Magnetics Business & Technology - Spring 2016 - (Page 26)

INDUSTRY NEWS Global Rare Earth Metals Market 2015-2019 Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Rare Earth Metals Market 2015-2019″ report to their offering. The global rare earth metals market to grow at a CAGR of 10.19 percent by demand volume over the period 2014-2019. The report provides comments on both the existing market landscape and its growth prospects over the forecast period. The report further includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market. The global rare earth metal market is evincing intense interest from various market players because of its growth prospects. There has been a rise in production capacities across the world as governments try to secure and leverage these scarce resources. This expansion in the supplier base will drastically change the supplier landscape and is expected to lead to a softening of prices going forward. According to the report, increasing use of rare earth metals in the wind energy sector and NiMH batteries stand as the prominent ones. Rare earth elements are widely used in the manufacture of magnets for wind turbine generators and for the electrodes in metal hydride batteries. Further, the report states that one major challenge that stands is the supply demand gap. Despite a broad scope of application and a growing demand, the supply of these elements is geographically concentrated with the dominance of a few countries. Rare Element Resources Expands on Advantages Zero-Discharge SX Separation Technology Rare Element Resources Ltd., a publicly traded, strategic materials company focused on delivering rare earth products for technology and defense applications by advancing the Bear Lodge Critical Rare Earth Project located in northeast Wyoming, has announced additional results from its successful pilot-plant campaign of its patentpending, zero-discharge solvent extraction (SX) separation technology, as well as the results of subsequent bench-scale optimization test work. The results of this most recent test work include: * Pilot plant testing of a lanthanum recovery circuit that resulted in a 99 percent-pure lanthanum oxide product, samples of which were promptly supplied to an interested party for evaluation; and * Optimization, at bench-scale, of the recovery process that not only increased cerium removal to 99 percent using one mixer/ settler but also separated the remaining rare earths into light rare earth (LRE) and heavy rare earth (HRE) baskets using only two mixer/settlers. The resulting LRE stream was 99.7 percent pure and consisted predominantly of lanthanum and didymium (neodymium and praseodymium). It is expected that using the LRE stream as feed for the lanthanum recovery module will produce both pure lanthanum and pure didymium products. Each SX module used conventional extraction mixer/settlers and commercially available stripper reagents, extractants and diluents but did not require acid-stripping mixer/settlers or the use of strong acids to recover separated rare earths. The process generated no waste effluent and eliminated the need for neutralization, important accomplishments that are expected to improve the costeffectiveness of the process. The SX pilot plant successfully recycled both the stripped organic liquor and raffinate without generating any waste products, making it environmentally sound. "The data generated by testing confirmed and expanded our success at utilizing our proprietary separation technology to increase the purity of our concentrate while recovering commercially valuable separated rare earth products that were then supplied to an interested potential offtake partner," said Randall J. Scott, President 26 Magnetics Business & Technology * Spring 2016 and Chief Executive Officer. "In bench-scale test work, we effectively optimized the cerium removal to 99 percent and also separated out the remaining light rare earths to make the recovery of both pure lanthanum and pure didymium products possible. While additional pilot testing is expected to optimize the process, METSIM modeling, a steady-state and dynamic process simulator, indicates that 99 percent of the lanthanum could be recovered, thus reducing the mass of rare earth solutions going to advanced separation by more than 65 percent." The Company has initiated discussions regarding application of its innovative separation technology to remove thorium from various mineral deposits and the use of its innovative stripping technology in certain commercial SX plants. Rare Element Resources Implements Extensive Cost Cutting Measures Rare Element Resources Ltd., a publicly traded, strategic materials company focused on delivering rare earth products for technology and defense applications by advancing the Bear Lodge Critical Rare Earth Project located in northeast Wyoming, has announced that its board of directors has approved additional steps aimed at reducing its on-going cash expenditures in light of prolonged weak market conditions and continued delays in the preparation of the Project's draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). The cash-conservation programs include significant staff reductions, consolidation of facilities, sale of non-essential equipment and assets, as well as delisting its common shares from the Toronto Stock Exchange. The Company has applied for voluntary delisting from the TSX and expects to delist its common shares from the TSX on or about December 31, 2015. The Company intends to continue the listing of its common shares on NYSE MKT under the ticker "REE". The Company decided to take this action after considering on-going costs and expenses, both direct and indirect, associated with having its common shares listed on the TSX, and the limited share trading volume on the TSX relative to its share volume on the NYSE MKT, which is where the vast majority of its common shares are traded. "We strongly believe in the strategic importance of the Bear Lodge Project and its obvious role as a cornerstone to re-establishing a domestic rare earth supply chain," said Randall J. Scott, President and CEO. "Unfortunately, the rare earth market continues to suffer from many of the short-term issues impacting the greater global resource market. When one couples this with continued uncertainty around the timing and the final requirements of our DEIS, taking these cost-cutting steps is the right business decision for our shareholders. We are hoping to retain the talents of our impacted employees, with many of them having agreed to remain available for consulting work as needed. "These measures are intended to position us to be able to move the Project forward expeditiously when conditions improve, while allowing us in the interim to pursue permitting and strategic alternatives like off-take agreements, joint ventures or potential mergers." Global and Chinese NdFeB Industry Report 2015-2018 Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global and Chinese NdFeB Industry Report, 2015-2018" report to their offering. China is the world's largest NdFeB producer with an output of 112 kt in 2014 (88.1 percent of the global total), up 19.0 percent year on year. In 2015, due to ceaseless decline in NdFeB price, China will produce 127 kt throughout the year, gaining by 13.5 percent from a year ago. www.MagneticsMagazine.com http://www.MagneticsMagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Magnetics Business & Technology - Spring 2016

Editor's Choice
Permanent Magnets in a Changing World Market
Design Considerations Using Permanent Magnets
Insulated Iron Powders, SMC, Current State and Future Possibilities
Research & Development
The Design of a Permanent Magnet Motor for a Direct Drive Fan Application
Tailoring of Pole Shapes of Multipolar Injection Molded Magnets
Electromagnetics
Industry News
Marketplace / Advertising Index
Spontaneous Thoughts: Seventeen Mistakes People Make with Permanent Magnets

Magnetics Business & Technology - Spring 2016