Phase diagram cerium: Image via Wikipedia
Freely translated from Dagens Industri
Cerium oxide, which is used to finish semiconductors and obtained from the rare earth element cerium, has risen in price from $ 4.70 per kg on April 20 to 36 U.S. dollars a kilo on Tuesday, October 19. An increase of 665 percent.
The price rise is primarily due to China scaling down its export quotas. In recent years there has been a gradual reduction of 5-10 percent per year, but in July alone it was reduced by 40 percent. The country accounts for almost 95 percent of world supply of rare earths and in some cases almost 100 percent.
The official explanation from China is that the country’s own industrial needs must be met first. These account for 60 percent of global demand. Producing earth metals is a dirty business and China also gives environmental reasons as an explanation for the lower export quotas.
But many, especially in the U.S., suspect that it is a low-key trade war.
The k2p blog 