CIM Toronto Branch webinar presents:

Rare Earth Elements: Markets and Considerations for the Future Economy; Speaker: Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., Dahrouge Geological Consulting

*******Register today for our FREE live online webinar. ********

Note: CIM Toronto Branch members will also receive a link to the webinar recording to view at a later date.

Rare Earth Elements – Market and Considerations for the Future Economy:

Rare earth elements (REEs) permeate our everyday way of life; however, their contribution is often not recognized due to their typically obscure use and consumption in small quantities per application. One of the most well-known applications is NdFeB magnets, which are typically composed of ~32% REEs (primarily neodymium) and are 10 to 20x the strength of a common ferrite magnet. It is this strength per unit weight that has allowed for a surge in technological innovation ranging from the vibration micro-motors in a cell phones, to robot automation, to the permanent magnet motor/components in EVs and wind turbines that is helping to advance the green revolution. In addition, REEs are used in catalytic converters to reduce pollution from internal combustion engines, as well as fuel cracking catalysts in petroleum refining. They are used for glass polishing, lasers, phosphors, medical applications, pigments, NiMH batteries, water filtration and more.

In short, REEs have become indispensable to our way of life. They have allowed us to become more energy efficient and develop a “smart” society to which we have been accustomed. They have become a key component of our future economy because of their deep integration in our lives, and due to their long and complex supply chains that deliver them to us. The global value of the REE industry is estimated in the range of $3-5B USD at the front-end oxide stage and into the trillions at the supply chain’s end.

In the mineral exploration and mining industry, REEs include the lanthanides and yttrium. These elements occur together within the same minerals and are processed as a group until separation into individual rare earth oxides (REOs) is achieved, and then they are disseminated individually into global supply chains. This makes REEs unique as they are always recovered together into an intermediate product before fanning out to a wide array of applications. In other words, it is not just one REE recovered during processing, it is multiple.

Out of the more than 150 REE-bearing minerals known, three dominate commercial processing – monazite, bastnaesite, xenotime. These three minerals are therefore key to economic production and a long-term, secure, and strategic supply. At this time, one country dominates the global industry’s REE supply chain – China. Understanding this playing field and what deposits globally have the best possibility of augmenting it, is essential to achieving a measure of supply chain diversification in the future, which will inherently improve stability and underpin continued economic development that has been built on the foundation of REEs.

Speaker bio: Coming soon.....

Register today for our FREE live online webinar.

Note: CIM Toronto Branch members will also receive a link to the webinar recording to view at a later date.

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