Honda has a Hybrid Automotive Engine That Uses Less Rare Earth Metals

Honda pledged to reduce its use of rare earth metals a decade ago, and the automaker took another step towards that goal this week. It unveiled its new hybrid motor that was co-developed alongside Daido Steel, another Japan-based company. The new motor doesn't use heavy rare earth metals like dysprosium and terbium, instead relying on magnets from Daido Steel that cost 10 percent less and weigh 8 percent lighter than the previous components. In fact, the automaker is the first to develop a hybrid motor that doesn't use the heavy metals. Honda says the new engines will reduce its reliance on the pricey rare earth metals that are primarily supplied by China.

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Depositional setting of Algoma-type banded iron formation

Depositional setting of Algoma-type banded iron formation

Authors:

Gourcerol et al

Abstract:

Algoma-type banded iron formations (BIF) are chemical sedimentary rocks characterized by alternating layers of iron-rich minerals and chert that are generally interstratified with bimodal submarine volcanic rocks and/or sedimentary sequences in Archean greenstone belts. However, the geological setting for Algoma-type BIF deposition remains equivocal due to the effects of post-depositional deformation and metamorphism, and absence of modern analogues for comparative studies. It is commonly accepted that the abundance of rare earth element and yttrium (REE + Y) in chert bands may retain a primary geochemical signature and therefore constrain their geological setting. In order to explore the latter, a geochemical study using the laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) methodology was done using cherts from four Canadian BIF-hosted gold deposits. These results suggest that chert bands record: (1) interaction of seawater with Fe-oxyhydroxides, as suggested by their heavy REE enrichment coupled with La and Y enrichments; (2) contributions from high-temperature (>250 °C) hydrothermal fluids, as suggested by positive Eu excursions; and (3) detrital contamination, which is suggested by relatively consistent REE concentrations and a chondritic Y/Ho ratio (i.e., Y/Ho ≈ 27). Water-column pH conditions at the time of BIF deposition are evaluated using Ce/Ce∗: a positive Ce/Ce∗ anomaly suggests relatively acidic conditions (i.e., pH ⩽ 5) for most of the chert samples, but more alkaline conditions (i.e., pH ⩾ 5) for samples showing Fe-oxyhydroxide precipitation within chert bands. Finally, in situ using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analysis (n = 73) of chert from Meliadine show the δ18O of primary amorphous silica (+27‰) was modified to values of around +8‰ to +20‰ during diagenesis at temperatures >100 °C with a fluid having δ18OH2O=0–5‰δ18OH2O=0–5‰. Thus, whereas there has been O isotopic exchange during diagenesis, the REEs and trace elements are not modified in the chert due to the low concentrations of these elements in the reacting fluid of sea water origin.

Evidence of Multiple Increases in Paleoocean Oxygen Levels Across the Ediacaran/Cambrian Boundary

REE and trace element patterns from organic-rich rocks of the Ediacaran-Cambrian transitional interval

Authors:

Guo et al

Abstract:

It has been established that important changes in the marine environment and the biosphere occurred during the Cambrian. However the relationships between the so-called “ Cambrian Explosion” and the concomitant environmental changes are not yet fully understood. This study presents new geochemical data from the black shale successions from different facies belts of the Yangtze Platform in South China. Variations in the concentrations of REE and trace elements (varying Ce/Ce*, Th/U, V/Sc and V/Cr ratios) in kerogen as well as in bulk rocks from different depositional environments along a transect from platform to basin indicate two oxidation events, which led to the oxygenation of the water column in shallow-marine environments and euxinic conditions (weak correlation between TOC, V, U and Mo) in the deeper sea. During the first oxidation event in the late Terreneuvian, anoxic conditions in bottom waters rapidly changed to euxinic conditions. Subsequently, the second oxidation event during the early Epoch 2 of the Cambrian led to oxic-suboxic conditions in deeper seawater.

The Archean Banded Iron Formations of Krivoy Rog, Ukraine

Geochemistry of the Krivoy Rog Banded Iron Formation, Ukraine, and the impact of peak episodes of increased global magmatic activity on the trace element composition of Precambrian seawater

Authors:

Viehmann et al

Abstract:

Pure Superior-type Banded Iron Formation (BIF) samples from the Krivoy Rog Supergroup (Ukraine) are excellent archives of ambient Early Precambrian seawater. They show low concentrations of incompatible elements such as Zr, Hf, and Th, and shale-normalized Rare Earths and Yttrium (REYSN) patterns similar to those of modern seawater, i.e. heavy REYSN enriched patterns with positive LaSN, GdSN and YSN anomalies. Lack of CeSN and presence of positive EuSN anomalies indicate REY contributions to anoxic ferruginous seawater from high-temperature hydrothermal fluids.

The depositional age of the Krivoy Rog BIF is ill-defined, but a Late Archean to Paleoproterozoic age has been suggested based on U–Pb zircon ages for units stratigraphically above and below the BIF. We determined Sm–Nd isotopic compositions of pure and impure samples from the Krivoy Rog BIF, which yield an errorchron with an apparent age of 2406 ± 350 Ma (MSWD 15), that falls within this broad age range. All pure BIF samples show chondrite-normalized (subscript CN) REY patterns with strong positive EuCN anomalies that are typical for Archean but rather rare and much less pronounced in Proterozoic BIFs. Associated schists also show Archean – rather than post-Archean-style REY distributions. The REY geochemistry of both, chemical and epiclastic sediments, therefore, is more consistent with a Late Archean rather than a post-Archean depositional age of the Krivoy Rog Supergroup.

Initial ɛNd values of impure BIFs and of associated schist reveal variable contributions from TTGs less radiogenic in Nd and a more radiogenic component possibly comprised of basement amphibolites or mafic volcanics of the stratigraphically underlying New Krivoy Rog Group. The purest Krivoy Rog BIF, representing local Krivoy Rog seawater, displays an ɛNd2.60 Ga value of −2.3. This value is less radiogenic than impure Krivoy Rog BIFs or other near-contemporaneous Neoarchean pure chemical sediments. To preserve this specific local isotopic fingerprint in anoxic Archean seawater, the Krivoy Rog BIF must have been deposited in an isolated sea basin with limited exchange with ferruginous deep-waters of the open ocean.

A compilation of REY data for high-purity Precambrian BIFs reveals that EuCN/Eu*CN ratios of Precambrian seawater follow a general global evolution curve, that shows specific peaks which reflect times of increased high-temperature hydrothermal REY input into seawater. Following declining EuCN/EuCN ratios from the Eoarchean to the Mesoarchean, the ratios suddenly rise at 2.7 Ga and reach a maximum at 2.6 Ga, indicating an increased flux of high-temperature hydrothermal REY to Neoarchean seawater, which supports the hypothesis that times of widespread BIF deposition coincided with periods of intense submarine hydrothermal activity, probably triggered by major mantle plume events. This association is supported by a strong increase of the ɛNd(t) values of pure seawater archives at 2.7–2.6 Ga, which reflects an increased flux of mantle Nd into seawater. These results suggest that Eu-REY systematics (and potentially ɛNd systematics) are robust tools to indentify episodes of enhanced mantle plume activity.

Is Samarium Hexaboride the 'Silicon' for the Quantum Computing Age?

An odd, iridescent material that's puzzled physicists for decades turns out to be an exotic state of matter that could open a new path to quantum computers and other next-generation electronics.

Physicists at the University of Michigan have discovered or confirmed several properties of the compound samarium hexaboride that raise hopes for finding the silicon of the quantum era. They say their results also close the case of how to classify the material--a mystery that has been investigated since the late 1960s.

The researchers provide the first direct evidence that samarium hexaboride, abbreviated SmB6, is a topological insulator. Topological insulators are, to physicists, an exciting class of solids that conduct electricity like a metal across their surface, but block the flow of current like rubber through their interior. They behave in this two-faced way despite that their chemical composition is the same throughout.

The U-M scientists used a technique called torque magnetometry to observe tell-tale oscillations in the material's response to a magnetic field that reveal how electric current moves through it. Their technique also showed that the surface of samarium hexaboride holds rare Dirac electrons, particles with the potential to help researchers overcome one of the biggest hurdles in quantum computing.

These properties are particularly enticing to scientists because SmB6 is considered a strongly correlated material. Its electrons interact more closely with one another than most solids. This helps its interior maintain electricity-blocking behavior.

This deeper understanding of samarium hexaboride raises the possibility that engineers might one day route the flow of electric current in quantum computers like they do on silicon in conventional electronics, said Lu Li, assistant professor of physics in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and a co-author of a paper on the findings published in Science.

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America's Sedimentary Phosphate Deposits may be key to Global Rare Earth Element Crisis

Rare Earth Elements in Sedimentary Phosphate Deposits: Solution to the Global REE Crisis?

Authors:

Emsbo et al

Abstract:

The critical role of rare earth elements (REE), particularly heavy REE (HREE), in high-tech industries has created a surge in demand that is quickly outstripping known global supply and has triggered a worldwide scramble to discover new sources. The chemical analysis of 23 sedimentary phosphate deposits (phosphorites) in the United States demonstrates that they are significantly enriched in REE. Leaching experiments using dilute H2SO4 and HCl, extracted nearly 100% of their total REE content and show that the extraction of REE from phosphorites is not subject to the many technological and environmental challenges that vex the exploitation of many identified REE deposits. Our data suggest that phosphate rock currently mined in the United States has the potential to produce a significant proportion of world’s REE demand as a byproduct. Importantly, the size and concentration of HREE in some unmined phosphorites dwarf the world’s richest REE deposits. Secular variation in phosphate REE contents identifies geologic time periods favorable for the formation of currently unrecognized high-REE phosphates. The extraordinary endowment, combined with the ease of REE extraction, indicates such phosphorites might be considered as a primary source of REE with the potential to resolve the global REE (particularly for HREE) supply shortage.

India to Increase Rare Earth Element/Metal Supply by 5%

India is commissioning a plant to produce up to 5,000 tonnes of rare earths a year, a state company official told Reuters, which could help it contribute about 5 percent to the global supply of the metals used in cameras, cars, iPhones and wind turbines.

India's emergence as a supplier, albeit a small one, would be good news for countries like Japan, which up to now have had to rely mostly on China for rare earths production.

The plant in the state of Odisha would produce rare earth oxides by processing monazite from beach sand, said S. Surya Kumar, head of the Rare Earths Division for state-owned Indian Rare Earths, part of the Department of Atomic Energy.

Up to half of the output would be processed into products like lanthanum and cerium, which are used in camera lenses and glass polishing agents, Kumar said.

Kumar did not give a timeline for when rare earth oxides will start flowing from the Odisha plant.

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Is North Korea Exporting Rare Earth Elements to China?

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Rare Earth Element Deposits in New Mexico

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American Traction in Overturning Chinese Dominance in Rare Earth Metal Mining & Refining

An hour southwest of St. Louis, tucked away behind a tree line off Route EE, is the Pea Ridge Mine, once a place where workers pulled iron out of the ground. You could almost miss it driving by, but this seemingly unremarkable place has remarkable potential for the region and the country.

This dormant mine holds a deposit of something that lies at the heart of our increasingly high-tech world: rare-earth elements, used in everything from cellphones to missile systems to hybrid cars. The Missouri mine is one of the few places in the world where such an abundant deposit of rare earths has been found. But nothing about rare earths is simple.

Rare-earth metals are 15 elements with the atomic numbers 57 to 71 on the periodic table, as well as scandium and yttrium. The metals themselves amount to a meager $3 billion global industry, but they are essential in the production of $5 trillion worth of products.

Due to their scarcity and huge value, rare earths — and thus by extension the Pea Ridge Mine — lie at the heart of a complex geopolitical fight. It is a contest pitting China and the United States, and just about every other powerful nation on earth, into a new Great Game of diplomacy, business brinksmanship and a fight to dominate the market for these scarce elements. At the moment, China is winning. Over the past few decades, it has bought up nearly the entire supply chain of rare-earth metals and the products they’re used for, leaving other powers struggling to catch up.

In the U.S., however, some progress has been made in the development of domestic rare-earth supplies to regain some competitive edge against China. That’s the opportunity Jim Kennedy saw when he discovered the rare-earth deposit in what he thought was just an investment in an old mine.

“I bought an iron mine, and that ended up having an unbelievable rare-earth deposit,” he said.

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Rare Earth Metal Find in North Korea Could be Six Times Larger Than China's Combined Deposits

A recent geological study indicates North Korea could hold some 216 million tons of rare earths, minerals used in electronics such as smartphones and high definition televisions.

If verified, the discovery would more than double global known sources and be six times the reserves in China, the market leader.

British Islands-based private equity firm SRE Minerals Limited announced the study results in December, along with a 25-year deal to develop the deposits in Jongju, northwest of the capital, Pyongyang.

The joint venture, called Pacific Century Rare Earth Mineral Limited, is with state-owned Korea Natural Resources Trading Corporation.

The potential bonanza could offer the isolated and impoverished North a game-changing stake in the rare earths industry.

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China Opposes Release of Rare Earth Elements WTO Report

China said Friday it opposes the release of a WTO report about its export curbs on rare earths — exotic minerals used in mobile phones and other high-tech products — following news accounts that the document rejects Beijing's policy as a trade violation. The report by World Trade Organization experts is not a final ruling and leaks would violate the trade body's rules, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement. It gave no details of the report.

Japan's Jiji Press news agency and The Financial Times, citing unidentified officials, have said the report sides with the United States, the European Union and Japan. In a March 2012 complaint to the WTO, they said export curbs improperly favor Chinese domestic manufacturers in violation of Beijing's free-trade commitments. China has about 30 percent of global deposits of rare earths but accounts for more than 90 percent of production. It alarmed foreign companies by limiting exports in 2009 amid efforts to build up domestic manufacturers to capture more of the profits that go to producers of mobile phone batteries and other products.

[...]

"China has repeatedly stressed that China's policy objective is to protect resources and the environment and achieve sustainable development, and that it has no intention of protecting domestic industries in a way that distorts trade," the commerce ministry statement said. Beijing's export curbs pushed up rare earths prices on global markets. That prompted foreign producers to announce plans to re-open or develop mines in California, Canada, India, Russia and elsewhere.

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Methylacidiphilum fumariolicum: An Extremophile Which Uses Rare Earth Elements in its Metabolism

Rare earths are among the most precious raw materials of all. These metals are used in mobile telephones, display screens and computers. And they are apparently indispensable for some organisms as well. A team of researchers, including scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg, has discovered a bacterium which needs rare earths to grow - in a hot spring. Methylacidiphilum fumariolicum requires lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium or neodymium as co-factor for the enzyme methanol dehydrogenase, with which the microbes produce their energy. The use of rare earths is possibly more widespread among bacteria than previously thought.

[..]

In living organisms, the rare earths really are rare, on the other hand. As they dissolve hardly at all in water, most organisms cannot use them for their metabolism. This makes their discovery in a mudpot of volcanic origin in the Solfatara crater in Italy all the more surprising. Microbiologists from the Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, have found a microbe which cannot live without some of the rare earths.

Methylacidiphilum fumariolicum belongs to a group of bacteria which have chosen an extremely inhospitable habitat: They thrive best at a pH value of between 2 and 5 and temperatures of between 50 and 60 degrees - conditions which are lethal for other organisms. Methylacidiphilum even tolerates pH values below 1, which corresponds to concentrated sulphuric acid.

The microbes produce their energy from methane. They have a special enzyme, methanol dehydrogenase, which processes the methanol produced in the decomposition of methane with the aid of metal co-factors. Most of these bacteria use calcium for this process.

In the course of their investigations, the Nijmegen researchers noticed that Methylacidiphilum thrives only with original water from the mudpot. None of the trace elements which the researchers added to the Petri dishes encouraged the bacteria to grow. An analysis of the water showed that it contained concentrations of rare earths that were one hundred to one thousand times higher than normal.

Thomas Barends and Andreas Dietl from the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research investigated the three-dimensional structure of methanol dehydrogenase. They thereby noticed that Methylacidiphilum fumariolicum had inserted not calcium, but an atom of a different metal in its methanol dehydrogenase.

"Suddenly, everything fit together," explains Thomas Barends. "We were able to show that this mysterious atom must be a rare earth. This is the first time ever that rare earths have been found to have such a biological function." Methylacidiphilum uses the rare earths lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium and neodymium in its methanol dehydrogenase instead of calcium. The bacterium needs them to produce energy from methane.

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Greenland Repeals Ban on Mining Radioative Minerals

Greenland has voted to axe a long-enduring ban on mining for radioactive materials, reopening the market to uranium and rare earths mining.

Yesterday’s parliamentary vote passed the decision by a staggeringly close 15-14 votes.

According to local newspaper Sermitsiaq, Prime Minister Aleqa Hammond said in the debate: “We cannot live with unemployment and cost of living increases while our economy is at a standstill. It is therefore necessary that we eliminate zero tolerance towards uranium now.”

The ban has previously prevented the extraction of some major rare earth deposits, because they are connected to radioactive materials.

Greenland is believed to have enough rare earths to fulfil one quarter of global demand – currently fulfilled 95% by China – over the next half-century.

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Is China Concerned About Greenland's Potential for Mining Rare Earth Elements?

China has long enjoyed its supremacy in the rare earths field but lately this position has been challenged by an often over-looked, massive island nation: Greenland.

The Asian giant produces 95% of the world's Rare Earth Elements (REE) supply - a fact that has caused much unease among US law makers - and has never had to face any real contenders, until now. Late last year the industry was buzzing with rumours that Greenland could hold enough of these metals to satisfy one-quarter of global demand over the next 50 years.

A recent visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to Denmark – Greenland's official hegemon – caused some analysts to speculate that the People's Republic may be getting a little antsy over the country's valuable deposits, Ice News reports.

According to European Commission data, Greenland has "especially strong potential in six of the fourteen elements on the EU critical raw materials list."

Another American Rare Earth Element Mine?

An Alaska company has set its sights on developing a rare-earth element mine by 2016 on southeast Prince of Wales Island.

Ucore Rare Metals' proposed Bokan Mountain Project could begin construction in 2014 with the proper permits, The Ketchikan Daily News reports.

CEO Jim McKenzie said China has dominated the rare-earth elements market, and the Alaska project gives the U.S. a chance to keep up. Rare-earth elements are the types of elements used in technology such as radar systems, satellites, renewable energy systems and consumer products like cell phones and TVs.

"We view the rare-earth space as sort of a race," McKenzie said. "Obviously, China is withdrawing product from international markets fairly aggressively, and the U.S. needs this product."

The company estimates that building a mine and processing facility would cost about $221 million and take about 21 months to complete. Based on curr ent resource estimates, the mine could operate for 11 years with a processing rate of 1,500 tons per day.

The other mine being Mountain Pass, California.  The company website is a bit, hmm.