- Write by:
-
Saturday, December 12, 2020 - 10:52:13 PM
-
513 Visit
-
Print
Mining News Pro - Producers of rare earths, under increasing pressure from their industrial buyers over longstanding pollution issues, are hammering out a single set of global environmental standards, the head of the industry association has told Reuters.
Manufacturers of products such as electronic goods and electric vehicles (EVs) are themselves under pressure from consumers to push their suppliers to impose sustainability standards – and some, such as German carmaker BMW, are trying to do without them altogether.
As there is no unified framework for rare earths, producers must currently navigate multiple standards and requirements, said Badrinath Veluri, president of the global Rare Earth Industry Association (REIA).
“The product manufacturers who are close to the customers demand sustainability, but every region is different, so this becomes very confusing and difficult to benchmark,” he said.
Rare earths are a set of 17 related heavy metals, generally found widely dispersed rather than in concentrated deposits, and used in products ranging from wind turbines to electric vehicles and in industrial processes.
Refining rare earth ore into individual elements is a complex operation, involving solvents and toxic waste that needs to be disposed of carefully.
China, which dominates global production, said last year it had shut down more than 1,300 heavy metal enterprises since 2016 to curb widespread chronic soil pollution.
Rarely absent
Output of rare earths is set to spread geographically in coming years as the United States and Europe seek to wean themselves off dependence on China.
“To create a level playing field, the downstream players play a vital role. If there is a single standard and unified methodology, then upstream players will accept this much more easily,” Veluri said.
The global association, founded last year, is building a global sustainability framework to be rolled out next year and plans to use an integrated blockchain tool to boost transparency, said Veluri, who works as a magnetic materials specialist at water pump maker Grundfos in Denmark.
REIA has been in discussion with companies all along the “value chain” from miners to makers of consumer goods. These include the auto industry, now shifting increasingly toward electric vehicles, whose motors usually require rare earth-based magnets.
BMW, however, said concerns about sustainability as well as availability and price volatility had prompted it to eliminate rare earths from its fifth-generation “eDrive” technology, to be deployed in its iX3 all-electric model next year.
“Our goal for the future is to avoid rare earths wherever possible,” it said in an emailed reply to a query.
The REIA plans to use standards drawn up by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) as a foundation for its sustainability framework.
Short Link:
https://www.miningnews.ir/En/News/609712
A Russian arbitration court ruled on Monday that four units of Swiss commodities trader Glencore will pay more than 11.4 ...
A Native American group has asked all members of a US appeals court on Monday to overturn an earlier ruling that granted ...
The London Metal Exchange (LME) on Saturday banned from its system Russian metal produced on or after April 13 to comply ...
China’s state planner on Friday finalized a rule to set up a domestic coal production reserve system by 2027, aimed at ...
Chile’s SQM called another investors meeting at the request of its second-largest shareholder, Tianqi Lithium Corp., ...
The world’s coal-fired power capacity grew 2% last year, its highest annual increase since 2016, driven by new builds in ...
Peabody Energy Corp. shares sunk to the lowest in seven months after the biggest US coal miner warned that first-quarter ...
Rio Tinto said on Wednesday it is teaming up with a global venture studio and start-up investor to back the development ...
BMO Bank quietly dropped its policy restricting lending to the coal industry in late 2023, helping it avoid being ...
No comments have been posted yet ...