Before we head into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the week that was and some of the metals storylines here on MetalMiner: Need buying strategies for steel? Request your two-month free trial of MetalMiner’s Outlook We kicked off our November MMI this week. In case you missed it, revisit our subindex recaps […]
The Rare Earths Monthly Metals Index (MMI) held flat this month, again hitting an MMI reading of 17. Need buying strategies for steel? Request your two-month free trial of MetalMiner’s Outlook China Denies Report it is Limiting Rare Earth Output China’s dominance in the rare earths sector is well-documented. The country’s sway in the market is […]
The Rare Earths Monthly Metals Index (MMI) stood pat this month for an MMI value of 17. Need buying strategies for steel? Request your two-month free trial of MetalMiner’s Outlook Pentagon Reviews Critical Materials Dependence Tariffs have been flying left and right this year, impacting a wide range of products, from steel and aluminum to […]
Rare earth exporters in India have lodged protests after the government snatched their rights to send these precious elements abroad. Need buying strategies for steel? Try two free months of MetalMiner’s Outlook Rare-earth metals are a group of 17 elements, which are found in geological deposits. Some of the most abundant metals in the world […]
The Rare Earths Monthly Metals Index (MMI) fell one point for an August reading of 18. Need buying strategies for steel? Try two free months of MetalMiner’s Outlook Rare Earths and Trade Tensions Much has been said about the rise of trade tensions around the world, particularly between the U.S. and China. Those tensions began to manifest […]
Before we head into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the week that was and some of the metals storylines here on MetalMiner®: Need buying strategies for steel? Try two free months of MetalMiner’s Outlook India sought consultations with the U.S. over its steel and aluminum tariffs. The Department of Commerce launched anti-dumping […]
Cobalt is a product we don’t often talk about, partly because of its relative scarcity but also because of the specificity of its industrial application. Need buying strategies for steel? Try two free months of MetalMiner’s Outlook With that said, the industries it does draw interest from are high-profile ones, including the growing electric vehicle […]
The Rare Earths Monthly Metals Index (MMI) stood pat this month, holding for a reading of 19. Need buying strategies for steel? Try two free months of MetalMiner’s Outlook The Search for Rare Earths As we noted in an MMI post earlier this year, the discovery of a large deposit of undersea rare earths approximately […]
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The Renewables MMI (Monthly Metals Index), after a significant surge last month, sat at 100 for the second consecutive month. Need buying strategies for steel? Try two free months of MetalMiner’s Outlook
Within this basket of metals, the Japanese steel plate price rose, as did the price of Chinese and American steel plate. U.S. steel plate, in fact, rose 5.5% month over month.
U.S. grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) coil also jumped in price.
As for the trio of rare and minor metals in this MMI, cobalt cathodes fell 1.1%, while silicon dropped slightly and neodymium made a small gain.
Cobalt Costs
According to a report by the Financial Times, changes to the mining code in the Democratic Republic of Congo will lead to higher costs for consumers of the metal.
According to the report, President Joseph Kabila on Wednesday said he would sign a new order after meeting with representatives from some of the big miners with business in the country, including Glencore, Molybdenum and Ivanhoe Mines.
Cobalt is used in batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), among other things, making it an especially prized material as EVs gain popularity. As such, with a majority of the world’s cobalt being mined in the DRC, political machinations in the country have a significant impact on the metal’s price.
According to the Financial Times, the code could see royalties on cobalt — plus other metals, like copper and gold — rise from 2% to 10%.
Senators Lobby for Electrical Steel Protection in 232
The Journal-News reported on a trio of U.S. senators who lobbied Trump to prioritize electrical steel in the Section 232 trade remedy process.
The only remaining maker of electrical steel in the country, AK Steel, was unlikely to benefit from the Section 232 trade remedy proposal, according to Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH).
“We write you today to share our concerns that your proposed section 232 remedy is incomplete when it comes to electrical steel,” Portman and two other senators said in their letter to Trump, according to the Journal-News. “We write on behalf of a constituent company, AK Steel, which is the last domestic producer of grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES). Since the remedy, as currently constructed, does not include electrical cores and core parts, the remedy will not be effective for the domestic electrical steel market.”
In the senators’ letter, they requested the president add a trio of HTS codes to the duty order.
The Rare Earths MMI (Monthly Metals Index) held steady, notching a reading of 20 for our March MMI. Need buying strategies for steel? Try two free months of MetalMiner’s Outlook
Within the basket of metals, Chinese yttrium dropped slightly, while terbium metal picked up in price.
Europium oxide also dropped slightly, while dysprosium oxide picked up an extra dollar per kilogram.
New Toyota Magnet Not Dependent on Some Rare-Earth Minerals
According to a report by Ars Technica, a new magnet developed by automaker Toyota will not be dependent on some key rare-earth minerals.
Toyota announced it had invented a magnet — for application in electric vehicles — that uses much less of the rare-earth mineral neodymium. According to Toyota, it had developed “the world’s firstneodymium-reduced, heat-resistant magnet.”
Of course, cost is a major restraining factor when it comes to electric vehicle (EV) growth. Materials needed for EV batteries, like neodymium, are costly, and many battery makers have sought to reconfigure the percentages of metals used in their batteries to phase out more cost-prohibitive materials (like cobalt, for example).
In addition to reducing the use of neodymium, the new magnet also completely phases out two other rare earth minerals.
“The newly developed magnet uses no terbium (Tb) or dysprosium (Dy), which are rare earths that are also categorized as critical materials necessary for highly heat-resistant neodymium magnets,” according to the Toyota statement. “A portion of the neodymium has been replaced with lanthanum (La) and cerium (Ce), which are low-cost rare earths, reducing the amount of neodymium used in the magnet.”
According to the announcement, the new magnet reduces the amount of neodymium used by as much as 50%.
