US warned of imminent rare earth shortage
FMCG SUPPLIER NEWS
ProcurementLeaders.com - Feb 3rd, 08:50
The US could be set to see a shortage of critical rare earth minerals, according to a recent US Department of Energy (DoE) report, as supplies come under increasing strain.
The DoE report, entitled Critical Materials Strategy, suggested that dysprosium, europium, neodymium, terbium and yttrium could be in short supply until 2015 causing disruptions to the production of mobile phones, televisions and military equipment. Prices of many of the 16 materials analysed have been far from stable over the last 12 months and some have in fact seen ten-fold price rises, on the back of rising demand and supply disruption in China.
In a statement the DoE said: "The report found that several clean energy technologies use materials at risk of supply disruptions in the short term, with risks generally decreasing in the medium and long terms."
"Supply challenges for five rare earth metals may affect clean energy technology deployment in the years ahead," the department added.
The report recommended that the US begin rare earth extraction of its own as well as collaborate with Europe and Japan in order to reduce global scarcity and put $20m towards projects developing alternatives, diversifying supplies and recycling.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has also released a report noting the impact of a possible supply shortage. The PwC report stated, "Demand for rare earth metals is currently expected to outstrip supply by 30,000-50,000 tons in 2012.
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