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The Supply of the Heavy Earth Metals and the demand for them by the Global OEM Automotive Industry

2012-05-16
There has recently been a great deal of hypothesizing and prognosticating about the security of supply of the rare earths for the non-Chinese OEM automotive industry. The pundits and industry analysts have warned of demand destruction by substitution driven by sustained high prices as well as due to supply interruptions. What has been overlooked for the most part is that the issue is not about all of the rare earths; it is just about some of them, the critical rare earths. And even in that category there are two separate issues: 1) Is there enough production of the light rare earth, neodymium, to sustain current demand and can its non-Chinese production grow to meet expected non-Chinese demand? and 2.) Is there even enough production of the heavy rare earths, dysprosium and terbium, to meet current Chinese demand and is it possible to produce dysprosium a.) Outside of China, and b.)
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