Rare Earths MMI: Rare Earths Prices Hold Steady Despite Amid Lower Scrap Availability

The Rare Earths Monthly Metals Index (MMI) held flat for a .56 percent change this month. Even so, some rare earths prices have seen significant fluctuation.

Praseodymium Neodymium Oxide is one such example. The allow saw a significant price increase over the past month.
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Supply Issues Continue to Savage Scrap Markets

Supply chain constraints have also wreaked havoc on metal scrap markets. From nickel to steel to rare earths, many points in the scrap supply chain had to reduce or even stop production. According to a recent piece in Shanghai Metals Markets, this was particularly true of small and mid-sized scrap recyclers.
However, rare earths – along with many other metals – have seen weak demand in Chain due to strict COVID-19 lockdowns. Some speculate that prices for RE’s will increase this month as some restrictions are lifted. However, SMM reports that downstream demand remains muted.

Utah’s Rio Tinto Kennecott Mine Officially Beings Mining Tellurium

Kennecott Utah Copper, a division of the Rio Tinto Group, has officially begun the process of recovering one of the world’s rarest elements: tellurium. According to a report from KSL.com, the facility should be able to produce around 20 tons of tellurium a year. This new capacity is all thanks to a $2.9 million circuit build.
This advancement makes the company one of only two US producers of tellurium, which is critical to the production of advanced thin-film photovoltaic solar panels. The element has a rarity comparable to platinum and has no commercially significant source on its own. The most common extraction method is to harness by-products from copper and lead production.
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More on Rare Earths Prices

• Prices dropped sharply for Praseodymium Oxide, down 12.84% to 132,416/mt from $151,927/mt.
• Praseodymium Neodymium Oxide also slipped falling 13.68% to $129,783/mt from $150,353/mt.
• Dysprosium oxide also dropped by 8.47% from $427/kg to $391/kg.

Source: MetalMiner Insights