestically (though not from Bauxite mining for Aluminum), but it has since been suspended. As a result, the United States is currently 100% import dependent for its domestic Vanadium needs – in spite of the fact that “domestic resources and secondary recovery are adequate to supply a large portion of domestic needs.”

    This once more begs the question – isn’t it time for a more comprehensive approach to mineral resource policy?

     

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  • Through the Gateway: The Copper Gap That Needn’t Be

    Lately, web searches for “Copper” have seemed to turn up stories about the metal’s woes on the global commodity market on a daily basis.  Like many of its hard-rock commodity peers, Copper has seen its price decline over the past five years. However, there is good reason to believe that the self-corrective nature of commodity [...]
  • As Japan Retreats, US Dozes Off Again On Critical Minerals

    Over the course of the last few months, slumping prices have prompted Japanese companies to reassess their rare metals strategies and cancel cooperative agreements that were once considered a high priority. As Nikkei Asian Review reports, state-owned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. (JOGMEC) has cancelled a joint exploration contract for a tungsten mine in [...]
  • USGS Rings Alarm Bell: United States’ Mineral Resource Dependencies Have Increased Drastically

    Without fanfare, and largely unnoticed at a time when all eyes in our nation’s political circles are on Iowa, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has released a report that should be required reading for all our policy makers. Analyzing data collected from 1954 through 2014 for more than 90 non-fuel mineral commodities from more [...]

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