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Melt Additives Supply Tightening


Rare earth elements and several other materials are in short supply, with costs steadily rising. Could scarcity be next? SHEA GIBBS, MANAGING EDITOR


Editor’s Note: Tis article is the second in a series on raw materials trends in the metalcasting industry. Te first article, “Sand Shortage: Myth or Reality?,” appeared in the July issue.


R


are earth element isn’t just a catchy name, at least for U.S.-based manufacturers.


Te 17 metals classified as such are so scarce in the country, researchers have begun searching for them in extraterrestrial locations. According to scientists at NASA’s Lunar Sci- ence Institute, the metals may exist in abundance on the surface of the moon, and the institute is looking into the prospect of mining them. While most ferrous metalcasters


aren’t looking to the moon just yet, their balance sheets have been affected by rare earth elements. For years, the existence of the materials in ductile iron magnesium ferrosilicon pre-blends at low levels (about 1-3%) and gray iron inoculants flew essentially under the radar. But now, with demand rising and supply remaining static, the price of the goods is steadily increasing, and metalcasters are taking notice. “At this point in time, we have had no issues with deliveries of


26 | MODERN CASTING August 2011


magnesium ferrosilicon alloys, but our suppliers keep talking to us about the rare earth situation and [saying] that delivery issues could come up,” said Larry Helm, quality control manager for Seneca Foundry Inc., Webster City, Iowa. “As the supply gets tighter and tighter, something is bound to happen.” Rare earth elements aren’t the


only melt additives that are rising in price. Iron treatment products like silicon carbide and other carbon raisers also have fallen victim to the paradox of escalating demand and stagnant supply. “China has many of [these


resources],” said Eugene Muratore, senior foundry metallurgist for Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium America, Chicago. “The Chinese realize they have a corner on the market, and they are driving the price up.”


Defining Rare Earths Metalcasters have been famil-


iar—if vaguely—with the benefits of rare earth metals since the birth of ductile iron around World War II. About the same time it was discov- ered magnesium could be used to turn the graphite flakes in gray iron nodular, rare earths were found to do the same. However, magnesium was selected as the most effective treatment element. Rare earths were not abandoned, though; the materi- als were used in ductile iron melt- ing to mitigate the effects of tramp elements. And the metals are still used today, found directly in the magnesium ferrosilicon additives for ductile iron available from most major industry suppliers, as well as in gray iron inoculation alloys. Te periodic table contains 17 ele- ments that are classified as rare earths: the 15 lanthanides (i.e. lanthanum and the 14 elements that succeed it in atomic weight), scandium and yttrium. According to Fred Linebarger, director of technology for melt materials pro-


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