MMTA Launches Training Programmein partnership with NAMTEC

The magazine of the Minor Metals Trade Association

July 2012www.mmta.co.uk

MESSAGE FROM THE MMTA EXECUTIVE
By Maria Cox, General Manager
Dear Members,

Maria Cox, MMTA General Manager

Welcome to our Summer edition of the
Crucible. We received some extremely
positive feedback about April’s edition,
both in terms of content and the new
layout, but we always want to hear
what you think! In the Spring, we
asked members to get involved andcontribute to the Crucible, and as you
will see this time, quite a few have, somany thanks! We will soon begin

being the size of our room. For thoseof you who thought it was only for new
entrants to the sector, Anthony
Lipmann (Lipmann Walton) has
written a short review of what new
entrants and experienced practitioners
all thought was a worthwhile event. I
am really keen to develop our
educational programme, and am
looking forward to being able to put on
more courses for members. We doneed to know what you would like us to

We are very keen to receive your contributions to the Crucible!
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Message from Exec .................. 2
Opinion ....................................... 3
Diary Dates ................................ 3
Welcome from the Chair....... 4
Letter from the US................... 5
New Members........................... 5
McLelland Interview ................. 6

looking for contributors for theAutumn edition. Whether you agree ordisagree with their comments, I’m sure
our volunteer authors would love tohear what you think.
Firstly, I would like to welcome our 2
new members since the last edition:
Metraco NV, based in Belgium, andA & R Merchants from the USA.

Conference Review.................. 6
MMTA Update........................... 8Sponsorship ................................ 9
The Birth of the MMTA .......... 10
Conference Review.................. 11
Mufulira Update ........................ 12
Commodity Trade Finance .... 14
Reviews ....................................... 15
Metal Statistics…………...….16
China vs Europe vs US……...17
Member Benefits ....................... 18
Committees ............................... 18
Contact Maria Cox atmaria@mmta.co.uk
2

In this edition, you will hear from Roy
Walton (Darton Commodities),
outlining some of the activities of the
MMTA committees, as well as
introducing you to the new members
who have decided to get more involved,
and we are very excited about working
with all of them.
I hope you will agree with me that our
main interview with Dr Alan
McLelland of the National Metals
Technology Centre (Namtec) is a fascinating read. We are really looking
forward to developing this relationshipfurther, and as a start, our recent
Metallurgy for Beginners course was a
big success—the only limit on numbers

put on and where.
I would like to draw your attention to
my update on one of our major
projects for 2011/12, our new website,which is nearing completion. We arein the process of updating information
for the members’ directory, which will
massively improve the search function.
We have a large number of visitors to
the site, as well as phone enquiries, so
the more information we have on eachmember company, the better we canpromote you.
I will be using the Crucible to keep you
informed of the projects we are
involved in, whether just for
information, or in case any members
wish to become involved in a particular
project of interest. This can be afulfilling activity, and helps make the
MMTA more effective.
Finally, I hope you enjoy this edition of
the Crucible. You can read it online orprint it off to read at your leisure.
Following feedback, I have hopefully
made it more printer friendly this time.

DIARY DATESMINOR METALS INSIDER
Accuracy of published prices
for minor metals — animportant responsibility

Every contract needs to have a price;preferably this price is a fair price forboth buyer and seller.
Unlike for exchange-tradable metals
such as those traded on the London
Metal Exchange, or metals traded inregulated markets such as the London
Bullion Market Association or the London Platinum and Palladium Market(both with official fixings), no transparent market exists for minor metals.
The main reason is the global size ofthe market and the limited number ofdaily transactions, both too small tojustify initiating contracts on official
exchanges or metal markets.
In general, the market price should
rule in function of supply-demand dynamics. However speculation, position-taking and investment stocking anddestocking exist.
Publishers such as Metal Bulletin, Metal Pages, Asian Metal and MetalPrices.com publish a weekly -or twice per
week- metal price quotation.
These publishers issue prices for a specific metal and for a specific purity,delivered at a specific location. Pricing
is in €, $ or in another currency, andreferences usually include a Low, Aver-age and High price reference.
Price setting is unfortunately not welldocumented hence not very transparent. Usually the publisher applies someinternal rules, such as to contact producers, end users, traders and distributors to hear their opinion and ask for
price information related to deals thatwere booked in the past few days. Appropriate filtering of the information isnecessary to distinguish the facts fromthe tales, and requires experience. The
market analyst will also seek to evaluate current and future supply-demandbalance/imbalance, analyze import/
export statistics, follow trends in themarket (eg follow current and future
use of a specific metal in its main
applications) and implement current
and future regulatory/government interventions into the price model.
As market participants in the minor
metals industry often refer in one way
or another to a published price whennegotiating a spot deal or a long term
contract, it is of great importance thatthose prices are a good reflection of thecurrent market. The published priceshould preferably take into account a
global perspective (rather than country
or region based), should consult abroad enough spectrum of market participants and should act/react quickly
according to market changes (though
not over-react). …
Not an easy assignment, I agree. But
for all those engaged in trading(whether you are a producer, end-user,
distributor or trader) a representative
price is an essential element of thebusiness!
Looking forward to seeing accurate
price publications.
Kris Van den Broeck
Umicore Precious Metals Refining.



Legal Aspects ofContracting
Seminar followedby Lunch, London,
UK, 13th September 2012

39th Anniversary
Dinner,Intercontinental
Hotel, Park Lane,
London, UK, 16th
October 2012

Dinner and site
visit to Firth
Rixson, Sheffield,
UK, 14th—15th
November 2012

New York Dinner,
Cornell Club, New
York, USA, 5th
December 2012



MMTA Christmas
Lunch, Pewterers’
Hall, London, UK,
12th December
2012

DO YOU AGREE WITH
THE POSITION OF
THIS ISSUE’S MINORMETALS INSIDER?

If you wish to commentor provide an alternative
point of view, pleasecontact
maria@mmta.co.uk.

3

WELCOME FROM THE MMTA CHAIR
By Roy Walton, MMTA Chair
It is my pleasure to write to you after thetremendous sell out success of the
Cologne Conference and my first Main
Committee meeting in the Chair.
During the Conference and subsequently I
am delighted to report that several
members came forward interested in being more actively involved and accordingly I would like to welcome the following
new Committee members:
Volker Mertens from Womet of Germany
joins the Main Committee and the Conference Committee.

Roy Walton, new MMTA Chair

Rob Bolton from Aon Risk Solutions joins
the Main Committee and a new InsuranceThis Insurance Task Force may have its
brief extended to cover marine, transportand stock insurance. The Insurance Task
Force group will be established over the
coming weeks and we would very much
like to hear from any other members whoare interested in being involved.
The Conference Committee is working in
conjunction with Metal Events planningthe 2013 conference scheduled to takeplace 24th to 26th April in Washington
DC, USA. Please put this event in yourdiaries and make sure you take advantageof the early bird member only delegate
rates. I look forward to working with theConference Committee with input fromthe North American Sub Committee tomake the Washington conference every“I urge anyone who is an employee of an MMTA member who is interested
in becoming more involved to discuss this with Maria Cox or myself”.
MMTA’S 2013
INTERNATIONALMINOR METALSCONFERENCE

Task Force.
Chris Edler of Lambert Metals joins theConference Committee.
Denise Denney of AMC Group joins the
Warehousing Committee.
Charles Reynolds-Payne of C Steinweg ofAntwerp joins the Business & Social
Events Committee.
Tony Gunst of Sovereign International
Metals & Alloys of the USA joins theMediation & Arbitration Committee

Mandarin Oriental
Hotel
Washington DC
April 24th—26th
2013

4

I would like to take this opportunity tothank all those who serve on the MMTA
Main Committee and various Sub Committees past and present for the time andeffort they commit. One recent development I would like to mention is the availability of telephone conferencing which has
made participation in MMTA Committees
less onerous in terms of time spent out of
the office. I urge anyone who is an employee of an MMTA member who is interested in becoming more involved to discuss this with Maria Cox or myself. For afull list of MMTA committees and their
make-up please see the back page of thisedition.
Rob Bolton has agreed to work with Deborah Stott of Firth Rixson, Neil Poulter ofWogen and myself to form a new Insurance Task Force with the initial purpose ofmonitoring and communicating with themain credit insurance underwriters inthese difficult economic circumstances.

bit as good as Cologne. If any of you areinterested in presenting papers or haveinteresting and creative suggestions on
topics and speakers please do not hesitate
to speak to Metal Events or any of theConference Committee members.
The Business & Social Events Committee
is continually raising both the number andquality of the events the MMTA organises. The MMTA recently very successfully
extended activities to cover training andran a very successful Metallurgy for Beginners training day. I believe this is a usefulservice for Members and was delighted by
the good attendance of younger members
at the first formal training event. The
Business & Social Events Committee will
be sitting down, in conjunction with theNorth American Committee to plan a varied programme of both business,
educational and social events for 2013. As
ever, they would be interested to hearfrom members with ideas of what theywould like to see as part of next year’s
events programme.
Over the coming months many of the projects the MMTA has in progress will bereaching their conclusion, including the
new website, which we firmly believe will
enhance existing member services andbenefits. I am very much looking forward
to working with my colleagues on theMain Committee and all those who serveon the various Sub Committees and theInsurance Task Force to deliver high quality services to members.

LETTER FROM AMERICA
Dear Members

NEW MEMBERS

For we members of the MMTA in North America, one of the most rewarding benefitsof membership over the past several years has been not only the significant increasein the number of members (the association now has 27 members in the US and two in
Canada), but also that of association events held on US soil.

The MMTA would like to

Kicking off with the annual winter holiday season dinner at the Cornell Club here in
New York, we had the first MMTA annual conference in the US, in Philadelphia, lastyear. And we have another coming up in DC next year. More immediately, though,in mid June, there were informal drinks here in New York – a first for such anoccasion.
There are few institutions like an English “association”. The MMTA is no exception.
Consummately good at promoting conviviality, where else, if not at an association
event, might you find, for example, the major traders of a number of different metals
kicking back, quaffing their beverages, shooting the breeze, and all round the sametable? And when better than at an MMTA event to share with others not only what’s
going on in the market, but also in the world of minor metals at large? (Furthermore,
any demands for satisfaction, have only required the consumption of bumpers intoasts!)extend a warm welcome toits two newest members.
For

more

details,visit

www.mmta.co.uk/members

A & R MERCHANTS INC

So much of what a really good association is about is communication, not least thesharing of ideas, news, concepts and thoughts. As not only the North American
contingent, but also those from other continents, grows, I believe it behooves us all toensure that, as MMTA members, we trade between us not just metals but
intelligence, solutions, initiatives and concerns that affect us all. Whilst I love to hear
what’s going on in the UK, I know that many there (and in mainland Europe) would
like to know what’s going on with us here.

A&R Merchants Inc is in-So, hopefully, as the first such exchange of news etc, here is just one current US
domestic initiative that could have quite important long-term consequences for
association members.

tries. Its main markets are

As a guest lecturer up at Yale University the other month, I was the invitee of theCenter for Industrial Ecology (at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental
Studies) where Professor Thomas Graedel (guest speaker at the 2010 MMTA winterdinner in New York) and his research team are doing both extremely important andfascinating work with their “Criticality of Metals” project. Professor Graedel
developed the minerals “criticality matrix” that originally appeared, back in 2007, inthe seminal report Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the U.S. Economy fromthe US National Research Council. His matrix concept was, subsequently, developed
and used by the European Commission in its report Critical raw materials for
the EU from the Ad-hoc Working Group on defining critical raw materials. Now, heand his team have further developed the assessment procedure and are actively
applying it to examine the criticality of what they call “specialty metals”, for example,
molybdenum, cobalt, niobium, tantalum and hafnium, with the long term goal ofevaluating “the criticality of the entire suite of some sixty metals used in modern
technology.”
With the high esteem in which both Yale and Professor Graedel are held, not only bygovernment here in the US, but also at the UN (in particular UNEP) and in Europe,
the project’s results will no doubt be carefully scrutinized by policy makers on bothsides of the Atlantic, with possible long-term implications for all of us involved in theworld of minor metals.

volved in tantalum and niobium for the electronics
andaerospace

EasternEurope,indus-

North

America and the Middle
East.

METRACO NV
www.metraco.beMetraco specialises in the
trading and distribution of
non-ferrous metals andferro-alloys in general.

From New YorkTom Butcher
Hard Assets Investor© 2012 Tom Butcher

5

MMTA INTERVIEWS DR ALAN MCLELLAND
By Maria Cox, General Manager
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Dr Alan McLelland, CEO of Namtec (National
Metals Technology Centre) over breakfast at the MMTA office in London. Dr McLelland
gave a brief overview of the work of Namtec, which covers three distinct areas: consultancy,
its business forum, and training.
Namtec supports companies with a wide range of issues, from specific technical questions,questions around how to design or supply a particular product to market, through to companies wishing to diversify but not knowing how to go about it. Training is about 1/3 ofNamtec’s business, and he highlights the problem that “there is a real lack of skilled metallurgists within the industry … and fewer and fewer companies are recruiting metallurgists
and metals experts”. I venture that this is precisely why offering our first metallurgy training course in partnership with Namtec is an exciting development for the MMTA.
Technological Developments
I wonder what role Namtec plays in keeping a view on technological developments to identify anything coming over the horizon which could lead to the serious commercialisation of“Technology innovation is a double-edged sword — as quickly as a new
development can push up demand for one metal, it can just as easily andquickly remove demand for another.”
MMTA’SINTERNATIONALMINOR METALSCONFERENCE 2012
REVIEW
I hate to admit how many
metals conferences I haveattended during the past 38
years; but the recent
MMTA Conference in
Cologne Germany was
exceptional. First off, mysincere congratulations to
all involved with coordinating the logistics; speakers,
and entertainment. As you
say in the UK, “it was over
the top”.
I know how difficult it is toarrange quality speakers,
and to keep the audience
focused throughout eachpresentation, but thecommittee scored an A +.

an under-utilised minor metal, and Dr McLelland responds that they are involved in a lot ofhigh growth market areas, “so immediately get visibility of where these trends are going.
Let’s take offshore wind, it’s got a huge [and] growing potential, but at the moment it isbased on current onshore technology being moved offshore. But offshore turbines can bemade much bigger. Onshore turbines are between 2 and 3 MW, whereas offshore is startingat about 3.5, the next generation will go up to 5, and people are now looking at offshore
turbines of about 10 or even 20 MW. Currently there are several technology solutions being
explored. One of them that we use is permanent magnet generators, which rely on neodymium and dysprosium”.
“The same is true of photovoltaic devices. In many instances, the technology is still in its
infancy and a number of possible solutions are under development. In the background in
relatively small volume is thin film, which has a lot of advantages, particularly in the efficiency of its materials. It relies on a number of minor metals, tellurium being one ofthem...Eventually one of these [solutions] is actually going to come out as the dominant
technology. Ultimately you might end up with one or two solutions, but I don’t think you
will end up with half a dozen.”“The other point to mention is that technology will not stand still – what we perhaps foresee
today could well change, and in a relatively short timeframe. There are many examples
where a technology innovation has come through and dramatically affected demand – wecan think of lithium and its application in battery technology, which over a relatively shortperiod pushed demand and prices considerably. Of course, technology innovation is a double edged sword – as quickly as a new development can push up demand for one metal, it
can just as easily and quickly remove demand for another. With such a rate of change, a
constant eye is needed.”Transformative Minor Metals Applications(See Over)We discuss whether one or more minor metal applications can be regarded as having beentransformative during the period since the MMTA was founded in 1973, and why that might
be so. “There are a couple of obvious examples,” he says.

6“Firstly one can think of Platinum and Platinum Group Metals (PGM) in general. As costly
metals, their usage was somewhat restricted to specialist areas such as the chemical industry. However, the passing of legislation for emissions transformed usage such that virtually
every vehicle in the world is now fitted with a catalytic converter based around these metals.

While driven by costs, it is nevertheless pleasing to see that these are an excellent
example of a closed loop system with very high rates of recovery and reuse”.
“Another obvious metal is Neodymium. It is hard to underestimate the impact of thismetal which, until recent price and availability concerns, was almost unheard of.

CONFERENCE
REVIEW... CONT’D

However its application in high strength magnets has revolutionised so many products, and its use is only forecast to increase. Here is an example of where recovery
and reuse are in their infancy but increases can be expected”.
What About Our Old Mobile Phones?
I wonder whether he can expand on how improved recovery and reuse rates might beachieved, as it seems to be a real stumbling block. “There are some very big challenges, the first being actually getting hold of material to recycle. We have a very ill disciplined waste recycling mechanism, so there is no really good source of capturing these materials at end of life; for example, there was a study done in Germany on mobile
phones a few years ago, of 2,300 tonnes of mobile phones that ought to have become
available at end of life, only 100 tonnes found their way into the recycling chain. So
what happened to the rest? Typically, because they are so small, people tuck themaway in a drawer as a spare, or they get thrown away into landfill waste. So that’s thefirst thing, actually getting hold of the material”.
“The second thing is these metals that we really need to start capturing have only
been used relatively recently, so we have a fairly high demand, but many of the products are not yet at end of life. People talk a lot about recycling and quote a lot of statistics but many products are actually still in use and not yet ready to be recycled”.
“The third thing is how do you capture all of these very low quantities of very broadly
spread metals? If you take a smart phone, it has about 20mg of gold in it. It’s not anawful lot of gold, but with 1.6 billion produced each year that equates to some 30
tonnes! It also contains a lot of other components: silver, a fair amount of copper,
palladium, tantalum, and tungsten, but all in very small quantities, typically as a plating or a film, or combined with other materials. How on earth do you extract tinyquantities of what is extremely valuable? They are mechanically or chemically integrated, and a lot of metals are reactive: Rare earths for example - give rare earths a
bit of heat and a breath of oxygen and you have an oxide which disappears pretty
quickly. So there is a lot of technology development required in order to efficiently
and cost effectively extract relatively small volumes of a very large number of compo-“Everyone says ‘Oh, the key is to recycle it’, but there
is still some real work to make it an effective process”
nents. However, it not only makes good environmental sense, it can also make goodcommercial sense. If all you are pulling out is gold, then you are losing a vast quantity of very valuable material”.
“The other consideration is, whether it is environmentally positive. Is it less environmentally damaging to mine more of the material out than to try to recycle what’s already out there? Think of the energy, the chemical process you have to use to recycle.
If it becomes a wet chemical process route, typically some fairly harsh chemicals areused. Part of the challenge is making that process not just efficient and cost effective,
but also environmentally positive, so that it’s better to recycle than it is to go and buy.
Everyone says ‘Oh, the key is to recycle it’, but there is still some real work to make it
an effective process. If it can be achieved – great! If someone could solve this problem, they would be on to an absolute winner. There are vast amounts tied up in thesecomponents”. I ask whether anyone is there yet. He replies: “There are a couple oforganisations that are setting up much more specialist, dedicated recycling facilities,
focussed around electrical waste. They are trying to really capture a larger number ofthe elements, and even so, it is very difficult”.

The hotel location, and its
facilities were perfect, andallowed for comfortable informal
meetings. I never had the senseof being uncomfortable orcompromised in any meetings,
similar to that of other major
International conferences, forexample. The meetings that took
place, as in my case, were brandnew, and provided an “expanded
window” to certain aspects of
my business, that I neverexperienced before.
The very fair and intelligent
questions asked by the moderator (Rachel Carnac) to the
speakers, encouraged further
explanation and clarification of
the topic presented, which
provided a relaxed atmosphere,
and critically important.
Congratulations to Guy Darbyfor his leadership in guiding the
MMTA to a higher level, andgood luck to Roy Walton, who I
know will continue the successof his predecessor. Now, it is up
to us, the North American
Committee of the MMTA, tomake the Washington D.C. 2013
event even better.

Paul J. Helsel
Sr. Partner
Phoenixx International

7

KEEPING YOU
INFORMED
The MMTA will soon belaunching its new website,which will contain many new
features which we hope will
make your interactions with
the Association easier andmore effective.
Apart from offering the ability
to book and pay for events
online, the new website will
include a members’ only area
and improved exposure formembers via the enhanced
members’ directory. There
will be other new features
added over the coming
months, and we hope it will
become a well-used andinformative resource for themembership.
One of the main features will
be regular updates on thework of the MMTA’scommittees, keeping you, themembers, informed of what
your Association is doing.
We will look forward tohearing what you think.
The new website has been an
important project for the
MMTA, beginning with aformal tender, where 3companies were chosen to
submit proposals. The Main
Committee and Executive
examined the proposals,choosing Cyber, the company
that offered the best value formoney and most appealing
design.

8

INTERVIEW...CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7“What is really needed is a solid recycling philosophy. We recycle at home - the plastics, theglass, the paper and so on. But all the other material isn’t collected. So what tends to happen
is either people put it in the black bin, and it goes to landfill, or the expectation is that people
will take this to the local recycling source”. We agree that you have to be quite committed to
do that; some people will, but a lot of people won’t bother. So what is needed is a very effective collection mechanism; it has to be made easy for people.
“People are busy, it takes time, you have got to make it a very easy process, where it gets collected and there is an effective mechanism post collection to separate and segregate and thenefficiently process it. I think to make it effective you have to have economy of scale; without thevolume, it simply doesn’t work. Somewhere down the line we have to adopt this philosophy”.
Commercial & Scientific Collaboration
I ask about how the commercial business side and the research technology side must work
together in the future, and to what extent Namtec is playing an important role in that process?
We agree that it is essential for the worlds of business and scientific research & development tocome together. Dr McLelland points out that “today, the term ‘minor metal’ seems inappropriate given the importance that these metals now hold. While we may use relatively small quantities of these metals, these are truly ‘technology’ metals which have a key part to play in our
future, not least within a low carbon future when we consider wind and solar energy, electricvehicles, low energy lighting and so on. They have progressed to become key enablers in pushing technology boundaries, and there is nothing to suggest this will change in the near future.
However, their application needs a much more holistic view – truly considering the full cradle
to grave to rejuvenation in the next generation of application with a far greater focus towards
effective capture from waste streams and reapplication”.

“We mine copper down to about 0.2%, which if you look at
a landfill site, it’s much, much higher than that!”“It is interesting though to think that not so many years ago, these metals were almost unheardof and yet we see neodymium, dysprosium, tantalum and other such metals appearing in ourdaily press. The rise in our awareness is partly a reflection of current availability concerns, but
it also highlights the growing importance that we place upon these metals for everyday products – our phones, our TVs, and so on”.
Are All The Metals Running Out?
This leads us neatly onto the subject of metals scarcity, and I wonder whether this is simply areflection of price and a relationship between what is economically viable to extract and what
the consumers of the metals are prepared to pay. With recycling set to increase due to thevalue of metals, I wonder whether he believes we should in fact be positive about the future.
He responds that in some ways he feels “disappointed that it takes an impending threat ofavailability constraints to make us take resource efficiency more seriously” but he remains
positive. “The fact that the geological community considers we have enough of these raw materials doesn’t preclude us, technically, commercially or morally, from being efficient withwhat we have. We are seeing a growth in the recovery of waste materials, which is now including these technology metals but we still have a long way to go. We need a truly effective closed
loop system to be developed which can capture much greater volumes of this waste and direct
it towards more efficient and effective recovery methods. We are making great strides forward
but the reality is we still have very low recycling rates for these metals – a few per cent is common. Commercially, with price increases this is becoming more viable”.
He is convinced that this “will inevitably have to happen because there’s now such a pressure
on resources that people are going to have to start being aware when products are designed, ofwhat the source of this raw material is. So ultimately, as technology developments comethrough, people are going to have to start to make the linkage.

They are now starting to go one stage further and talk about things like material supply security and trying to build that in, so these issues are considered right at the design stage of the
product. It is essentially a commercially driven activity; one doesn’t want to get tied into avery expensive and constrained supply chain around a particular metal or technology source”.

MMTA INFORMALDRINKS“There are so many reports that talk about metal scarcity, and they all rank different metals, it
can be very confusing, and the reality is that much of it is not well founded”.
Phew! Sun reports on Tungsten“What we at Namtec try to do is raise awareness in organisations, so that they start to consider what the threats are to their business, but in an objective manner, not scaremongering. I
have a press cutting from the Sun talking about Tungsten. I would never have expected that toappear in the Sun! It is a good story, but it is not necessarily giving people information they
can act upon. You talk to a lot of companies, particularly SME companies, and they say ‘well, I
can’t do anything about it, it’s too big a problem and it’s government intervention’, and actually there are things they can do”.
“They can look at what it is they do today, how much they use, how much wastage occurs intheir current processes, whether they have a second source of supply if one becomes difficult
or whether they are utterly dependent on one source. If you are using a particular metal, is it
mined as a primary source or does it come as a by product? We have lots of people saying ‘theprice of this is all over the place’, and part of it is because it is a by product; it is not mineditself, for example copper mining produces by products. And the miners make the money outof selling the copper, not really this fairly low volume material. So these are all things thatbusiness can think about that might help them plan.

We have 2 remaining sponsorship opportunities for 2012:
Our flagship 39th Anniversary Dinner,
this year taking place at the InterContinental
Hotel, Park Lane on 16th October.

Any ideas for future
events?

Our Minor Metals in New York Dinnertaking place on 5th December at the Cornell
Club offers a fantastic sponsorship opportunity to someone wishing to focus specifically on the US membership.

Contact

And finally we turn to landfill sites. “In the future we will have to mine them. If you look at
the percentage of these metals in the landfill sites, it is at a much higher percentage than in theore! We mine copper down to about 0.2%, which if you look in a landfill site, it’s much, muchhigher than that! There isn’t a huge volume, but it’s much, much higher! No wonder people
are buying them up as an investment. In 20, 30, 50 years’ time, they could well become aprime source of resources”.

BENEFIT FROM SPONSORING AN MMTA EVENTMMTA communications andmarketing reachthe inboxes ofdecision-makers and key influencers within
the MMTA membership and outside it for
the entire duration of the marketing of anevent, as well as in post-event reviews.
Our current website has over 4,000 visits
per month from across the globe, and oursoon-to-be-launched new website offers
even greater opportunities for sponsors.
Take advantage of the MMTA’s contacts anddistribution channels by using us to help
target your marketing activity within the

For London based
members, informal
drinks are not new, so
it was good to seesome familiar as well
as some new faces onJune 21st.
Earlier in the year, we
held drinks in Brussels
for the first time, andon 14th June theWheeltapper Patio in
New York was host to
over 30 US-based
MMTA members. By
all accounts it was avery enjoyable evening,
and we look forward
to building on this andthe New York dinnerand putting on more
events in the US.

Landfill—Mines of the Future

Sponsoring an
MMTA event is
not just about
one evening.

During June, theMMTA held informal
drinks in both London
and New York.

minor metals sector.
MMTA sponsorship also offers the opportunity to work with a trusted partner over an
extended period of time, maximising returnon your financial investment.

Details of specific sponsorship packages areavailable on request by contacting

maria@mmta.co.uk

emma@mmta.co.uk

9

CONFERENCE PHOTOGALLERY

THE WAY WE WERE…..
Founding father of the MMTA, Peter Robbins, remembers how the
Association came into being.
The idea of ‘swinging London’ tends to conjure up visions of mini-skirts and flower
power rather than stuffy Victorian offices full of clerks clacking away on typewriters andmechanical calculating machines. The City’s metal merchants had recovered from thewar and were carrying on their ancient trade in iron and steel, base metals and gold andsilver. But as the 60s turned into the 70s and John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ was climbing thecharts, another technical revolution was taking place. Innovations in aerospace, thechemical industry and most of all electronics, was creating a new demand for metals
most traders didn’t even know how to spell.
There were several other commonly used metals like nickel and aluminium which wererarely traded through the City’s merchant houses because consortia of the major
producers controlled the market, deciding among themselves who to sell to and at what
price. The producers grip on these and many of the minor metals markets began toweaken, however, as smaller producers broke away to reap the rising prices caused byincreasing demand. The new industries needed traders to source their raw materials andmany of them naturally beat a path to the City – still the largest commodity trading
centre in the world.

“ creating a new demand for metals most traders
didn’t even know how to spell. ”
A few City companies marketed minor metals as agents for mining companies andothers had for many years specialised in this trade with China, Russia and other moremysterious countries but trading-room bosses, brought up on a diet of copper, zinc, leadand tin, weren’t particularly interested in finding out where to buy half a ton of indium
and they tended to hand over the minor metals book to junior traders such as myself.
Faced with the prospect of getting an earful of abuse from some crusty old war veteranof a boss, I had to burn the midnight oil to find out where all these weird metals camefrom and what they were used for. I quickly found out that I was not alone. Young men
in other companies (they were all men in those days) were desperately trying to find newsources and to find holes in the producer price system. I quickly found that I could get toknow much more about the markets if I talked to this growing band of minor metal
specialists. And the more we talked, the more business we did. Someone would havetungsten from China and someone else a customer for it in Sheffield, and so on.
Talking on the phone is one thing, but since we nearly all worked within a few hundred
yards of each other – a lunchtime pint became an obvious way to seal a deal.
And so the one-to-one meeting became a great opportunity to gossip about the market
and all the other market players.
Some of us were invited to the annual London Metal Exchange dinners where we met
each other in larger numbers but the LME only traded four base metals in those days
and we were trading dozens of them. The dinner wasn’t our event and we found it rather
easy to get bored listening to the Chilean trade attaché grinding on about a new copper
contract.

10THE WAY WE WERE…. CONT’D
Without bothering my bosses about it I decided one day to send off a telex (don’t
laugh) to all my City trading mates suggesting a social gathering in a pub next toSouthwark Bridge that has since been pulled down. Quite soon afterwards one of mybosses heard about my idea and hauled me in for a grilling.
Although he had little idea of how the minor metals business worked he was convinced that all the people I’d invited were my competitors and that they would steal
all our business. The truth was, of course, that we needed to trade with each othernot only to be more efficient but also to provide the critical mass of trade to hedge
and speculate.
I don’t remember much about the first meeting apart from one trader walking backhome along the parapet of the bridge 200 feet above the murky waters of Old Father
Thames but, needless to say, it was so popular that it led to others.
From that very first day everyone started talking about formal membership,
designing agreed contracts, writing constitutions, and all the other things that the
MMTA has now achieved. But all that for another day, perhaps.

MMTA’S INTERNATIONAL MINOR METALSCONFERENCE 2012
The most interesting aspect of the
MMTA conferences is the camaraderie. Whether walking through thegeneral session, relaxing in thelobby, or enjoying the always lively
hotel bar scene, you can find closefriends, long time customers andeven fierce competitors laughing,recounting famous stories, talking
about the markets and perhaps
completing new business. The
appeal should not simply be thediscussion sessions; it’s about
hearing the buzz on the street fromboth friend and foe.

CONFERENCE PHOTOGALLERY

food… all cultural and competitivelines were crossed to simply have anamazing evening. The overallarchitecture of the city was also very
impressive; we were always passing
a building/cathedral/museum
offering a unique glimpse into
German history.

Of course, I also enjoy the focusedgroup of metals the MMTA
targets. When traveling around theworld on tight schedules or budgets,
it is important to meet people who
can quickly understand the metals
and alloys you are working with. I
Personally I love the cities which the certainly left feeling more
MMTA chooses to host the annual
knowledgeable about some markets,
conference. Each has its own style, and even more confused aboutfrom a major metropolitan area to a others! For anyone who has not
smaller city with loads of cultraveled to Washington D.C.
ture. Having dinner at the Brauhaus (MMTA Annual Conference 2013),
FRUH am Dom was one of the most plan a few extra days, check out theenjoyable and entertaining events of Newseum, and bring comfortable
the conference. The live music, the shoes…
incredible beer, the overflow ofDavid Gussack, Exotech

11

WHAT MUFULIRA MEANS TO THE MMTA
MMTA UPDATE
Jill Fitzgibbon of Metal
Events Ltd is standing
down from the Business &Social Events Committee.
We would like to thankher for all her hard workand commitment to theteam.

Anthony Lipmann visits Mufulira in Zambia’s copper belt to see progress on
the installation of sulphur capture equipment.
Arriving in Mufulira
I am travelling to a country that had in September 2011 elected a new President. One of themost peaceful transitions of power seen in all Africa saw Michael Sata elected as President
and Dr Guy Scott, a white who retained Zambian nationality at Independence in 1964, installed as Vice President.
Arriving at the end of March, the country is still celebrating the victory of the Chipolopolo
football team (the copper bullets) in the African Cup of Nations, 19 years after its young
team was lost in a plane crash in 1993. This is a nation still far too used to tragedy. Two days
before my arrival, a loader, during refuelling underground at the mine in Mufulira, hadcaught fire and exploded, causing choking smoke from burning tyres.
The Times of Zambia (19.03.12) reported “170 miners choke, survive underground fire”“the country is still celebrating victory of the Chipolopolo football team(the copper bullets) in the African Cup of Nations”
The Doctors who treated the men told me that, although the miners were taken to hospital,
almost all were discharged the next day. Whether their release was quickened because of thearrival of a delegation of MPs from the UK Parliamentary Select Committee for International Development is not clear, but this accident was a reminder of what metal business canmean in communities far from London.
Sulphur capture scheduled for end 2013
MMTA members may be heartened to know that our Association’s involvement with Mufulira has resulted in progress and change. Representations made to Glencore Intl AG about
fugitive sulphur emissions from the copper smelter have had an effect and were followed bya Glencore announcement in November 2011 that installation of capture equipment would
be completed by the end of 2013.
On Tuesday 27th March I was part of a group collected at 7.00 am in a white brand new Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) bus, which escorted us for a visit to the Mufulira mine, smelting
and heap-leach operations, not more than a mile or so from our base at 7 Julius Nyerere.
Part of the group was to go underground while others toured the surface operations.
Chairman of MCM, Emmanuel Mutati, made a presentation in which we were invited to ask
any questions and told we could take as many photos we wished.
Our visit lasted the whole day, to show non-metal people and metal people alike the wholeprocess – charging concentrates to smelter, conversion, anode-making and refining as wellas, separately, heap-leaching and electro-winning.

Glencore’s promise to install
new converters to capture
sulphur in Mufulira

At the heart of the smelting process lie the three converters responsible for the fugitive emissions. I was able to see one new converter in position and operational, another on the
ground being prepared for installation and told that a third was on its way. The terrain for
the acid plant - key to the ultimate safe recovery of sulphur and particulates - was being prepared, awaiting the arrival of acid plant equipment from abroad.
MCM officials accompany us into the townships

12

When we finished the plant tour, the bus, now occupied by Chairman Mutati and other officers of MCM, continued to the poorest areas of Kankoyo which is the township that receives
the brunt of the sulphur fall-out.

WHAT MUFULIRA MEANS TO THE MMTA .. CONTD
There we visited first Muleya School, one of the poorest schools with 38 teachers catering
for 1668 pupils, including 371 orphans. Then on to Mine Basic the school whose children
wrote letters in 2009 describing what it was like to live with sulphur. This school caters
for 1492 children with 37 teachers. Finally we went to Kamuchanga Hospital where wesaw conditions under which a catchment of 90,000 people receive medical treatment –water and electricity only intermittently available, roofs broken which had recently
caused flooding to maternity and children’s wards, and broken laundry equipment.
Upon return to the MCM meeting rooms for summing up, Chairman Mutati said that
MCM was now holding monthly board meetings to allocate funds for works in the community, and that well-presented, costed, projects would be considered for action.
During the visits, Headmaster, Mr Solesole, of Muleya Winter Basic School, had handed adocument prepared by the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) for the building of newclassrooms, and Mr Mutati confirmed funding for this project of $30,000 at this meeting.

New Converter in place and working
at MCM, Zambia

Why fund an ‘exchange programme’ rather than objects for the community?
The philosophy of Intro Zambia, the Eco Tourist group run by Dr Laura Tilling, and
CMCPT (Cary Mufulira Community Partnership Trust) is dedicated to exchange andpartnership rather than hand-outs. Amongst our number on this trip were teachers preparing for future exchange trips between schools in Somerset, UK and their counterpartsin Zambia who have been twinning for up to 20 years.
The main anchor of the exchange programme, towards which the majority of funds raised
from MMTA members go, is between Ansford Academy & Mufulira High School. It is an
expensive business – up to £45,000 per exchange – to send 14 pupils and teachers fromUK to Zambia, and 14 back, and that is why the funds given by MMTA members are sucha lifeline.
It is a large sum and members are perhaps entitled to ask whether £45,000 spent in thisway is value for money. Would it not be more effective to spend this money on items suchas bore-holes, teaching equipment or medicines?

“the exchange philosophy produces partnership rather
than charity...there are things to be learnt on both sides”
It all depends upon what value you put on the exchange programme. It is true that an
exchange programme does not directly put more food on tables, improve sanitation, or
directly lead to better health. But it does result in friendships which have now lasted two
decades, and the exchange philosophy produces partnership rather than charity, illustrating that there are things to be learnt on both sides. Another way of looking at the matter
could simply be this – without the intelligence and commitment that generations of students and teachers from UK and Zambia have provided, it would not have been possible
to obtain the evidence to show that sulphur pollution was perhaps the single most correctable problem affecting the health of all citizens of Mufulira.
So, if our link does eventually result in the removal of sulphur pollution from the population of 300,000 people of Mufulira for the first time since copper mining and smelting
started in the 1930s, then it will have been more than worth it.
The mine owners claim they are spending $145 million on the three new converters andan acid plant. So, set against the costs of the exchange - perhaps not a bad return afterall?

Anthony Lipmann, Lipmann Walton & Co

Godfridah Mwimbe, a teacher at
Mine Basic School, outside herhome in Kankoyo which suffers
the brunt of sulphur emissions. It
was the children from her Eco
Group who wrote their letters addressed to ‘Mr Glasenberg’ asking
for sulphur to be captured.

13

COMMODITY TRADE FINANCE—NOTHING NEW!
MMTA LEGAL ASPECTS
OF CONTRACTING

This not-to-be-missed
half day seminar on
September 13th is an
introduction tocontracts for traders,
and will cover thefollowing:
What is a contract?
When is it made?
Does it incorporate
your standard terms?
Why are standard
terms useful?
Variations
What happens if one
side doesn't perform?
To register yourinterest, please contact:
emma@mmta.co.uk

14

Commodity trading houses have played
an integral role in the global economy
for centuries. Collectively, they ensurethat key resources flow efficiently fromareas of surplus supply to areas of excess
demand. As long as merchants haveexisted, banks have supported thephysical commodity trade by providing
necessary loans and trade services.
Utilized prudently, a well-structured lineof credit can help traders leverage theircapital and expertise, often resulting inincreased turnover, business growth,and enhanced returns on invested
capital.
The outstanding economic growth

Generally speaking, commodity financebanks are better equipped to support
commodity trading businesses than
generalist lenders. The benefits ofpartnering with a commodity financebank are derived from the institutions’
understanding of traders’ liquidity needs
and the markets in which they trade.
This knowledge often enables commodity finance banks to provide more flexible
loan structures, quicker decision
making, higher advance rates against
commodity inventory, and greater
stability in volatile price environments.
Further, specialized commodity financelenders appreciate that traders need abank that can adapt at the speed with“ As long as merchants have existed, banks havesupported the physical commodity trade... ”
during the Italian Renaissance, forexample, traces its roots to the communion of traders and banks. During the late
13th century, merchants in Florencetransformed the local wool producing
industry into a center of the international textile trade with the capital supportof local banks. The confluence of the
Arno River, entrepreneurial traders, anda supportive banking system had analchemic effect on the Florentine
economy.
Centuries later, this symbiosis between
banks and commodity traders remains
intact.
But that is not to say that finding a wellstructured line of credit for a commodity
trading company is simple.
Today, there are very few banks
throughout the world (about 10) thatspecialize in lending senior debt tointernational traders and merchants ofmetal, energy, and agricultural products.

which counterparties, sourcing/selling
geographies, and pricing dynamics
evolve.
Whether in 13th century Florence ormodern-day New York City, banks havealways provided commodity traders withessential loans and trade services. While
the only certainty in commodity markets
today may be uncertainty, traders will bewell-served by finding financial partners
with a long-term orientation and timetested commitment to the commodity
finance business.
Jeb Burchenal,
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co
This material is intended for information purposes
only, and should not be relied upon as financial,investment, tax or legal advice. The services of an
appropriate professional should be sought in connection with such matters. BBH makes no representations or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided. Accordingly,
BBH shall not be liable for any inaccurate or incomplete information.

MMTA HOSTS ITS FIRST TRAINING COURSE—METALLURGY FOR BEGINNERS
Hosted at MMTAs offices in Islington, London, on June 21st The National Metals
Technology Centre (www.namtec.co.uk) in Rotherham delivered its inaugural training
course to MMTA members – Metallurgy for Beginners.
Mindful that not all those of us involved with metal merchanting are metallurgists, theMMTA bravely chose the above course to test the water and discovered that a full quota ofmembers was ready to improve their knowledge.
Delivered by Geoff Bolton of Namtec, Geoff’s experience included working for Sheffield
Forgemasters. At seven hours, the course was not for the faint hearted covering Structure of
Metals, Properties of Metals and How to Measure them, The Metals Lifecycle: Processing,
Applications and Quality.
This was an excellent course which some companies used in order to send younger
members of staff for a widening of their metals knowledge, while others used it to brush up,
or backfill, missing gaps. Creep, toughness tests, impact tests, ductile-brittle transition,
fatigue, grain orientation, phases, crystal structures – much ground was covered and thiswas a highly worthwhile way in which the MMTA is delivering real value to members.

ANYONE FOR 5-A-SIDE
FOOTBALL?
If you would be interested
in taking part in an MMTA
5-a-side football team,please contact Sam Carneat Darton Commodities,
who would like to set thisup. Sam can be contactedon:scarne@dartoncommodities.co.uk

Anthony Lipmann, Lipmann Walton & Co

“Our next course will be Legal Aspects of Contracting. We are developing
our training offer, so please let us know what you want to see, and where.”
REVIEW— Periodic Tales The Curious Lives of The Elements
By Hugh Aldersley-Williams
Published by: Penguin Viking 2011
In our present society where we appear
to have moved away from a world of‘making things’ , here is a book toawaken the soul of all those who wishedthey’d paid more attention in the physics
and chemistry class. It is one of a seriesof recent popular science books byvarious authors all making a great playfor redressing the balance between amedia -centred culture and the world of
science. For those engaged with metals
as a hobby (or work), this book makes
engaging reading. With Chapter
headings such as ‘Pee is for phosphorous’, ‘El Dorado’ and ‘Going Platinum’,
the reader knows it is going to be sugarcoated fun and, for the scientificallychallenged, a most deliciously presented
can-opener to lost worlds of missed
opportunity caused by not having studied it properly first time around.

All Minor Metal merchants, for example,
have, I am sure, heard of the 192 yearold Wieland-Werke, but how many of us
knew that Wieland was the name for the
Anglo-Saxon God of Blacksmithery? Orthat the brimstone of the threatened
visitations of ‘Fire and Brimstone’ in the
Bible and Milton is none other than‘sulphur’? Or that the last ‘charcoal
burner’ was still making a living supplying the grill rooms and eating houses of
London as recently as 1939? (An interesting side angle into the sufferings ofZambia – brimstone from the copper
smelter in Mufulira and deforestation
caused by charcoal burners who ply a
trade in the 21st century that should havebeen made redundant years ago withother more palatable renewables.).
For anyone even slightly interested in
the folklore of elements, this is a bookthat I would defy any metal merchant,minor or otherwise, not to enjoy.

15

HAFNIUM SUPPLY AND DEMANDMMTA ON THE ROAD
On 26th April, Maria Cox
attended the dinner of the
Verband Deutscher
Metallhändler (VDM) as the guestof Ralf Schmitz, their Chief
Executive. VDM is not only an
MMTA member, but is also anorganisation with similar aims to
the MMTA.
On that day, VDM had elected a
new President, Thomas Reuther,
as well as a new Board. MMTA
member, Gunther Maassen, ofHaines & Maassen has joined the
VDM Board, with special
responsibility for Minor Metals.
Congratulations to Gunther.
It was a wonderful evening withentertainment from an excellent
and highly professional group of
Polish singers and dancers.

The pie charts for Hafnium show an imbalance between
supply and demand which is further exacerbated by its
disjointed structure – that is to say that out of the total
supply of 68mt only 30mt of production is made by the
Van Arkel process to make Hafnium crystal bars. Wah
Chang is thought to produce about 20mt and Cezus
about 10 mt via Van Arkel.
As with Zirconium, Hafnium, which is refined out of Zirconium when nuclear grade pure Zirconium sponge isrequired, is dependent on the nuclear industry for its
route to the market. Without a nuclear industry there would be no Hafnium. Its presence
within zircon sand at an average ratio of 1:50 versus Zirconium makes it extremely rare
and not worth refining for its own sake.
Notes
1. Unlike the listed Zirconium producers, Westinghouse, USA, does not generate Hafnium byproduct during Zirconium sponge production
2. India and China have some Hafnium production for domestic use but do not export
3. Out of total 68mt supply, not more than
30mt is produced via the Van Arkel process,which provides the bulk of demand for very
pure low Zr-bearing crystal bars of Hf preferred for super alloys
Notes
1. Nuclear includes power generation for electricity as well as for submarines and aircraft
carriers

Maria Cox with VDM Chief Executive, Ralf
Schmitz and his wife, Friederika, andChristina Janos at the VDM dinner.

The MMTA was represented
alongside members of the VDM
membership, including some
MMTA members, and a wide
range of other organisations
active in the metals field within
the German-speaking area, andalso a representative of theGerman governing party. Many
thanks to VDM for organisingsuch a wonderful evening!

16

What the supply pie chart tells us is that therecovery of Hafnium as a by-product is only
generated in parts of the world where Zirconium is produced. France and USA are the leaders in the West, and Russia/Ukraine in the CIS
region. No Hafnium was traded East to Westbefore 1991.
Hafnium’s historic use for control rods within
nuclear plant and equipment (for repelling neutrons), is in decline and is satisfied by a supply of Electron Beam ingots which can tolerate
up to 2% of Zr impurity. However, following the Fukushima disaster in 2011 further safety
requirements in BWR (Boiling Water Reactors), where a hafnium skin is being mooted,
may cause greater use of Hafnium in the short term.
Hafnium’s dominant application in the modern world is not for nuclear but for super alloys; both in aerospace turbine blades (rotating parts) and vanes (stators), as well as theirequivalents in larger cast parts required for industrial gas turbines. It is thought that morethan 35 mt of Hafnium goes into this sector one way or another via the production of complex nickel base alloys containing approximately 1.5% Hf.
The super alloy industry prefers the purest form of Hafnium (crystal bar produced by the
Van Arkel process), the supply of which is limited to 30 mt. While supply and demand of
Van Arkel in this field is close to balance, the specific demand for very pure hafnium with
low Zr contents of 1%, 0.5% or <0.3%, all commanding various premia, keeps this sector
volatile.

Anthony Lipmann, Lipmann Walton & Co

PMI: CHINA vs EUROPE vs US, WHERE IS THE
WAY OUT?
On May 24th, HSBC released its Flash
Purchasing Managers’ Index, theearliest indicator of China’s factory
activity, came in at 48.7 for May, 0.6
lower compared to April’s final readingof 49.3. It also marks the seventh
consecutive month the indicator has
languished below the threshold of 50,
which separates growth fromcontraction. Breaking down that
number, the new orders sub-index
shrank in the month, indicating there
was an even sharper slump in the newexport orders.
Unexpectedly weak economic data for
April released earlier this month was
followed quickly by the central bank's
third cut since November in theamount of cash that banks must keep
in reserve, to allow more credit to flow
into the economy.
Beijing has recently signalled its
biggest push since joining the World
Trade Organisation to boost private

landing in the coming quarters."
However, without the support of neworders from its major export markets
like Europe and the US, it would be
difficult for China to tackle theproblem simply by boosting domestic
demand and liquidity.
Markit’s European PMIs released on
the same day are not offering muchgood news. French manufacturing
PMI fell to 44.4 in May from 46.9 in
April, a 36-month low and well below
estimates of 47. German manufacturing PMI fell to 45.0 in May from 46.2
in April, a 35-month low, and below
estimates of 47. For the Eurozone as awhole, the PMI composite comes in at
45.9, again, missing estimates of
46.6. All these disappointing PMI
figures are pointing to a deeper
recession in Europe.
In the meantime, the US May Markit
manufacturing PMI came in at 53.9 vs56.0 in April, its lowest figure“ Beijing has recently signalled its biggest pushsince joining the WTO to boost private investment”
investment into areas previously
reserved for the state sector, like rail,
hospitals and energy transmission. It
also intends to fast track infrastructure
investment to combat the slowdown,state media reported.
"Policymakers have been and will stepup easing efforts to stabilize growth, as
indicated by a slew of measures toboost liquidity, public housing andinfrastructure investment andconsumption," HSBC's chief economist
Qu Hongbin, wrote in a statement
accompanying the PMI release.
"As long as the easing measures filter
through, China will secure a soft

MMTA VISITS THE
UNITED NATIONS,GENEVA

since February, which was pulled
down by output, new orders, inventories of purchase and employment all
rising at slower rates than
April, signalling a slower rate of manufacturing expansion and indicating along road ahead for US' recovery.
By looking at these discouraging
figures and the deteriorating Eurozone
debt crisis, we just can't help
wondering. where is the way out, foreverybody?

On May 23rd, the MMTA
visited the United
Nations in Geneva,
Switzerland. Alongside apresentation on the roleof the United Nations
Conference on Tradeand Development(UNCTAD), and therole of rare earths, withparticular reference totheir importance ingreen technology, thegroup took a guided
tour of the Palais desNations.
Over a working lunch,they met with arepresentative of Sidley
Austin, who gave an
informative overview of
the WTO trade disputeand resolution process.

Vicky Zeng
Vital Materials Co., Ltd

17

MEMBER BENEFITSMembers-only early-bird discounton tickets for the MMTA’s
International Minor Metals
Conference, offering substantial
savings on the full conference fee
Significant member discount on all
MMTA event tickets, including theprestigious Anniversary dinner
Access to free meeting/training
room space in central London
Free advertising in members’
directories on the MMTA website
and other MMTA marketing
publications
25% discount on Gold level
membership of REACHReady
A range of educational & social
events offering extensive
networking opportunities
A dedicated Mediation &Arbitration service for MMTA
members
A network of MMTA-approved
warehouses, each independently
inspected and having Indemnity
Insurance to cover unexplained
lossesMMTA MAIN AND SUB-COMMITTEES 2012/13

Main Committee

Roy Walton – Chair (Darton Commodities)
Sarah Frigot – Vice Chair (Wogen Resources)
James Peer – Treasurer (Maritime House)
David Craik (AMC Group)
Michael Ihlenfeld (FW Hempel Metallurgical)
Donald Lambert (Penningtons Solicitors)
Noah Lehrman (Hudson Metals)
Steven Munnoch (Avon Metals)
Deborah Stott (Firth Rixson)
Volker Mertens (Womet)
Rob Bolton (Aon Risk Solutions)James Peer—Chair (Maritime House)
Charles Reynolds-Payne (C. Steinweg)

Roy Walton—Chair (Darton Commodities)
David Craik (AMC Group)
Sarah Frigot (Wogen Resources)
Jill Fitzgibbon (Metal Events Ltd)
Rachel Carnac (Metal Events Ltd)
Volker Mertens (Womet)
Chris Edler (Lambert Metals)

Contracts

Use of the MMTA logo & ‘Memberof MMTA’Management

The MMTA promotes essential
elements that add quality,
safety and enjoyment to ourlives.
The MMTA is the world's leading
minor metals industry organisation.

North America
Noah Lehrman - Chair (Hudson Metals)
Gary Boigon (PM Recovery)
Paul Helsel (Phoenixx International)

Robert Baylis—Chair (Roskill Information Svcs)
Anthony Lipmann (Lipmann Walton)

Treasury
Conference

Steven Munnoch—Chair (Avon Metals)
Donald Lambert (Penningtons Solicitors)

Awareness raising on a wide range
of issues of importance to the minor
metals sector

Donald Lambert—Chair (Penningtons Solicitors)
John Sykes (Jacobs Allen Hammond Solicitors)
Roy Walton (Darton Commodities)
Tony Gunst (Sovereign Int’l Metals & Alloys)

Stats & Production
Business & Social Events

Regular updates on the activities &
accomplishments of the Association

Trade Regulations

Mediation & Arbitration

Roy Walton—Chair (Darton Commodities)
David Craik (AMC Group)
Sarah Frigot (Wogen Resources)
Donald Lambert (Penningtons Solicitors)
James Peer (Maritime House)

James Peer—Treasurer (Maritime House)

Warehousing
David Brown—Chair (Lambert Metals)
Steve Hawkins (Lipmann Walton)
Emily Jackson (SFP Metals)
Danny Landau (Wogen Resources)
Denise Denney (AMC Group)

Crucible Working GroupMaria Cox (MMTA)
Anthony Lipmann (Lipmann Walton)
Andi Spicer (Metal Pages)

NEW Insurance Task ForceRob Bolton—Chair (Aon Risk Solutions)
Roy Walton (Darton Commodities)
Neil Poulter (Wogen Resources)
Deborah Stott (Firth Rixson)

Minor Metals Trade Association (MMTA)
326A City Road
Angel Gate (Unit 26)
LondonEC1V 2PT
Telephone: +44 (0)207 833 0237/+44 (0)207 713 7099
Fax: +44 (0)207 183 9933
Email: executive@mmta.co.uk

YOUR LOGO HERE