Critical & Strategic Minerals

Critical & Strategic Minerals If we don’t mine them .. then what? Jim Burnell Colorado Geological Survey 9 April 2011 Concept & Background  1918 –...
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Critical & Strategic Minerals If we don’t mine them .. then what? Jim Burnell Colorado Geological Survey 9 April 2011

Concept & Background 

1918 – end of WWI …. Harbord List created



1938 – Naval Appropriations Act



1939 – Strategic Minerals Act



1940 – Reconstruction Finance Corp created to acquire & transport materials

World War II Era 





1944 – Surplus Property Act authorized strategic materials stockpile Developed into the Defense National Stockpile Center (DNSC) 1992 – Congress directed DNSC to sell off the bulk of their stockpiles.

Transport

Various applications of Critical and strategic minerals

Aluminum Antimony Graphite Platinum Group Manganese Nickel

Electrical/Electronic Arsenic Gallium Indium Sheet mica Platinum Group Tantalum Germanium Tin Silver Rare Earths Tellurium Vanadium

Packaging Aluminum Tin

Construction Aluminum Manganese Titanium Vanadium

Arsenic Barium Cesium Titanium

Medical

Antimony Fluorine Magnesium Nickel Platinum Group Rhenium

Chemical

Machinery Aluminum Cobalt Manganese

Alternative Energy Cobalt Lithium Nickel Rare Earths Vanadium Indium Germanium Galium Selenium Silver Tellurium Vanadium

Aluminum Barium Cesium Molybdenum Platinum Group Rare Earths

Energy (various)

Manufacturing Fluorine Graphite Indium Graphite Magnesium Nickel

Ceramics/Glass Antimony Fluorine Lithium

Cobalt Nickel Niobium Rare Earths Rhenium Vanadium

Defense/Aerospace

Interlocking Applications Electrical/ Electronic

Alternative Energy

Ga Ge In Te

As Sn PGM

REE Ta V

DefenseAerospace

Li

Co Mo Ni Nb

Re

Defense/Aerospace

Alternative Energy Metals

Gallium Applications Light-emitting diodes (LEDs)

Power amplifiers for cell phones

Photovoltaic Material – CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenium)

Some Applications of Germanium

Hi-speed silicon-germanium integrated circuits

Fibre optics and infrared optics

PET Plastics

Low-reflectivity industrial glass

Aluminum & beryllium alloys

Some Indium Applications Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide photovoltaic cells (CIGS)

Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) used for Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs), flat panel displays, optical coatings, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) antistatic coatings, strain gauges, gas sensors.

Native Tellurium

Tellurium noted for its propensity to combine with gold to form gold telluride minerals.

Some Tellurium Applications

Copper and Stainless Steel alloys

New flash memory devices of Germanium-Tellurium-Antimony

Vulcanizing rubber

Cadmium-Tellurium thin-film photovoltaic technology

Import Dependence

Primary Import Sources Tellurium

Germanium Gallium

Indium

Price History 800

Price $/pound

700 600 500 2003

400

peak current

300 200 100 0

Gallium

Germanium

Indium

Tellurium

The good news: Indium, gallium, germanium all can be found in zinc deposits and zinc is an old friend in Colorado.

Native Tellurium

Tellurium noted for its propensity to combine with gold to form gold and silver telluride minerals in numerous locations around CO.

Alternative Energy+Defense

Tantalum

Uses

Niobium

Capacitors Superconducting magnets Jet engines/ Rocket assemblies

Surgical implants

Structural Steel

Some Vanadium Applications Aerospace applications of tin-vanadium alloys

Impact-resistant steel for construction, armor plating, automobile parts.

Superconducting magnets, ceramics, catalysis

Alternative Energy Vanadium flow battery – utility scale; Vanadium is showing promise to improve performance of Lithiumion batteries for electric vehicles.

One firm is marketing a wind power generation transmission and storage system of V-based alloy.

Import Dependence 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Tantalum

Niobium

Vanadium

Primary Import Sources Niobium

Vanadium

Tantalum

$US/lb

Price Trends 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

2003 Peak Current Tantalum Niobium Vanadium

Families: the Rare Earths And the Platinum Group

44

45

46

Ru

Rh

Pd

76

77

78

Os

Ir

Pt

Platinum Palladium Ruthenium

Osmium Iridium Rhodium

Petroleum-refining catalysts Catalytic converters Hard disk drives Hi-temp applications Jewelry & bullion Fiberglass manufacture Spark plug tips

Rare Earth Elements - REE 17 of ‘em

A Few Uses: permanent FeBNd magnets for many uses (up to a ton per MW in wind turbines generators) numerous defense applications including • • • • • • •

precision guided munitions lasers klystrons and traveling wave tubes aircraft electrical systems and displays radar systems electronic counter measures systems and more.

Hybrid car batteries glass ceramics catalysis lighting fuel cells electrodes

Import Situation Source PGM

REE

REE 2013 Projections Lanthanum Neodymium

Supply Demand 54,000 t/yr 59,000 ton/yr 39,500 t/yr 36,000 ton/yr

China is expanding manufacturing to use up their supply. including Nd-Fe-B magnets for wind turbine generators. Prediction: China will use all they mine internally in 2 years. Roskill & OMCOA

REE Supply/Demand A story of China vs. the World

Source: Great Western Minerals Group

A Good-News Commodity!

Soft, Ductile, Refractory. Produces alloys with high Strength, and rigidity up to 3000oF. Outstanding corrosion resistance.

Large sample of ore containing molybdenite from Henderson Mine, Clear Creek County

Uses Nuclear reactor vessels. Tubing in nuclear plants and desalination plants.

New generation of double-hulled oil tankers. Oil and gas pipelines. Drill steel for oil drilling.

Scrubbers in coal-fired power plants. Rocket engine components.

World Mo production by country 90000

Metric Tons

80000 70000 60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 Canada

Chile

China

Peru

USA

120

Annual Molybdenum Production

100

Colorado Molybdenum Production 1970-2010

Million Pounds

80

60

40

20

0

Year

The demand from newly developing countries is impacting the supply and price of critical and strategic minerals. The U.S. needs a ready supply of these commodities to maintain leadership in existing technologies and establish leadership in emerging technologies. Deposits of S&C minerals probably remain to be found in the U.S. and Colorado. With public support, these deposits can be located and mined responsibly.

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