The Crucible

  Dear MMTA Members and colleagues, Welcome to your September and LME Week edition of the MMTA’s magazine, The Crucible. LME Week 2024 The LME Week 2024 kicks off on…

Silicon-based semiconductors have dominated the ongoing “semiconductor war” between China and the West. However, in their recent technological tit-for-tat, global attention has been diverted to non-silicon-based or compound semiconductors, especially…

Notes from the other side: Retired metal merchant, Anthony Lipmann, illuminates metal trading for the young about to enter the world of metals. Part 5: Embrace the chance to see…

As Tom Butcher reports in this issue of The Crucible, by 2026, Australia is projected to need 24,400 more workers in its mining industry. But the numbers of graduates on …

In June this year the Australian Government released its Critical Minerals Strategy for the period to 2030. In this guest article, the Australian Trade and Investment Commission  (Austrade) sets out…

Against the backdrop of the recent speech by Theresa May outlining the UK government’s aspirations for Brexit, and President Trump’s tweeted warnings of tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to…

Join us for the MMTA’s 50th anniversary reception with outdoor games on the terrace of Grand Bohemian Hotel in Charlotte, NC, at 6pm on Tuesday 24 April, at the opening…

  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…

Chris Brzozowski, commercial director of ICD Europe Ltd has been approved to join the MMTA Board of Directors, subject to his board membership being ratified by the MMTA members at…

Sticking to outliers in metal choices to kick off the topic of critical materials underpinning energy transition, Project Blue’s second submission to the Crucible is chromium. While most metals, including…

Report from the Critical Raw Materials Association   15 November 2022 5th EU Critical Raw Materials Event   Kamila Slupek, Sustainability Director, Eurometaux Ms. Slupek presented Eurometaux’ study with KU…

Notes from the other side… Retired metal merchant, Anthony Lipmann, illuminates trading for the young entering the world of metals.   I’m often asked what skills are required to be…

View from North America Dear Members, I trust this missive finds everybody safe and well. Polina and I have been chatting over several weeks and have come up with a…

Rhenium is a refractory metal with a melting point of 3180 °C. It has good plasticity, mechanical properties and creep resistance, as well as corrosion resistance. Rhenium is widely used…

Materials comparison website lists properties of Marvel’s magical material Have you ever wondered just how strong Black Panther’s suit or Captain America’s shield is? The materials scientists at Matmatch have,…

Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology have successfully tested a new material that can be used for cheap and large-scale production of hydrogen – another promising alternative to fossil…

US rig count numbers have now risen each month since August 2020, demonstrating strong US drilling activity, and robust demand for associated oilfield materials. Aerospace Boeing reported substantially stronger year-on-year…

The MMTA was pleased to interview the CEO of Matmatch,  Melissa Albeck, to find out more about materials selection and how technology can help. Can you tell us a bit…

Karolina Jackiewicz has informed us that she is leaving MMTA member Lipmann Walton. She is relocating from the UK to the Netherlands,  and we very much look forward to hearing…

Dear Members Here’s wishing all members everywhere a very happy spring! We here in the U.S., and I believe, those of you in the UK seem to be some way…

The Court of Appeal held that recovery of damages for wasted expenditure did not fall within a clause excluding damages for loss of profit. Background The case related to an…

The reflective loss principle prevents a shareholder from seeking to recover a loss from a wrongdoer which merely reflects the loss suffered by the company it is interested in. Over…

Imagine a world where every country has not only complied with the Paris climate agreement but has moved away from fossil fuels entirely. How would such a change affect global…

  MMTA member London Chemicals and Resources Ltd has been recognised by the latest Plimsoll industry analysis as one of the UK’s top 100 Chemical Distributors in terms of size,…

Argus exclusive interview: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent shockwaves through the global supply of titanium. What are the long-term geopolitical implications for future trade with the region? In an…

Retired metal merchant, Anthony Lipmann, illuminates trading for the young entering the world of metals.   It’s all very well giving unwanted advice to the young via this column (as…

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.…

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…

On May 1st of this year, according to press reports, soldiers of the army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) descended on the east of the country to…

Welcome to the November Crucible Dear MMTA members, Welcome to your November 2023 edition of the Minor Metal Trade Association’s magazine, the Crucible. Following on from the October webinar, Mastering…

After a pause of three years, since I provided my round-up of the MMTA’s Edinburgh conference back in 2019, it is a huge pleasure to be able to do the…

“There needs to be more widespread investment in the development and exploration of all critical mineral resources” Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (Benchmark) is a world leading clean energy supply chain price…

In January, we are pleased to welcome our newest member, Heneken Group. Based in Bratislava, Slovakia, Heneken started as a trading company in 2007 trading aluminum and its alloys. Continuous…

Economics is a curious discipline, a social science under a veneer of scientific and mathematical rigour. A scientific sheep in wolf’s clothing, perhaps. A synthesis of art and science. That…

In December, the MMTA welcomed Neveah Limited as a new member. Headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria, Neveah Limited engages in the Export of both base and Minor metals. Its product offerings…

DRC court puts administrator in charge of Tenke Fungurume mine At the end of February, the Tribunal of Commerce in the south-eastern city of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, announced…

Kymera buys AmeriTi Manufacturing In early April, speciality materials company Kymera announced it had closed its transaction to acquire AmeriTi Manufacturing. Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, AmeriTi is a leading manufacturer…

  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…

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…

Major moves in Michigan As mentioned in the January Crucible, lithium never sleeps. And neither does the rampant new trend of onshoring, and “friend-shoring”, heralded in particular by North America…

Welcome to the March issue of The Crucible. In the February issue you might have read Tom Butcher’s Letter from North America on the increasingly trendy concept of “friend-shoring”. This…

China brings in Ga, Ge export permitting  From 1 August, the Chinese government announced that eight products related to gallium and six to germanium will require export permits, citing national…

EU votes to adopt the CRM Act On 14th September the European Parliament voted by an overwhelming majority to adopt the Critical Raw Materials Act. The amended act adds aluminium…

Happy New Year 2024   And welcome to this year’s first edition of the Crucible. As we look forward to 2024, new regulations are already coming into play that encompass…

Thank you to all the US members who contributed to the MMTA consultation on the Office of US Trade Representative’s (USTR) consultation on Section 301 tariffs that included proposed 25%…

Aerospace As in April, aircraft deliveries by Boeing in May were more than double those of the same month last year, at 35 planes compared with 17. Deliveries up to…

Aerospace Airbus pushed ahead of Boeing on in Q3, delivering 140 passenger aircraft including 46 in July, 39 in August and 53 in September. This compared with 112 deliveries from…

  Retired  metal merchant, Anthony Lipmann, illuminates trading for the young entering the world of metals.   Last night I dreamt I was short of …ium – a metal we…

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…

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…

by REACHReady Following the departure of Great Britain from the EU and with the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, EU chemicals regulations such as REACH, the…

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…

The history of human civilisation can be told through metal smelting, from the Copper to the Bronze to the Iron Age, and onwards. And, since civilisations are communities and economies,…

Notes from the Other Side Retired metal merchant, Anthony Lipmann, illuminates trading for the young entering the world of metals.   When I was young in the 1960s our schoolteacher…

In this article for The Crucible, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence looks at the market for the secondary battery material mix known as “black mass”, the fundamentals and forecasts that underpin its…

A long-standing member of the MMTA, Alfred H Knight (AHK) has enabled global trade for over 140 years. They instil trust and certainty in the global supply chain through the…

As we get closer to the century since the discovery of rhenium, speciality metals trader Anthony Lipmann introduces us to the extraordinary woman who identified this rare element in the…

Notes from the other side Retired  metal merchant, Anthony Lipmann, illuminates trading for the young entering the world of metals.   His entire family from the east of Poland had been…

    As one who pays superficial attention to the booming battery industry, I’m struck by the frequency with which new technologies are touted that are “set to replace lithium-ion…

News spotlight In the last two weeks of March, representatives form 36 member countries of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the UN regulator tasked with protecting marine life in international…

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,…

Miners Face Talent Shortage—Part 2   Dear MMTA Members Good afternoon, once again Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Before continuing my look at the talent shortage facing the mining industry, here in…

  Dear Members, Before moving on, in my next piece, to such topics as space mining and ion propulsion drives, I thought it would be fun to take a brief…

Notes from the other side Retired  metal merchant, Anthony Lipmann, illuminates trading for the young entering the world of metals.   Early in my career I was reproached by a…

The MMTA International Minor Metals Conference 2024   In this issue you will find information about the MMTA’s International Minor Metals Conference, including programme and speakers and members standing for…

As we enter the busiest trading season of the second half of 2023, Project Blue looks at what lies ahead for critical materials in the rest of 2023 The major…