It could have gone either way; but what did happen next, is in my mind a fascinating case study on the value of scientific collaboration in the absence of a profit motive, combined with a remarkable leap of faith, to successfully overcome political, geographic, cultural and scientific challenges.

Late in 1984, the Concerted European Action on Magnets [CEAM] was born at a meeting in Brussels, the result of a unique coming together of the leaders of five European academic laboratories. This was a time before the fall of the Berlin Wall, before the Single European Act and before the European Union. It was a time when the bureaucrats of Europe were trying to find ways to help member countries work more closely together, as part of efforts to reduce mistrust and to achieve the objective of a more integrated pan-European economic system. This is a system that today most Europeans simply take for granted, but at the time, it was far from clear as to whether or not it would, or could, be achieved.

By the end of its remarkable eight year run, CEAM eventually produced over 1,000 research papers and well over a dozen patents as a result of the research of over 150 scientists, engineers and product designers, from 93 participating laboratories in 13 countries. Crucially, CEAM produced enduring relationships and collaborative efforts among key research groups within Europe, who to this day continue to work together in areas of magnetics research. Just as important, CEAM enabled the creation of a new generation of research scientists and engineers, whose Ph.D. studentships and activities were made possible in whole or in part by CEAM.

I put it to you that the CEAM approach is potentially an effective model for the creation of a framework for reviving rare earths research and development, and the subsequent “incubation” of new technical talent for this sector, in the USA, Canada, Europe and beyond. It is imperative that the Western rare earths supply chain [such as it exists today] realizes that its constituent members are part of a single international “ecosystem”, and that the most effective way to challenge the People’s Republic of China in this area, is to work together within a framework NOT motivated strictly by profit or limited by national borders.

To learn more about CEAM, why it was so successful, and the six steps that could be taken to apply the CEAM model to the revival of rare earths research and development in the West, you can download a copy of my new paper on the subject: “The Concerted European Action on Magnets: A Model for Facing the Rare Earths Challenge?” in PDF format.

Take a read, and let me know what you think by adding comments below.

It also asks some questions on the lack of an accelerated pace for funding North American rare earth initiatives, and includes one hypothetical situation which, if realized, has the potential to severely disrupt the present rare earth supply chain, long before we can handle such a disruption.

Check the article out, and feel free to leave comments either here or over there, on what you read.

Rare earths are, of course, a critical component for the production of high performance permanent magnets. The procurement of rare earth elements for magnets and other applications is these days a hot topic, given that demand is predicted by many to outstrip supply within the next 3-5 years.

The conversation with Ed and Jack was certainly lively and we covered a range of subjects, including:

• The history of US Rare Earths and the reasons for its recent name change from Thorium Energy;
• An update on the company’s Lehmi Pass and Diamond Creek properties;
• The value of thorium as a rare metal;
• Why Jack thinks that Diamond Creek is one of the most accessible, undeveloped rare earth resources with significant heavy rare earth elements in North America;
• The value of being a US-owned company when dealing with the Department of Defense;
• The current level of understanding of rare earths in Washington;
• The critical & strategic nature of rare earths at the present time;
• The effects of the global financial crisis on the ability of junior miners to raise capital;
• A recently proposed national rare earth processing facility;
• And plenty of other stuff too.

I had a chance to take the audio of the one hour of discussions with Ed and Jack, and transcribed it into an 11-page article, now available for download from the Terra Magnetica Web site via:

http://www.terramagnetica.com/papers/hatch-us-rare-earths-discussion.pdf.

Enjoy!

Over the past few days, Australia’s ABC Radio National broadcast not one, but two items on rare earth metals, to both of which I heartily recommend listening.

The first item was broadcast on the Breakfast program on Friday, and lasts a little over 6 minutes.  It’s an introductory piece on the subject, but spends significant time discussing the environmental issues surrounding rare earth production in Australia. You can listen to the piece on the program’s Rare Earths Metals segment Web page or by clicking below:

ABC Radio National Breakfast: Rare Earth Metals

The second piece, first broadcast on the Background Briefing program this past Sunday morning, lasts for over 45 minutes and is an comprehensive, in-depth study of the rare earth metals, their markets and associated supply chain, environmental and political issues.There is also a pretty decent-sized portion on rare earth permanent magnets and their applications, for which, in the interests of full disclosure, I was interviewed :-)

As producer and narrator Stan Correy says:

China currently produces about 95% of the world’s rare earths, which are metals which are essential to modern living and used all around us every day. In business it’s a volatile mix, with complex political alchemy for every government, including Australia.

The program features several interviews of a variety of individuals from a number of different sectors, in addition to yours truly.

You can listen to the piece on the Background Briefing Rare Earths and China program Web page or by clicking below:

ABC Radio National Background Briefing: Rare Earths and China

Stan did a great job in explaining what can be a difficult subject to convey.  He also included a link back to Terra Magnetica – so thanks, Stan, for that!

Jack asks the questions: “why are the components being made in China? Can we do anything to cause them to be made in the USA?“.  He goes on to discuss the opacity of Chinese rare earth mining companies in terms of true cost structures, and how virtual all rare earth permanent magnets used in large scale wind turbines, probably originated in China.

Jack goes on to say:

These are the current consequences of the non-production of any but trivial amounts of the rare earths outside of China, combined with the economic thinking of America’s business and government elites; the former want to maximize profit at any cost, the latter want revenue from the taxes on those profits.

The rest of Jack’s article talks about the issues of investing in hard rock mining, and rare earth mining in particular, in order to exploit the significant natural resources available to us in the USA and Canada. he says that:

Chinese and Japanese companies are now looking at these North American resources for the benefits of the economies of their home countries. They can only do this so long as North America does not any longer have a domestic supply chain to refine, produce metals and alloys, produce components, and assemble those components into end use products.

The article is a good primer on the present problems facing this industry, and how they could impact rare earth permanent magnet supply in the future. You can read Jack’s article here.

]]> http://www.terramagnetica.com/2009/11/12/the-problems-of-sourcing-wind-turbines-and-rare-earth-metals-from-china/feed/ 0 http://www.terramagnetica.com/2009/11/06/21st-rare-earth-permanent-magnet-workshop-repm10-call-for-abstracts/ http://www.terramagnetica.com/2009/11/06/21st-rare-earth-permanent-magnet-workshop-repm10-call-for-abstracts/#comments Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:58:09 +0000 Gareth Hatch http://www.terramagnetica.com/?p=731 Earlier today, I was pleased to learn that the Organizing Committee of the 21st International Workshop on Rare Earth Permanent Magnets and the Applications [REPM10] announced their first Call for Abstracts.  This meeting takes places in Bled, Slovenia from August 29 to September 2, 2010.

Held every two years, the Workshop was inaugurated in 1974 by Karl Strnat, in Dayton, Ohio, and has been a success ever since. I have no hesitation in saying that, in my opinion, it is the most important technical / scientific meeting on the calendar for anyone involved in the science, engineering, procurement and production of rare earth permanent magnets.  It’s always a great mix of formal and informal sessions and activities, and there is a unique, friendly atmosphere that I’ve not encountered at many such meetings.

In the Call for Abstracts, Professor Spomenka Kobe, Workshop Chair, and Dr. Boris Saje, Workshop Co-Chair, said:

In order that we can begin to schedule talks and posters, we would like to invite you to submit one-page abstracts describing your latest research findings. These abstracts should be sent as an e-mail attachment to REPM10@ijs.si, no later than Monday, 1 February 2010, indicating a preference for oral or poster presentation.

The Organizing Committee is interested in abstracts covering any area of rare earth permanent magnets, but they are particularly interested to receive suggestions for presentation on:

• Markets & Raw Materials: Current Status and Future Trends
• Processing Techniques
• Thin-film Magnets
• Magnet Applications
• High-Temperature Magnets
• Nanocrystalline / Nanocomposite and Bulk Amorphous Magnets
• Magnetic Modelling
• Recent Advances in Structural Analysis Techniques
• Progress Towards Textured Nanocomposites
• Coercivity and Intrinsic Physical Properties
• MAGMAS Materials and Devices
• Non-Rare-Earth PMs (excluding oxides)
• RE-TM with other properties, for example, magnetostriction, magnetocalorics, magnetic shape memory
• Magnetism and Nanotechnology

Once the abstracts have been accepted, the deadline for the submission of papers will be Monday, May 3, 2010. This deadline will be strictly enforced, because one of the nice traditions of the Workshop series is that the Proceedings of the meeting are available to attendees when they arrive at the meeting.  Having been involved in the organization of the Birmingham REPM Workshop in 1994, I can tell you that it is no mean feat putting these Proceedings together in such a short period of time – dealing with that many academics and other “busy” people is akin to the herding of a large quantity of particularly independent cats!

The organizers will send out further information on the submission of papers and logistical details with acceptance notifications for the abstracts on Friday, February 26, 2010.

The REPM10 Call for Abstracts goes on to say:

Workshop attendees who submit a paper will be required to pay their reduced-rate Workshop registration fee of €620 (€300 for students) by [Monday, May 3, 2010]. For those people who register later the regular rate will be €750 (€400). Registration fee for accompanying persons will be only €150.

The Workshop fee includes registration for the scientific sessions, a copy of the Workshop Proceedings, a welcome reception on [Sunday, August 29, 2010], a lunch and coffee breaks during each day of the Workshop, the Workshop Dinner, as well as evening activities.

You can get further details from the Workshop webpage at http://nano.ijs.si/repm10.htm – see you there!

Section 843 includes language from the original House Bill used almost verbatim in the final law.  It requires that

“not later than April 1, 2010, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on rare earth materials in the supply chain of the Department of Defense”.

The law states that the report must address, at a minimum, the following:

1. An analysis of the current and projected domestic and worldwide availability of rare earths for use in defense systems, including an analysis of projected availability of these materials in the export market.
2. An analysis of actions or events outside the control of the Government of the United States that could restrict the access of the Department of Defense to rare earth materials, such as past procurements and attempted procurements of rare earth mines and mineral rights.
3. A determination as to which defense systems are currently dependent on, or projected to become dependent on, rare earth materials, particularly neodymium iron boron magnets, whose supply could be restricted (A) by actions or events identified pursuant to paragraph (2); or (B) by other actions or events outside the control of the Government of the United States.
4. The risk to national security, if any, of the dependencies (current or projected) identified pursuant to paragraph (3).
5. Any steps that the Department of Defense has taken or is planning to take to address any such risk to national security.
6. Such recommendations for further action to address the matters covered by the report as the Comptroller General considers appropriate.

The law defines the term `rare earth’ to mean the lanthanoids (atomic numbers 57-71) plus yttrium and scandium. The anomalous reference to thorium as a rare earth in the earlier language of the bill, is now absent.  The term `rare earth material’ includes rare earth ores, semi-finished rare earth products, and components containing rare earth materials.

Having just attended the Critical & Strategic Metals Conference in Washington, DC, I was struck by anecdotes from government employees, on how timeframes of 9 months and longer, for not dissimilar reports, were not enough time to do their work as well as they would have liked.  April 1, 2010 is only 5 months away. Are these guys going to be able to do a thorough-enough job, to get Congress the information it needs?

We shall see.

Joining the USMMA in this capacity are:

• Jack Lifton, of Jack Lifton LLC and The Jack Lifton Report, who is a well known commentator and consultant with over 47 years of experience in the field of rare earth, platinum group and other minor metals, with a wealth of knowledge on the mining, refining, production and end uses of these metals;
• Stan Trout, of Spontaneous Materials, who is a highly-respected permanent magnet materials consultant, and one of the best teachers on the subject of permanent magnets around today. Stan has over 30 years experience in a variety of roles within the permanent magnets industry;
• Tony Morcos, of ACM Magnetics, who has significant experience in the end use and design of applications that use permanent magnets and electromagnets, and brings a valuable, alternative perspective to the issues facing rare earth usage and design optimization.

Previous postings here at Terra Magnetica, have touched on the work of all three of these guys, and their combined talents and experience bring significant new “bench strength” to the USMMA. The additions are a pretty smart move as this organization and others, such as the Rare Earth Information and Technology Association [REITA], face the challenges and hurdles associated with getting a viable rare earth supply chain up and running in North America.

Rather than re-hashing what has been already been shared elsewhere online about the meeting – here are some links to great articles on the meeting from Lisa Reisman (co-chair of the meeting) and Stuart Burns from Metal Miner:

• Supply Risk Management and Rare Earth Metals a Big Disconnect
• Electric Cars Could Pose a Challenge to Rare Earth Supply in “Nightmare Scenario”
• Displacing China as a Rare Earth Producer is No Small Feat
• Rare Earths, Critical and Strategic Metals and the US Legislative Agenda
• Rare Earth Metals Conference: Electric Vehicle Demand
• To Stockpile or Not to Stockpile that is the Rare Earth Question

In addition, Tracy Weslowsky of Wescow, a Founding Editor of RareMetalBlog, posted a thought-provoking piece at the RareMetalBlog based on the perspective she presented during a panel discussion at the meeting:

• Bubble Debate on Investment Opportunities in Critical and Strategic Metals

Finally, co-chair Jack Lifton last week published a well-timed, new article called The Rare Earth Crisis of 2009 which was circulating during the meeting, and is well worth a read.

I heartily recommend that you read each and every one of these links, to get an idea of what is going on in this important area. Well done to Lisa Reisman, Jack Lifton, the folks at Infocast, and to all of the speakers andpanelists, for a job well done.

Candidly, I came away with the distinct impression that although we now know where we can get the raw materials necessary for the growth of the technology metals sector – the question that needs to be answered is this: who is going to refine these materials and turn them into useful metals & alloys?  In the absence of such capabilities in North America, we will once again be heavily reliant on the good graces of our colleagues in China…

• Key Questions Necessary to Ask of the Critical Metals Industry
•  Do Stockpiles Work?
• Rare Earths – The Problem Child and Attention Deficit America
• The ‘Alternative Energy’ Metals
• Lithium Supply – Abundant Supply or At Risk?
• Mapping Supply Risk to Specific Sourcing Strategies
• Government Action in the Strategic Materials Market
• Is the Resource Base Available for the Scaling of Wind, Solar and Energy Storage?

There are of course plenty of other sessions too. I’ll try to post my thoughts and perspective on this meeting later this week, being particular mindful to note any commentary and perspective presented on the supply chain for permanent magnet materials, and their end uses.