First Solar Owns a Gold, Silver and Tellurium Mine? First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR) is by far the leading producer of cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar panels (and the leading producer of thin-film solar panels, for that matter). The firm is the largest solar company by market capitalization at $10.37 billion. First Solar plans on a capacity expansion to 2.9 gigawatts by 2012. That's a lot of solar panels, a lot of CdTe photovoltaic materials, and a lot of CdTe constituent materials -- cadmium and tellurium. Tellurium is a byproduct of copper mining and there is an ongoing debate over whether the global tellurium supply can support the growing needs of the solar industry. Prices for tellurium surged from under $100 per kilogram in 2007 to over $200 per kilogram in 2008, according to Lita Shon-Roy of market research firm Techcet Group. So, where is First Solar going to get a predictable source of tellurium? Answer: From the gold mine in Mexico it appears to own. The 10K continues, Price rise of Tellurium, according to Metal Pages.
Demand for minor metals to rise, but supply disruptions a risk Indicateur - En Janvier 2012, les prix des matières premières importées à nouveau en hausse En janvier, le prix du pétrole en dollars s’est redressé (+3,2 % après –2,4 % en décembre). Il s’est établi à 111,5 $ le baril de Brent. Les prix en devises des matières premières hors énergie importées en France sont également repartis à la hausse (+2,6 % après –2,2 % en décembre). Le prix du pétrole en dollars se redresse En janvier, le prix en dollars du baril de pétrole de la mer du Nord (Brent) s’est redressé (+3,2 % après –2,4 %). Les prix des matières premières industrielles importées rebondissent En janvier, les prix en devises des matières premières industrielles ont augmenté (+3,0 % après –1,6 % en décembre). D’autre part, la baisse des prix des matières premières agro-industrielles s’est atténuée (–0,4 % après –1,4 % en décembre). Les prix des matières premières alimentaires à nouveau en hausse En janvier, les prix des matières premières alimentaires en devises sont repartis à la hausse (+2,2 % après –3,2 % en décembre). Prix du pétrole (Brent) Source : Insee
Rare Earths' Unstoppable Demand: Jeb Handwerger Not long after the New Year dawned, Gold Stock Trades Editor Jeb Handwerger noted certain rare earths emerging from their 2011 slumber to produce impressive gains. It's not yet March, but the good news keeps coming. Despite dire predictions that demand is drying up, Handwerger tells The Critical Metals Report in this exclusive interview that the world remains at risk of supply shortfalls. It's not strictly a rare earths story, either. Read on to see what he has to say about the nascent niobium space. The Critical Metals Report: Jeb, as a student of the critical metals space who's been watching precious metals stocks over the past 20 years, do you believe we're seeing a renaissance in the industrial metals space? Jeb Handwerger: It's interesting. TCMR: How is it more important than just that one deal? JH: Banks are aligning with resource seekers to create real competitors to giants such as Vale S.A. JH: Exactly. TCMR: Even with lack of Chinese transparency? JH: Right. JH: No. JH: Correct.
A Coming Paradigm Shift in Silver? For years, silver bulls have lamented the metal’s failure to significantly outperform gold in this precious metals bull market. They look at the statistics: silver’s dwindling warehouse inventories, only a fraction of what they were a few decades ago; no huge government stockpiles of silver overhanging the market; stagnant production with increasing demand; announcements of new uses released almost daily; annual sales of the American Silver Eagle, which is only one of many silver investment vehicles available, now exceeding yearly US domestic silver production; the USA a net importer of silver as domestic production meets only about one-third of demand. Why, silver bulls ask, has the price of silver not outstripped the price of gold? Steve St. A paradigm shift comes with a radical change in the thinking of a large number of people. In making his point for a coming paradigm shift in silver, St. St. I’m in Sprott’s camp.
La bonne mine des matières premières LE MONDE | • Mis à jour le | Par Alain Faujas S'il fallait une preuve que les minerais sont promis à un avenir radieux, la fusion proposée le 7 février entre le premier négociant mondial de matières premières, le suisse Glencore, et le quatrième groupe minier mondial, le suisse Xstrata, en serait une superbe. Ce rapprochement en cours, d'une valeur boursière de 90 milliards de dollars, confirme que les investisseurs de la planète font le pari d'une rareté des matières premières, face à une demande qui galope. Ils tentent donc de sécuriser leurs approvisionnements et de s'approprier au maximum cette chaîne de valeur très prometteuse. Cette conviction s'est manifestée chez les grands groupes par une frénésie d'investissements destinés à soutirer à la terre toujours plus de minerais métalliques ou énergétiques, afin de répondre à l'appétit pantagruélique des pays émergents, à commencer par la Chine. Les pays visés par ces achats ? faujas@lemonde.fr Service Economie
A Paradigm Shift, Exiting Easy & Cheap The massive growth of global prosperity over the last five centuries has been driven by easy and cheap access to critical materials: FoodFiberEnergyMinerals However since October 2001 the CRB BLS Spot Index has reached record levels. The Spot Market Price Index is a measure of price movements of 22 basic commodities. The spot price is the price at which a commodity is selling for immediate delivery. Commodity price rises could be caused by: Raw materials shortagesResource nationalism Emerging market demand SpeculationIntense weather pattern changesWarInflationHoarding Low interest rates Many people might assume that out of all the reasons given these three would be the main drivers: WarInflation Emerging market demand Inflation & War Because central banks can increase the supply of money virtually at will, and do so, the value of all existing money decreases.
Material Flow Analysis Material Flow Analysis What is Material Flow Analysis? Material Flow Analysis (MFA) is a quantitative procedure for determining the flow of materials and energy through the economy. Material Flow Analysis recognizes that Material Throughput is required for all economic activities and asks whether the flow of materials is sustainable in terms of the environmental burden it creates. The identification of wastes is a major issue in MFA, as the purpose of conducting a MFA is to minimize the flow of materials while maximizing the human welfare generated by the flow. MFA was developed in , largely at the Wuppertal Institute in , and has been adopted as a methodology by the European Union with respect to its sustainable development program. Material Flows in the An MFA study of the indicates that the has one of the lowest values of Total Material Requirements (TMR) of any industrial country studied so far, some 40 tonnes per capita in 1999. TMR is divided into domestic and foreign sources.
Material Flows Eionet European Topic Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production Topic Centre of European Environment Agency Material Flow Accounting is used to analyse the material flows on a national, supranational or regional scale. Already in 2001, the former ETC on Waste expanded its scope of work to include Material Flow Accounting (MFA). This expansion was a result of the EU policy developments in the area of sustainable use of natural resources in the context of the 6th Environmental Action Programme. providing reliable and comparable data and information on material flows in Europe reporting and publishing of findings in reports produced by the EEA; further harmonisation of methodologies in the area of MFA including indicators; supporting policy makers in developing policy strategies and measures in the new policy field of Sustainable Consumption and Production. If you have any comments and suggestions to the contents of this page, please contact Dominic Wittmer from the ETC/SCP team.
Material flow accounting Material flow accounting (MFA) is the study of material flows on a national or regional scale. It is therefore sometimes also referred to as regional, national or economy-wide material flow analysis. Definition[edit] The goal of material flow accounting is to ensure national planning, especially for scarce resources, and to allow forecasting. It also allows to assess environmental burdens through economic activities of a nation or to determine how material intensive an economy is. The principle concept underlying MFA is a simple model of this interrelation between the economy and the environment, in which the economy is an embedded subsystem of the environment. In MFA studies for a region or on a national level the flows of materials between the natural environment and the economy are analyzed and quantified on a physical level. Terms and Indicators[edit] Statistics related to material flows are usually combined in different indicators. References[edit] See also[edit] External links[edit]
LME Officials Seek Closer Relationship with Japan Nonferrous Metals Industry | Japan Metal Bulletin Top officials of London Metal Exchange held reception at British Embassy Tokyo on Tuesday with around 200 attendees including Japanese base metal users and major trading firms. LME’s chairman Sir Brian Bender said LME don’t need to sell itself but the exchange will decide the response to offers to buy the exchange later the year after the review of conditions. Chairman of Japanese Electric Wire & Cable Makers’ Association Masao Yoshida said Japanese metal processors and the users are sensitive to volatile metal prices and some of them are forced to seek alternative materials. The president of Furukawa Electric urges LME should stabilize the price move as exchange for industrial users. Mr. Yoshida said to a reporter of Japan Metal Bulletin at the party he met LME’s chairman and CEO Martin Abbott on Monday to require stabilize the metal prices and LME’s approach to Shanghai Futures Exchange to allow foreign companies’ participation. Related Posts No related posts.