Today, we’re on the verge of a revolution in materials science that will transform the world yet again. Scientists have developed tools that make it possible to design, build, and shape new ‘super materials’ that will eclipse what we once believed were physical limits, create previously unimaginable opportunities, and expand the capabilities of what we already think of as exponential technologies in ways limited only by our imaginations.”

A few years ago, this is how a Forbes commentator characterized the materials science revolution that is transforming the way we look at metals and minerals.

It is indeed a revolution, and we’re right in the middle of it. 

The latest case in point – and feature in our Materials Science Profiles of Progress series – comes to us via the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which has entered into a research partnership with newly-founded company Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) to develop a new generation experiments and ultimately power plants based on fusion power – which is hailed as a “potentially an inexhaustible and zero-carbon source of energy.”

The collaborative project has already attracted funding from an Italian energy company and is looking for additional investors. 

Explains David Chandler, writing for the MIT News Office:

“Fusion, the process that powers the sun and stars, involves light elements, such as hydrogen, smashing together to form heavier elements, such as helium — releasing prodigious amounts of energy in the process. This process produces net energy only at extreme temperatures of hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius, too hot for any solid material to withstand. To get around that, fusion researchers use magnetic fields to hold in place the hot plasma — a kind of gaseous soup of subatomic particles — keeping it from coming into contact with any part of the donut-shaped chamber.

The new effort aims to build a compact device capable of generating 100 million watts, or 100 megawatts (MW), of fusion power. This device will, if all goes according to plan, demonstrate key technical milestones needed to ultimately achieve a full-scale prototype of a fusion power plant that could set the world on a path to low-carbon energy. If widely disseminated, such fusion power plants could meet a substantial fraction of the world’s growing energy needs while drastically curbing the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing global climate change.”

MIT and CFS researchers will seek to develop superconducting electromagnets using magnets made from a newly available superconducting material — a steel tape coated with a compound called yttrium-barium-copper oxide (YBCO) within three years, followed by a design and construction phase for a compact and powerful fusion experiment, called SPARC.

According to MIT, the project seeks to run concurrently to and complement the findings of an international research collaboration currently underway at the world’s largest fusion experiment site in southern France, called ITER. 

Researchers are optimistic that a breakthrough is within reach. As Martin Greenwald, deputy director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center says: 

“Our strategy is to use conservative physics, based on decades of work at MIT and elsewhere. (…) If SPARC does achieve its expected performance, my sense is that’s sort of a Kitty Hawk moment for fusion, by robustly demonstrating net power, in a device that scales to a real power plant.”

If and when that “Kitty Hawk moment” comes for fusion, yttrium, barium and copper will be key – just as, fun fact, that 1903 Wright Brothers motor was made of copper-aluminum alloy.  

Other Materials Science Profiles of Progress:
REE Extraction From Coal
CMI Public-Private Partnership Studies New Ways to Capture Gateway Metals and Critical Co-Products
Researchers Turn to Bioengineered Bacteria to Recover REEs
CMI Announces New Partnership to Recover REEs from E-Waste
CMI Expands Collaborative Research Focus to Include Lithium and CobaltDoE’s New Research Center on Lithium Battery Recycling to Leverage Resources of Private Sector, Universities and National Laboratories

The post Materials Science Profiles of Progress – Advances in Metals and Minerals Research May Yield Breakthrough in Quest for Fusion Power appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

Referencing presentations by Gareth Hatch’s partner at Technology Metals Research, Jack Lifton, and other speakers at October’s Best of Breed Natural Resource Conference hosted by Murdock Capital, the piece stresses the importance of not only “maintaining a domestic supply of industrial metals, but also the need to preserve institutional memory within American mining.”

Speakers at the event argued that in the area of American strategic metals, there are “solid companies with highly attractive fundamentals.” They pointed to promising operations by three companies specifically, which focused on Copper, Nickel, Platinum and Palladium, Rare Earths, Vanadium.

Thanks to the resources beneath our own soil, the United States’ mineral potential is vast, but we are still far from maximizing it. Obstacles, especially in the form of regulatory challenges, remain. However, as Seeking Alpha argues:

“If any vestiges of the lumbering bureaucracy of government have caught on to the importance and profitability of such enterprises, it is undoubtedly a good sign. As the three companies prepare for production, they stand as intriguing long-term value plays for the risk tolerant investor.”

The post The potential of American strategic metals appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

You can see who they are and reserve your spot by clicking here.

Here are just a few of the things that you’ll learn on this free webinar:

- Which specific rare-earth minerals are the most important for future production, and why;

- The radioactive impurities that no-one seems to talk about (hint: they’re not talking about uranium or thorium)

And MUCH more.

This is the first time that TMR has done a webinar of this type, so it’s sure to be popular – sign up now as places will be limited!

The post American Resources expert hosts upcoming webinar appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

The response by several industry experts, as cited by the Pittsburgh Tribune, is therefore less surprising. According to the Tribune, Ed Richardson, President of the U.S. Magnetic Materials Association, considers the Pentagon’s view to be “rather naïve” and “ill-informed. ” Meanwhile Jack Lifton, co-founder of Technology Metals Research, called the report: “so lame I can’t believe it,” adding that “the only way we can get that material right now is from a foreign company in China.”

Industry experts, including American Resources’ latest addition to our expert panel Jeffery Green, President and Founder of J.A. Green & Company, and Founder of the Strategic Materials Advisory Council point to particularly severe challenges associated with heavy rare earths, including dysprosium, as almost all new rare earths mining operations outside of China are focused on light rare earths.

While striking a more subtle tone than industry experts, we think Congressman Mike Coffman (R, Colo.) hits the nail on the head with his response to the Pentagon’s report:

China still controls the production of rare earth materials. Our long
term economic security absolutely depends on being able to establish a
domestic supply chain, but despite recent efforts, the U.S. has been 
unable to. I think the Department of Defense would be wiser to begin 
addressing this problem, instead of claiming everything is under 
control.

The post Experts: DoD’s dismissal of rare earths crisis “naïve” and “ill-informed” appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

American reliance on foreign nations leaves us vulnerable to supply disruptions and places our national security at risk. When our military needs rare earths, it’s imperative that we have a domestic supply on hand.

The post Industry analysts criticize DoD rare earths report appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

While many have talked about the case, few are actually familiar with the WTO’s mechanics. In his “initial analysis,” Hatch gives a detailed overview over the organization’s dispute process and how it would be applied in this case. Hatch further takes a look at various criticisms levied against the complainants, as well as China’s possible reactions, and outlines his view on possible outcomes of the dispute.

Read his full article “The WTO Rare Earths Trade Dispute: An Initial Analysis,” on the Technology Metals Research website. And, in case you’ve missed it, click here for American Resources principal Daniel McGroarty’s take.

The post American Resources Expert Commentary: Technology Metal Research’s Gareth Hatch on the WTO rare earths case appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.

Says Hatch:
“Plan Nord could have a significantly positive effect on the development of rare-earth and other rare-metal projects in Quebec, and indirectly in Labrador as well, since Labrador shares a border with Quebec to the latter province’s east. It’s an interesting example of a jurisdiction putting together an integrated, coordinated effort to develop its resources, one that could have far-reaching consequences for Canada, North America and the rest of the developed world.”

What about us, “South” of Nord?  Are we doing what we can to maximize our resource potential? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Read Hatch’s full piece here.

The post How About a Strategy for South of Nord? appeared first on American Resources Policy Network.