55
Chapter 3
Rare and Strategic Metals
Yves Fouquet and Bruno Martel-Jantin
Y. Fouquet ()
Géosciences marines, Centre Bretagne, Ifremer,
BP 70, 29280 Plouzané, France
e-mail: yves.fouquet@ifremer.fr
B. Martel-Jantin
Bureau de recherches géologiques et minières (BRGM),
39–43, quai André Citroën, 75015, Paris, France
e-mail: bruno.martel.jantin@brgm.fr
Context
In western countries, an increasing share of metals is imported. While the supply of
metals used in everyday products requires to be reduced, many economic sectors
could be considerably affected. A distinction should be made between base metals
(iron, copper, zinc, lead…) and rare metals, little known to the general public, and
yet at the heart of high technology industries.
Over the past few years, the rare metals market has been driven by China’s
and India’s second industrialisation phase, and the development of their high
technology industry. The information and new energies era creates demand for
an increasingly wide range of metals, in particular: tantalum in mobile phones;
indium in liquid crystal displays; gallium, cadmium, indium and selenium in new
generation, high yield photovoltaic cells. These metals, of which the volumes
traded are very low, are highly sensitive to temporary imbalances between supply
and demand. The uses of rare metals evolve rapidly according to technological
innovations and these metals can become strategic. They cannot be considered
independently of the base metals with which they are generally associated in
deposits (Fig. 3.1).
Y. Fouquet, D. Lacroix (eds.), Deep Marine Mineral Resources,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8563-1_3, © Éditions Quæ 2014
Chapter 3
Rare and Strategic Metals
Yves Fouquet and Bruno Martel-Jantin
Y. Fouquet ()
Géosciences marines, Centre Bretagne, Ifremer,
BP 70, 29280 Plouzané, France
e-mail: yves.fouquet@ifremer.fr
B. Martel-Jantin
Bureau de recherches géologiques et minières (BRGM),
39–43, quai André Citroën, 75015, Paris, France
e-mail: bruno.martel.jantin@brgm.fr
Context
In western countries, an increasing share of metals is imported. While the supply of
metals used in everyday products requires to be reduced, many economic sectors
could be considerably affected. A distinction should be made between base metals
(iron, copper, zinc, lead…) and rare metals, little known to the general public, and
yet at the heart of high technology industries.
Over the past few years, the rare metals market has been driven by China’s
and India’s second industrialisation phase, and the development of their high
technology industry. The information and new energies era creates demand for
an increasingly wide range of metals, in particular: tantalum in mobile phones;
indium in liquid crystal displays; gallium, cadmium, indium and selenium in new
generation, high yield photovoltaic cells. These metals, of which the volumes
traded are very low, are highly sensitive to temporary imbalances between supply
and demand. The uses of rare metals evolve rapidly according to technological
innovations and these metals can become strategic. They cannot be considered
independently of the base metals with which they are generally associated in
deposits (Fig. 3.1).
Y. Fouquet, D. Lacroix (eds.), Deep Marine Mineral Resources,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8563-1_3, © Éditions Quæ 2014