April 2017

Defence spending has been big news recently. President Trump announced that he wanted to increase US defence funding to record levels, and the UK announced in last year’s budget that…

A visit to Vital Materials

There’s a known rule-breaker among materials, and a new discovery by an international team of scientists adds more evidence to back up the metal’s nonconformist reputation. According to a new…

Researchers at Duke University have developed tiny nanoparticles that help convert carbon dioxide into methane using only ultraviolet light as an energy source…

The MMTA is pleased to welcome AVAS Trading as a New Member. AVAS’s main traded commodity is Tungsten, with forms ranging from Ores and Concentrates, through Ferro-Tungsten and Chemicals (APT/AMT/YTO/BTO)…

An overview of key points from the recent REACH forum, hosted by Metal Events

The latest update from Tom Butcher

Devices that generate electricity through the thermoelectric effect – that is, the conversion of differences in temperature to an electric voltage – are showing up in everything from clothing to paint, and they…

A short history of mining in Ireland

Geologists estimate that the Earth’s core is around 5,700 K (5,427° C, 9,800° F), around the same temperature as the surface of the Sun. So, how is it that the…

能源部劳伦斯伯克利分校国家实验室（伯克利实验室）科学家和加利福尼亚大学伯克利分校的科学家的新研究指出，处于金属态的二氧化钒的电子在导电时几乎不导热，打破了经典物理定律威德曼-弗朗兹（Wiedemann-Franz）定律。

通过热电效应（即温度差异与电压的转换）产生电力的设备普遍应用于从服装到涂料行业中。但它们在能源产出同时进行回收热量方面却还有很长的路要走。如今，犹他州大学的研究人员已经开发出一种不含有毒化学物质但仍然可以在日常应用中发挥有效作用且价格合理的热电材料。

国防开支近来一直是热点议题。特朗普总统宣布以创历史纪录的水平来增加美国的国防经费支出，英国在去年的预算中宣布将在6年内首次增加国防支出。欧盟基本百分之百依赖于39种原材料中的19种材料的进口。中国是以上三分之一的原材料的主要生产国。

Surfaces that have been coated with rare earth oxides develop water-repelling properties only after contact with air

A special type of small sulfur-rich protein, metallothioneins, have an extraordinary capability for binding heavy metals. An international team of scientists has now discovered that the marine common periwinkle, which…