CRM – Critical Raw Materials

The rare earth industry is entering a more constrained and structurally complex phase, as export controls, pricing mechanisms, and downstream capacity challenges begin to reshape global supply chains. Recent developments…

EVs drive demand Annual global lithium-ion battery demand is expected to sur-pass 1 TWh (1,000 GWh) for the first time this year. Demon-strating the scale of growth in this sector,…

The European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act was published today in the Official Journal of the European Commission and comes in to force on 23 May. Read the full text…

 ILiA publishes the first guidance to determine the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) of lithium products In this article, first published in its magazine, The Lithium Voice, the International Lithium Association…

Fastmarkets has relaunched rare earth prices and coverage after a pause of several years. The Crucible asked Strategic Markets Editor for Technology Metals, Caroline Messecar, to talk about why a…

The European Union’s new Critical Raw Materials Act is a bold step forward in securing the region’s clean energy supply chains. Here, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence looks at how the Act’s…

Project Blue looks at  the evolving role of lithium in energy transition, and the opportunities and challenges that make lithium this decade’s key critical raw material   This month we…

This month Project Blue is looking more closely at two of the rare earths underpinning energy transition: dysprosium and terbium. Dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb) are two elements that form…

2023 Strategic Foresight Report—deadline 13 March   The European Commission has launched a call for evidence to inform its  2023 Strategic Foresight Report. This report is published every year, and…

  In this article for The Crucible, analysts Andrew Matheson and Patrick Stratton of CPM Group home in on Hafnium, that most minor of minor metals. Don’t judge a market…

Resources: Protect of Promote? Dear Members. Good Morning and a very Happy New Year! This Sunday morning, here in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, I am looking out on only a little…

Go, Go, Gallium After several false starts, NASA’s Artemis I mission took off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 16 November, the first in a series of complex missions…

A feasibility study carried out by Less Common Metals (LCM) has confirmed that it is feasible to establish a rare earth per-manent magnet production facility in the UK to service…

Following the announcement of the proposed  EU Critical Raw Materials Act (see The Crucible, September 2022), the European Commission invited views on the proposed legislation (see The Crucible, October 2022)…

On 25 October 2022 MMTA partnered with critical minerals consultancy Project Blue for a series of insights into minor metals critical to energy transition and other strategic sectors, Project Blue Forum.…

Dear Members I’m back! And it is great to be writing to you again. Robust supply chains for, and an adequate supply of, strategic and critical materials are, once more,…

In this submission to the Crucible on the subject of critical materials underpinning energy transition, Project Blue focusses on cobalt.  While there are numerous challenges facing the cobalt supply chain,…

Growing demand for batteries means that significant volumes of batteries deployed to transport, portable and energy storage system applications will reach their end-of-life in the coming decades, posing the question:…

  With high gas and electricity prices battering Europe, UK and EU governments announced winter support, including temporary caps on prices for domestic and business consumers. EU measures unveiled on…

The passing of the US Inflation Reduction Act puts US automakers under pressure to localise their battery raw material supply in North America or secure  supply from countries such as…

This month Project Blue takes a look at the previous poster child of critical materials: antimony. Antimony, mainly used in flame retardant and lead-acid batteries has lost its position as…

CPM Group is an independent commodities research, consulting, and investment banking advisory company headquartered in New York. In this analysis, CPM’s tantalum market experts Andrew Matheson and Patrick Stratton dig…

The UK government’s new Critical Minerals Strategy aims to  safeguard the UK’s supply security for critical raw materials. The strategy will be informed by the newly set up Critical Minerals…

To the Moon and back Further to June’s space exploration highlights, August saw NASA readying its Artemis Moon mission for launch.  The Space Launch System rocket pictured here will send…

This month we are diving deep into one of the most politically topical critical materials underpinning energy transition: rare earths. While not gaining attention as a battery raw material, rare…

The UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy was launched in July at the ground breaking ceremony for the $195m Pensana’s rare earth refinery at Saltend Chemicals Park near Hull. This will be the UK’s…

Gallium is widely used in photoelectric devices, semiconductors, permanent magnets, photovoltaics, and other fields, due to its good superconductivity, ductility, optical properties, and excellent thermal shrinkage and cold expansion properties.…

If you think trade sanctions, the battle for critical metals and the race to secure a local supply chain is all a modern headache, read on.  A recently discovered time…

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence brings clarity to the otherwise opaque markets of the lithium-ion battery (LiB) and electric vehicle (EV) supply chains. Through its services, ranging from PRA, Data, Forecasts and…

  3D printing, lithium power NASA’s Moon mission   As this edition was going to press, NASA launched its CAPSTONE satellite to the Moon. This is the first step of…

Securing stable magnesium supply has become a priority for policymakers after an acute shortage of material in late 2021, panellists said at the EIT Raw Materials Summit in Berlin. “To…

Niobium might seem like a strange choice for Project Blue’s first submission to the Crucible on the subject of critical materials underpinning energy transition. After all, it’s mostly used in…

Global minor metal supply chains are currently grappling with a multitude of issues. Covid-19, war in Ukraine, climate change and net zero targets, and inflation, have all converged in 2022.…

Indium and its compounds are widely used in optoelectronics. The most well-known indium-based compounds are indium antimonide (InSb), indium phosphide (InP), indium arsenide (InAs), etc. Among these compounds, InSb is…

The world of minor metals can be a cruel and unforgiving place. As valuable as these metals are, global markets are small. Tantalum is essential in every computer logic chip.…

In our monthly column for the MMTA, we will be shining the spotlight on a different minor metal each edition, looking at current market conditions and themes for the year…

  Tellurium is one of the scattered metalloids. It is mainly used in semiconductor devices, alloys, chemical raw materials production, or used as additives in cast iron, rubber, glass, and…

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