Tuesday, December 27, 2011

DOE Reached Same Conclusion On Wind Rare Earths As Alfidi Capital

Some of my fine readers may have noticed my recent interview in The Gold Report where I named dysprosium as the rare earth metal most likely to remain strongly in demand.  I mentioned it in the context of continued strong demand for wind turbines that also used neodymium in their magnets.  Well, lo and behold, the U.S. Department of Energy reached a similar conclusion in its 2011 Critical Materials Strategy.  It specifically named dysprosium and neodymium as two of five metals that may pose supply challenges for the clean energy sector.  The Gold Report has a good article pointing out implications for the rare earth mining sector.

The DOE report also has some great details on alternative technologies that may ameliorate the rare earth supply crunch when they are fully mature.  This is another subject I mentioned in my interview.  Listen up, Wall Street!  Keep reading this blog if you want to hear about emerging industry issues.