Scarce Metals

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Scarce Metals
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Scarce Metals

• "The geochemically scarce metals are the enzymes
  of industry. It is their special properties that
  have led to such technological marvels as the
  generation and distribution of electricity, the
  telephone, radio and television, automobiles,
  aircraft, rockets, computers and the Internet.
  Yet it is in this same group of metals that many
  experts once believed shortages and restrictions
  of natural resources might appear. "

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Scarce Metals

• "When the world's annual production of iron has,
  for many years, been a 100 million tons or more,
  only four (really five) of the geochemically
  scarce metals have ever been produced at rates
  that exceed 1 million tons a year."
• page 280, Resources of the Earth

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Scarce Metals

• Classified on the basis of usage

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Ferrous or ferro-alloy

• V Vanadium
• Ni Nickel
• Mo Molybdenum
• Cr Chromium
• Co Cobalt
• W Tungsten

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Non Ferrous or Base Metal

• Cu, Pb, Zn, Sn, Hg, Cd

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Precious

• Au
• Ag
• PGEPlatinum Group Elements
• Pt, Pd, Ir, Os, Rh, Ru

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Special Metals

• For example
• Ta Tantalum
• Be Beryllium

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Ferro Alloy

• We will start with those metals used in making
  steel

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Chromium (Cr)

• Crustal average 96 ppm
• Uses
• Steel industry 12-36 wt
• Refractory
• Chemical
• Pigmentyellow to bright orange or deep green
• Tanning--Cr in solution forms bonds with amino
  acids in leatherstabilizes organic
  material

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Producers 2006

• In Millions of metric tons
• India 3.3
• Kazakhstan 3.6
• South Africa 8.0
• Other 5.0

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Reserves

• In millions of metric tons
• India 25
• Kazakhstan 290
• South Africa 160
• World unavailable

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Chromite the ore mineral
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Geological Occurrence

• Restricted to Igneous Rocks
• Maficrich in Fe and Mg
• Podiform
• Stratiform

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Location of Chromite Deposits
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Locations of Podiform Chromite
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Geologic Map Bushveld Complex
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Eroding layers
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Rhythmic layering, Bushveld
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Vanadium

• Found in solid solution in magnetite.
• V is mined as a by product of other mining
• Only makes up 0.014 wt of crust

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Uses of Vanadium

• Tanning and pigments (since 1830)
• Steel (since 1896)
• Only need as much as 0.2 wt--increases strength

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Geological Occurrence

• Mafic layered intrusions
• Sedimentary from weathering
• Concentrated in organic matter
• Coal 0.02 wt
• Crude oil 0.005 wt
• Tar sands 0.025 wt to 0.05wt

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Location of V Deposits
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Vanadium Production

• 2007 pdf files of V from USGS

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Nickel

• 72 ppm in the crust
• 1781--pure metal
• Takes its name from
• Discovered in SaxonyCu Mines
• Minors tried to smelt some of the Cu ore
• KupfernickelOld Nicks Cu

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Uses

• Initially electroplating (Michael Faraday)
• Now gt 50 in steel
• gt30 in non ferrous alloys and Superalloys

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Major Producers

• Russia
• Canada
• Australia
• New Caledonia
• Indonesia

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Location of Ni Deposits
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Geological Occurrence

• Igneous
• Sudbury, Ontario
• Ore mineral pentlandite
• Sedimentary
• Laterites (4 to 5 wt in Ni silicate)
• Ore mineral garnierite

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(No Transcript)
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Resources/Reserves

• Weve already covered this in our Ni problem
  earlier on

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Molybdenum

• 1.2 ppm in the crust
• 1778new element
• 1893 pure metal

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Uses

• As a Sulfide
• Lubricant
• Orange pigment
• As a Metal
• Steel 0.1 to 10 added to steel
• Makes it tough and resilient
• Could replace W steels for high speed cutting
  tools

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Producers

• USGS 2007 PDF file

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Geological Occurrence

• Igneous
• Plate boundaries--porphyries

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Environmental Problems

• Large amounts of waste rock
• Very large scars on the land

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Cobalt

• Has been known as a blue coloring agent for
  thousands of years
• 28 ppm in crust
• KoboldsAg Stealing goblins

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Uses

• Steel
• up to 5 Co in steel
• Superalloys
• Major use
• Chemical Applications
• Coloring, tanning, Co compounds

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Major Producer/Reserves

• Kinshasa
• PDF file

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Geological Occurrence

• Sedimentary
• Black shales
• Laterites

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Tungsten

• 1 ppm in crust
• Highest melting point
• Highest tensile strength
• 1855added to steel in France
• WC
• Light filaments

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Geological Occurrence

• Igneous
• Convergent Plate Boundaries

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Producers

• China!
• Pdf file