Cobalt Market Report
Finnish Mining Update

The magazine of the Minor Metals Trade Association

July 2013www.mmta.co.uk

MMTA WAREHOUSE UPDATEINSIDE THIS ISSUEMMTA Warehouse Update.... 2
New MMTA Office ................... 3
Diary Dates ................................. 3
Metals pro Climate Dialogue.4
Job Vacancies………………..4
Letter from America ................ 5
New MMTA Members….5/6/7
Cobalt Market Report ............. 6
40th Anniversary Dinner ........ 10
Communications ........................ 11
Trade Mission to Finland ......... 12
Early Days: MMTA Growth.... 14
Dispute Resolution Seminar... 16
Superalloys ................................. 16
Member Benefits ........................ 20

As part of a process ofenhancing and improving
the value of MMTA
membership, we havedevised a short survey.
Please help us to raisethe value of your membership by completingthe below short (2minutes) survey.
Membership Survey

The MMTA's rules are determined by theMembers of the MMTA. If the Directors
are petitioned by a significant number ofMembers to reconsider any particular
MMTA Rule, then the Directors have aduty to consider possible amendments to
the MMTA Rules and put those amendments to a vote of the Members.
The MMTA Warehouse Rules require
that: "The company shall be neutral, notowned or associated with any trading
company".

criteria for approval determined by theMembership of the MMTA.
The Warehouse Committee has passed
this issue to the MMTA Directors for a
final determination.
As a result of conflicting business commitments of a number of Directors, theMMTA Directors’ meeting scheduled for
18 June 2013 did not take place and is tobe rescheduled in September 2013 after
the holiday period.

MMTA Members are reminded that they
are free to use any warehouse theychoose, MMTA Approved or not. In
many instances Members choose to use
warehouses that are not MMTA ApThe MMTA Warehouse Rules were again proved.
discussed at the AGM on 25 April 2013.
The only reference to use of MMTA ApOne Member spoke in support of change
proved Warehouses is in the Trade Reguand one Member spoke against in an othlations, which is a form of contract proerwise low key debate. Despite an invitavided for the convenience of Members
tion from the chair, no other warehouse
which they are free to use for trade with ausing Member has petitioned either thecounterparty if both parties wish to do
MMTA Directors or the MMTA Executive
so. Its use is not required and indeed
requesting that the existing Warehousemany, if not most, members will use theirRules be amended.
own contract terms when conducting
The MMTA Warehouse Committee rebusiness.
ported at its meeting on 11 June 2013
The Trade Regulations provide that:that the MMTA had received two Ware"The usual basis of trade in respect ofhouse Approval requests from Pacorini
Metals and one from CWT Commodities. these Terms and Conditions shall be "in
Following the initial expression of inter- warehouse" and, unless otherwise agreed
at the time of concluding each contract,
est from NEMS, no formal request for
Warehouse Approval has been received. shall be in a warehouse currently listed in
the Association’s List of Approved WarePacorini Metals is in a group that inhouses."cludes Glencore Xstrata; CWT Commodities is in a group that includes Marc Rich Members and others can therefore use
Investments and NEMS is in a group that the Trade Regulations and still agree to
use a warehouse that is not MMTA apincludes Trafigura.
proved.
The MMTA Warehouse Committee has
The MMTA is an association of Compaconcluded that as Pacorini Metals andnies involved in all aspects of the minorCWT Commodities are each in a groupmetals trade who have over time deterthat includes a "trading company", they
mined clear rules of best practice for the
do not meet the criteria within thesafe undertaking of transactions in minor
MMTA Warehouse Rules and therefore
cannot be given Warehouse Approval by metals for all parties involved. These
historically determined rules based on
the Committee. This is in no way a reflection on any other aspects of the busi- good intentions and the vast experience
nesses of the companies concerned. The and wisdom of the Members are embodwarehouses in question are used by some ied in the MMTA Rules including the
MMTA Warehouse Rules.
Members. They simply do not meet the
The MMTA Warehouse Rules were debated extensively in October 2011, when
97% of warehouse using Members voted
not to change the above requirement.

Roy Walton, MMTA Chairman

2

NEW MMTA OFFICE IN CENTRAL LONDONDIARY DATESWogen vs MMTA
Cricket Match andNetworking Social
Event, London, UK
15 July

Site Visit—
Campine NV,
Beerse, Belgium,
2 September
It is with enormous pleasure, and a great
deal of relief, that I am able to announce
that the MMTA has recently taken residence in its new offices at 3 Whitehall
Court, in the heart of London, and only aminute’s walk from the Embankment
Gardens and the River Thames.

You may be aware that it has been ourgoal to move to more centrally locatedoffices, which will enable Members tomake use of dedicated office and meeting
space when visiting London.
Whether you are travelling to the UKfrom abroad, or simply ’in town’ for a few
hours, we invite MMTA Members tomake use of our new offices. We can accommodate up to 16 in our meeting
room, or you can just book the office towork in. There is free guest wi-fi, and useof a flipchart, projector and screen are
also possible on request.

London, UK, 17
SeptemberIntercontinental
Hotel, London,
UK, 8 October

The MMTA Main Committee invites Members to join them at the
MMTA’s new offices in 3 Whitehall Court to celebrate our relocation.
After a viewing of the new office, drinks and snacks will be provided
at the Farmers’ Club upstairs with views of the Embankment Gardens
and River Thames.

New York Dinner,
Waterclub, New
York, USA,
12 December

MMTA NEW OFFICE WELCOMEDRINKS RECEPTION—17TH SEPTEMBER 5.00PM

MMTA’s 40th
Anniversary
Dinner,This is a free member benefit—all you
need to do is contact the MMTA executive
team, who will be happy to reserve thespace for you.

Maria Cox, General Manager,
MMTA

Arbitration 1/2-day
Seminar, London,
UK, 18 September

Equally, if you need us to arrange catering for a meeting, please speak to either
Maria or Emma.
The new office is at Embankment Tube
(Northern, Circle and District lines), andis within easy walking distance of Waterloo and Charing Cross main train stations. Other mainline train stations are
only a short journey away.

MMTA New OfficeWelcome Drinks
Reception, MMTA,



Christmas Lunch,
Pewterers’ Hall,
London, UK,
18th December

JOB VACANCIES
Trainee Metal Trader:situated North Midlands area
To work in a small but busy
office environment
Liaise directly with customers
and suppliersWill be expected to learn all
aspects of metal trading andassociated administration
A clean driving licence isessential
Package; Car and benefits
Salary: circa £30 - 35k +bonus, dependent upon
experience

Works Manager:
situated North Midlands area
Working in warehouse/processing environment alongside workforce
Responsible for all aspects ofreceipt, processing anddespatch
Work to customer deadlines
and quality demands
Must be numerate and havegood organisational skills
Experience within the Metals
industry helpful but not anecessity
Salary:circa £26k + bonus

Interested parties should
contact maria@mmta.co.uk
in the first instance.

4

METALS PRO CLIMATE DIALOGUE, BRUSSELS
The MMTA recently had the opportunity to attend the Metals pro Climate Dialogue held in Brussels on 5th June. The
evening’s discussion focussed on theobjectives, scope and challenges of environmental and resource efficiency
productivity indicators, and Metals pro
Climate, along with co-hosts Eurometaux and the Nickel Institute, werejoined by speakers from the European
Photo from WV Metalle, by Alexander Louvet
Commission and Parliament, as well asfrom the OECD to discuss this imimportance of the ongoing discussion
portant and very current topic.
on resource efficiency to give direction
to policy and feed into both European
By way of an introduction to the topic,
and wider international strategies on
Metals pro Climate points out that ‘thegreen growth.
use of resources – including mineraland non-mineral, food and energy –It was highlighted during the debate
and the impact of resource use on thethat Europe is uniquely impacted byenvironment is being increasingly disimport dependency, particularly withcussed. Consequently, Resource Effiits aging and dense population, but thatciency has been moving up the political since the economic crisis, the topic has
not really been at the forefront of deagenda sharply for some years now.
The European Union wants to decouple bate; however, in the same way as Europe’s resource use dependency was at
economic growth from the use of resources by 2020 and develop indicators the heart of the economic crisis, it mustalso be at the heart of any solutions forto measure resource efficiency. Some
growth. This is not just about environdays ago, the EU Commission … pubmental concerns, it needs to be fundalished a Communication on the single
mental to industry.
market for Green products proposing
two new tools to measure the environMetals play an enormous role in undermental performance of products (PEF)
pinning all aspects of a strong, competiand organisations (OEF). In addition,
tive Europe, given their importance not
EU-Commissioner Potočnik set up a
only in such sectors as energy, electronEuropean Resource Efficiency Platform
ics, construction, aerospace, but also in(EREP) with the mandate to develop
less obvious ways, for example, metals
policy proposals to increase resource
play a huge role in such sectors as food,efficiency by 2013’.
through transport and logistics.
All protagonists agreed that ‘Europe isWithin companies, it was also highhighly dependent on raw materials inlighted that resource efficiency is simdifferent forms. Hence, the transforple, good housekeeping, as cutting
mation to more resource- and energywaste cuts direct business costs, andefficient production and consumption isincreases competitiveness.
highly complex and affects almost all
economic and policy areas’. Speakers
On the subject of competitiveness, there
were keen to point out that there is a
was significant concern expressed about
shortage in materials’ production,
the financial and legislative burdens
which is not only of importance withplaced on EU businesses, which deregard to energy efficiency, but thecrease competitiveness when comparedshortage of raw materials is also a barri- with non-EU countries. The cumulative
er to economic growth, hence the imeffect of high taxes on such elements as
portance of the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ labour, and disproportionate lack ofmantra.
taxation on energy use and waste production send a strong global message.
There is a need for a balanced and
There was much controversial debate
transparent discussion to ensure an
on different taxation models whichinternational level playing field, and it
could be used to strengthen and supis essential for data being collected toport the value added within Europe,
also accurately reflect end of life recywith general agreement that Europe’s
cling rates, in order to allow a comprestrength is in the field of innovation,
hensive assessment of metals’ availabiland that EU legislation needs to supity. It was made clear that balanced
port this, in order to maximise thesolutions can only be achieved with thegrowth potential across the continent.
input of industry. The group discussed
in some detail what the most appropri- Maria Cox, General Manager
ate targets might be and highlighted the MMTA

LETTER FROM NORTH AMERICA
Dear Members
Whilst I’m sure it comes as no real comfort to those of you currently facing incessant rain in Europe, it has recently been absolutely foul here in New York.
Indeed, last week we had a record 4.17” of rain in one day: it was wet. And we’re
promised more of the same tomorrow, and the next day, and…

NEW MMTA

Although it was ‘published’ in January of this year, the US Department of Defense’s Strategic and Critical Materials 2013 Report on Stockpile Requirements
was actually only available some little time after then. And it has really only garnered cursory coverage in the mainstream press.

The MMTA welcomesits newest members:

Should you have the time, it is very well worth wading through, especially to pickup snippets such as the fact that “Base Case” assumptions (during the modeled
conflict year) include, amongst others: “(1) response to a catastrophic attack in
the U.S.; (2) deterring and defeating regional aggressors…”, and “…a homeland recovery program to replace lost assets of at least $100 billion in private
and government spending over the three regeneration years”. It is fortunate, I
suppose, that the “DoD believes that the NDS [National Defense Stockpile] planning process provides reasonable assurance that the stockpile will be able tosupply the military, industrial, and essential civilian needs of the United States
during national emergency.” If nothing else, one has to commend the DoD on
its optimism!

Aaron Ferer &Sons Co Ltd

MEMBERSo, what in the report is of potential interest to MMTA members?
To produce its report, the DoD studied some 76 different materials (28 metals,
excluding precious metals and rare earths, seven precious metals (including rhenium!), 11 ores and compounds, seven miscellaneous non-metals, three alloys
and 16 rare earths) to see whether, in the aforementioned Base Case, they exhibited shortfalls, i.e. “insufficient reliable production to meet demands.” This
turned out to be the case in 23 instances.
The DoD then assessed the applicability, benefits and costs of four different
types of mitigation strategy, in short, federal inventories (including stockpiling),
substitution, extra purchases from (reliable) foreign suppliers, and “reductionsin Government guarantees of shortfall materials contained in or used in the
production of exported goods.”
Having done all this, the DoD concluded that, out of these 23 materials, in 12
instances stockpiling was recommendable in combination with, where relevant,(except, in one instance, beryllium), the other mitigation strategies above.
And those materials were:
Antimony9

Dysprosium4

Germanium

Thulium1

Beryllium

Erbium2

Silicon Carbide8

Tungsten

Bismuth5

Gallium3

Tantalum6

Yttrium7

The “priority ranking” for stockpile acquisition (excluding beryllium, which,being militarily vital, is treated separately) is indicated by the associated numbering. Both tungsten and germanium are covered by existing inventory.
Finally, it is very interesting to note that, for the first time that I know of, theDoD actually looked at “buffer stock inventory” as an alternative to stockpiling.
There is an entire, albeit short, appendix (No.8) dealing with “Inventory Methods and Approaches”. In relation to the situation in the U.S., as a choice, buffer
stocks could be a very attractive alternative, falling, as they do, outside the ambitof the plethora of rules and regulations governing acquisitions by the NDS.
Anyway, fellow members, just a few observations there on what the DoD, rather
than the NSA, is up to! I trust they were of interest.
With best wishes, as always, from New York, to MMTA members everywhere.

Aaron Ferer & Sons Co. is a
127 year old metal trading
company headquartered inOmaha, Nebraska. With
over 115 years in the scrap
metal industry, and 50 years
of international trading, we
pride ourselves on strong
relationships forged byworking closely with ourcustomers and honoring ourcommitments.
We are physical traders/merchants of minor metals,
non-ferrous metals, ferrous
metals, chemicals, ores, concentrates, residues, and precious metals; including Ag,
As, Au, Bi, Ca, Ca/Al, Cd,
Cr, Cu, Fe, In, Mg, Mn, Na,
Pb, Red P, Sb, Se, Si, Sn, Te,
Yellow P, as well as StainlessSteel and Steel scrap. With
two offices in China, an office in Peru, and by utilizing
warehouses throughout theworld, we excel in global
logistics and are able tomeet customers’ requirements on short notice.
Contact: Mr. Whitney Ferer
Email: afsco@ferer.com

Tom Butcher, June 7th 2013 Hard Assets Investor© 2013 Tom Butcher

5

NEW MMTAMEMBER
The MMTA welcomes its
newest members:

Cronimet Central
Africa AG

CRONIMET Central Africa AG
supplies ‘Conflict Free’ mineral
concentrates, Tantalite, Wolframite and Cassiterite from Rwanda. We process and upgrade ourmineral concentrates at Minerals
Supply Africa Ltd in Kigali, which
is a wholly owned subsidiary of
CRONIMET Central Africa AG
and from there supply the world’s
largest smelters and refiners withcertified ‘Conflict Free’ minerals,
enabling them to pass the EICC
audits. We are full members of
the iTSCi traceability scheme andare part of the OECD multistakeholder steering committee.
Contact:
Miss Candida Owens
Email:
candida.owens@btinternet.com

Website: http://
www.cronimet.de/en/locations/
europe/switzerland/steinhausen/
cronimet-central-africa-ag/

Phone: +44 7721 092692
Address: Allmendstrasse 11, CH6312 Steinhausen / Switzerland
Telephone direct +41 41 748 51
34, Telefax +41 41 748 50 48
Metals: Tantalum, Tungsten, Tin.

6

COBALT MARKET REPORT
Properties:
Cobalt is a hard, shiny and greyish metal, appearing in the first long period of the
Periodic Table between iron and nickel. Today, cobalt has many strategic and irreplaceable industrial uses as a result of its unique properties; a high melting
point (1493°C) and retaining its strength to a high temperature; being ferromagnetic with a high thermo-stability and being multivalent, thus enhancing catalytic
action. Cobalt is the 33rd most abundant element in the earth’s crust and global
reserves are estimated at around 7 million tons.
Occurrence and Resources:
Cobalt is not found as a native metal but in nickel-bearing laterites or nickel /copper sulphide deposits. This means that cobalt is usually produced as a byproduct of nickel and copper mining activities. Of current production sources,
approximately 66% of cobalt production is copper related, 31% is nickel related
and only 3% is produced by primary cobalt operations. The main reserves arefound in the southern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), an area
commonly known as the copper belt and which currently holds close to half of theworld’s cobalt reserves. Australia, Cuba, Zambia, New Caledonia, Canada, Russia
and Brazil hold much of the balance of global cobalt reserves. In 2012 approximately 64% of refined global cobalt output was originally mined, concentrated
and, in some cases, semi refined in the DRC before being exported to refiners
elsewhere in the world.
Supply:Although the majority of the world’s cobalt supply is originally sourced from the
DRC, only a fraction of this is actually refined within the country itself. Primaryexport markets for DRC’s production of unrefined cobalt ores, concentrates andcobalt intermediates (primarily in crude hydroxide and carbonate form) are China, Finland, Zambia and Belgium. Here, these materials are either refined into
cobalt metal (cathode, coarse powder etc) or into downstream chemical products(cobalt salts) or specialty materials (fine cobalt powders). In 2012, global refinedcobalt output was approximately 77,000 MT. An estimated 53% of this output wasin the form of chemicals or specialty products, 39% in solid metal form and approximately 8% in the form of coarse cobalt powder.
Following five consecutive years of production increases, global refined cobalt
output declined in 2012 after production peaked at just over 80,000 MT in 2011.
Falling market prices drove primarily Chinese refiners to scale back production
and cobalt operations in the DRC were hampered by power disruptions. The reduction in Chinese output ended a five year production boom period during
which China more than doubled its output. A decade of fast economic growth anda structural change to the global cobalt market transformed China into the single
largest producing country in the world, contributing just over 30,000 MT or 40%
to global refined output in 2012. Following a short but intense period of industry
consolidation fewer than ten producers account for over 80% of China’s total refined cobalt output. Having little cobalt resources of its own, China imports over
90% of its cobalt raw material requirements from the DRC.
Other major supply sources of refined cobalt are Freeport Cobalt’s refinery in Finland (previously OMG), ENRC’s metals refinery Chambishi located in northern
Zambia, Sherritt’s metals refinery in Canada and Umicore’s refining operations in
Belgium.
In 2013, supply increases are expected to come from Sherritt’s Ambatovy operation in Madagascar where a successful production ramp up may bring anywhere
between 2,000-3,000 MT of refined cobalt metal to the market. By the end of2013 Sumitomo Metal Mining will have completed its Taganito Nickel Project in
the Philippines, allowing it to increase cobalt metal production at its Niihama refinery in Japan from early 2014. However, it is expected that these production
increases will be largely off-set by additional cut backs in African production

COBALT MARKET REPORT, CONT’D…..

NEW MMTA

resulting from a structural power shortage. All in all no significant net increase is
expected in refined cobalt output until 2014.

MEMBER

The below table provides a breakdown of global refined cobalt production in 2012:

The MMTA welcomes its
newest members:

Zhuzhou Keneng New
Material Co Ltd

Source: Darton Commodities Ltd. / Cobalt Development Institute
Uses:
Cobalt has a diverse range of important metallurgical and chemical uses which
varies from aircraft engines to rechargeable batteries. It is also found in industrial
chemical processes where its unique catalytic properties can be used for such applications as desulphurisation of hydrocarbons, the removal of nitrous oxide andthe emerging technology of converting natural gas to liquid hydrocarbons. Baseindustry also utilises the advantages that cobalt can bring to the hard metal industry, where hard wearing metals and alloys allow the manufacture of highly effective cutting tools for a broad range of industrial applications. The high temperature resistance, hardness and wear characteristics of cobalt when alloyed with other metals can also be put to good use not only in gas turbines but also as hard surfacing in critical applications where working environments are aggressive. By improving wear and durability, this can also improve operating efficiencies by extending the operating life and reducing friction. Furthermore, cobalt’s versatile
physical and chemical properties make it a vital ingredient in the colouring of pigments and ceramics, electroplating and the manufacture of vehicle tyres, paintdriers, permanent magnets, synthetic diamonds and animal feed.

Zhuzhou Keneng New Material Co.
Ltd. has been authorized by Zhuzhou
Administration for Industry andCommerce, specializing in the
manufacture of minor and rare
metals. It is one of the licensed
indium exporters in China,
registered in JINSHAN SCI-TECH
PARK OF ZHUZHOU with the selfrun import and export license, thecompany mainly deals with processing, import and export of minor
metals. Owning factories in Hunan
Province and Yunnan Province, its
main products include In, Bi, Ga, Te,
Sb etc and have passed the ISO9001:
2008 quality system certification,
ISO14001: 2004 Environmental
System Certification and
OHSMS18000:2001 Occupational
Health and Safety System
Certification.
Our company concentrates all its
energy on exploiting the productionof various minor metals, and thenexporting our products to Japan,
South Korea, Europe, the UnitedStates, Hong Kong, Taiwan and othercountries and regions, in order tomeet the rising demand for mobile
phones, LCDs, wireless semiconductors and the optical fiberindustry.
We have established a long term,
continuous and stable business
relationship with our clients
throughout the world.

Demand:Global consumption of refined cobalt was estimated at approximately 74,000 MT
in 2012, almost 50% up from the levels seen a decade earlier. Booming demand
for rechargeable batteries in laptop computers, tablets, mobile phones and otherportable electronics has been the biggest growth driver for cobalt consumption.
For many years the battery industry has been making significant efforts in substituting cobalt with lower cost materials, reducing the overall content of cobalt inbattery cathode materials. However cobalt cathode chemistry continues to be theproduct of choice for applications requiring thin, flexible and high energy density

Contact: Xianghua Tang
Tel: 86-731-22772167
Fax: 86-731-22498117
SKYPE: amic8711
E-mail: zzknsales23@zzkeneng.com

Website: www.zzkeneng.com

7

MMTA WEBSITE
ADDITION
We are constantly
making small changes andadditions to the MMTA
website to make it moreuser-friendly andeffective for your use.
Industry Events:
The MMTA executive
team receives lots of
notifications of events,
meetings, courses, and

COBALT MARKET REPORT, CONT’D…..
batteries with the best possible cycle life. Strong demand growth estimates for
portable electronic devices suggest that cobalt will continue to see healthy consumption increases from this industry. Furthermore, automotive related demandfor cobalt containing battery materials is expected to rapidly increase in the coming years as the market adaptation of (plug-in) hybrid electric vehicles starts toaccelerate.
The superalloy industry is the second largest cobalt consuming market after thebattery sector and in 2012 these two industries jointly accounted for an estimated
58% of global cobalt demand. Consumption in the superalloy sector has benefitted from a buoyant aerospace sector where airplane and engine build rates remain high. With airplane manufacturer order backlogs accumulating to morethan eight years of production the demand outlook for cobalt from both the new
and replacement engine market is expected to remain healthy.
Demand growth for cobalt from other, more mature consuming industries tends
to be of a more cyclical nature, following general economic and industrial production growth trends. Consumption in sectors which are heavily dependent on
downstream demand from industries such as automotive, construction and mining, has therefore seen a negative impact from the economic slowdown that has
hit a number of key markets in recent years. The anticipated recovery in GDP
growth in some of Europe’s main geographic markets should in turn result in renewed consumption growth.

other activities that may
be of interest to
members, so we will belisting these wider
industry events on a newpage on the website foryour information.
Click here to view
Industry Events.

Improvement to online
payments:
Some members haveexperienced problems withthe way UK vat is displayedon the online bookings form.
This has now beenaddressed.
Thank you for bringing it to
our attention.

8

Source: Darton Commodities Ltd.
Prices
Until the early 1990’s when cobalt metal production was largely dominated byproducers in the Congo (Gecamines) and Zambia (ZCCM), the African Producer
Price was the only published price reference available to the market. With supplies from non African sources growing and free market prices becoming increasingly volatile, Metal Bulletin introduced a cobalt metal price quotation in 1991.
Initially this was a single 99.8% quotation which was followed by the introductionof a 99.3% quotation in 1993. Metal Bulletin cobalt quotes are establishedthrough price discovery, using telephone surveys to obtain current spot price information from traders, producers and consumers. For many years Metal Bulletin
quotes have been the default pricing benchmark for cobalt with the majority oflong-term supply contracts priced basis a formula linked to Metal Bulletin pricequotations.
In February 2010 the London Metal Exchange launched the world’s first cobalt
futures contract, followed by a cash contract in May that same year. Whilst theCOBALT MARKET REPORT, CONT’D…..
contract initially suffered from a structural lack of liquidity preventing the contractfrom gaining greater market acceptance, the LME cobalt contract has started togain traction as traded volumes have gradually but consistently increased. Thereappears to be a growing consensus amongst producers and consumers that theLME contract will eventually be accepted by the industry as the next benchmark
for cobalt pricing.
Historically, cobalt prices have been characterized by strong volatility, with thepeaks and troughs usually correlating to specific supply and demand related
events. Cobalt metal prices dropped to a historic low of US $ 6/lb. by early 2003,
to be followed by an all time high five years later when prices peaked at US $ 52/lb
in April 2008. The financial and economic crisis that hit the market that same year
sent cobalt prices crashing down, reaching a low of US $ 9/lb. only 7 months later.
Market prices subsequently recovered to levels above US $ 20/lb by early 2010 andhave since seen a fluctuating but continuous downward trend as the market moved
into structural oversupply. Global cobalt production increased a stunning 30% thatyear following a surge in Chinese output and the restart of operations that had previously been idled due to poor market conditions. The market rapidly moved into
surplus as China in particular accumulated massive stocks of both raw material
and downstream products. These surpluses continued to overhang the market during the following two years, eventually driving prices down to the $10/lb. level by
December 2012. During the first half of 2013 cobalt prices recovered again gainingsome 40% and reaching $14/lb at the beginning of July. With market surpluses
having been gradually absorbed by the market, power shortages hampering DRC
production and a ban on the export of cobalt raw materials from the DRC taking
effect in July, further price increases are anticipated during the second half of the
year.

THE
MMTA IS40 YEARSOLD THISSUMMER

Source: Metal Bulletin

Darton Commodities Ltd.
For a more detailed Cobalt Market Review please visit:www.dartoncommodities.co.uk

9MMTA’s 40th Anniversary DinnerInterContinental, London Park Lane
Tuesday 8th October
Join MMTA Members and guests at the 40th Anniversary
Dinner, at The InterContinental on London’s Park Lane.
Last year we greeted over 250 industry professionals at
the largest Anniversary Dinner ever, and we are expecting
another successful event this year.
The evening will begin with an‘MMTA Founding Members’ Drinks Reception’from 6.45pm
kindly sponsored by the 3 current MMTA founding
member companies – AMC Plc, Lambert Metals Intl.
Ltd. & Wogen Resources Ltd.

At 8.30pm guests will sit down for a 3-course dinnerserved with plenty of wine!
Last orders at the bar will be 01.30am
Bookings for this event are now being taken.
Tickets cost £95 for MMTA Members/£140 for nonmembers (+ VAT where applicable)
Tables of 10 or 12 can be booked.
Please contact Maria Cox or Emma Newman for moredetails, or to register for the event.
The cut off date for bookings is Wednesday 2nd October.

Dinner Sponsors

10

Charity Raffle Sponsor

THE CHANGING FACE OF COMMUNICATIONS IN
THE MINOR METALS SECTORMy first exposure to the MMTA wasin 1979 when I joined Cominco as a
junior trader. I can remember being
very impressed that the LME dealing
desk would allow me to call a broker
in New York at the touch of a button.
Unbelievable as it may seem today,
this was the cutting edge of technology at a time when communication
was limited to land line and telex.
Since that time we have seen the introduction of the fax and the mobile
phone and subsequently the growthin e-mail and the Internet.
Technology has let us communicate
more quickly and more efficiently
and it has changed the minor metals
business.

MMTA ON THE ROAD

That market thrived on there being
imperfect market knowledge, producers didn’t know consumers and viceversa and price changes could take up
to 24 hours to travel around theworld.
Now all market participants have almost instant access to market
knowledge and the role of the trader’strader has disappeared. Everyone in
the business now needs to provide
some value to survive.
I believe that technology will continue to drive change in the minor metals industry and we will all need toadapt to survive.

Looking forward, I believe that online
networking will be embraced by the
When I first joined the industry there industry, we will see the onset of
was an active inter-merchant market, online trading of some minor metals
indeed there were some traders who and that published prices will bebased on real transactions rather
claimed never to have dealt with athan reported business.
producer or a consumer!

Nigel Tunna, Metal Pages

AIR POLLUTION IN SELEBI-PHIKWE, BOTSWANA
In the north eastern corner of Botswana in the Central district lies a little coppernickel mining town, Selebi-Phikwe. Although Bamangwato Concessions Limited(BCL) did give us a chance to thrive in our small town, this gift came at a price:
our health and at times some of our other means of earning a living, through selling crops.
Time and time again we had a massive cloud of smoke hovering over the city,
those who were asthmatic gasping for air at times and those who weren’t asthmatic still struggling to breathe, with improvisations for gas masks coming in theform of smears of Vaseline or Vicks Vaporub seen just under the nostrils of almost every student and all those aware that these ‘reduced’ the sulphur dioxide’s
choking sensation. BCL did little, though, to prevent this air pollution and a lot of
people, including people of my generation, eventually left Selebi-Phikwe with thesituation still unchanged. The little sprouts we tried growing were often devoured
by the sulphurous acid resulting from water on leaves of plants reacting with thesulphur dioxide in the air.
A mass statement was sent out, though by whom, I don’t know, advising people
not to water their plants in the mornings but only in the evenings when the sulphur cloud had disappeared. It seemed the pollution was going to be stopped or atleast reduced to a certain extent, but it continued for many years, with this year
making it 40! But there have been reports recently of a possible solution to the
problem that has for decades marred Selebi-Phikwe’s living conditions: the sulphur dioxide is to be somehow trapped and turned into sulphuric acid to then be
sold to companies for cleaning nuclear materials.

On Wednesday 3rd July, theMMTA set out for Firth Rixson in
Glossop. At FR we were greeted
by Deborah Stott who gave us apresentation on FR, which was
followed by an overview of theproperties of superalloys and therole minor metals can play indetermining their characteristics.
It became evident that a combination of many minor metals is
required to create their uniquecompositions. Further, it is not
simply adding what is needed, but
it is also important to keep out
degrading elements (e.g. oxygen),and with ever tighter specifications being demanded by endusers, this is an increasingly
important consideration.
It was interesting to learn thatthe demands placed on the superalloys (used for turbines) are now
so great, that to withstand thegreat forces applied, they areforged from a single crystal. Thisadvancement is to mitigate
against creep that can occur
along grain boundaries. I was
comforted to know that thishelps make me safer when I fly!
With this information in mind wewere taken on a factory tour.
After putting on safety gear andfluorescent vests, we were readyto see first-hand how these complicated superalloys are created.
I would like thank everyone at
Firth Rixson, Glossop, for taking
the time to show MMTA its operation.
Alex Lewis, MMTA Intern

Bonno Matale, Sheffield University, MMTA Intern
11UK TRADE MISSION TO FINLANDADDITIONS TO MMTA
MAIN COMMITTEE
It is with great pleasure that
the MMTA Main Committee
would like to announce thatDavid Gussack of Exotech
Inc, based in Florida, USA,

Since the early 2000s, the Finnish mining
industry has been booming. UK Trade &Investment (UKTI) works with UK-based
businesses to ensure their success in international markets, and encourage thebest overseas companies to look to the UK
as their global partner of choice. In orderto learn about the opportunities aroundthe rapidly growing Finnish industry, proGroup visiting FQM Kevitsa open
mote UK mining expertise, network withpit mine
relevant stakeholders and to enhance collaboration, UKTI in Helsinki organised a mining cluster trade mission to Finland in March 2013. The British delegates came from the Association of Mining
Analysts, Association of British Mining Equipment Companies, British Water,
Imperial College London and Mineral Industry Research Organisation. Together
the UK organisations represented over 600 individual companies, involved inmining related products and services from different sides of the cluster.

“Finland is the most attractive country in the world

for mining investments...”and Chris Edler of Lambert
Metals International Ltd,
based in London, UK,

were unanimously appointed
to join the MMTA Board of
Directors.

David is currently a memberof the Business & Social
Events Committee, andChris is part of theConference Committee.

12

According to the annual survey conducted by the Fraser Institute (2013), Finland is the most attractive country in the world for mining investments, mainly
due to the rich mineral potential, availability of geological data, strong infrastructure, political stability and transparency. There are at the present 12 metallic mineral mines, five of which are gold mines, and 31 industrial mineral mines
operating in Finland. The metallic mineral mine projects for the next five years
indicates EUR 3 – 4 billion direct investments in to mine expansions and new
construction. The Finnish geology offers excellent prospects for mining and theprobabilities for new discoveries are especially good in Northern and Eastern
Finland. Finnish mining projects haveincluded the excavation of iron, chromium, copper, nickel, zinc, gold, vanadium,titanium, lead, cobalt, silver, tungsten,and molybdenum ores, along with ores
containing rare earth elements. The potential to find new high-tech metal deposits is high, especially for platinum groupmetals, lithium, rare earth elements, titanium and cobalt. In 2010, about 30 tons
Kevitsa AG grinding mills hardof cobalt was produced in Finland, niobiat workum is expected to be produced at Yara’s
Sokli phosphate mine, Mustavaara vanadium-iron-titanium mine is going backinto production in 2017 and the Norwegian Nordic Mining is developing several
new lithium deposits in the prospective areas of central Finland.
Approximately EUR 87 million was spent on mineral exploration in 2012, slightly up from the year before. Some 50 exploration companies are currently operating in Finland. Besides the recent environmental problems at the Talvivaara
nickel mine and some conflicts between mining and tourism, namely in the municipality of Kuusamo in Northern Finland, the general mood towards mining in
Finland remains neutral. At the moment, mining contributes around 0.5 % of
Finland's GDP, a share which by all accounts is set to increase in the future. Regionally the impact is already significant. Mines create jobs in sparsely populated high unemployment regions that need and welcome the jobs. For example inthe municipality of Kittilä in Northern Finland, mining is already asUK TRADE MISSION TO FINLAND, CONT’D...

MMTA ON THE ROAD

important as tourism, the other big source of income for the region.
Indications are that one job created at a mine creates three to four other jobs
around the economy. As a response to the sore points and the industry's growing importance, a common objective has been agreed by different stakeholders
and the Finnish government to raise Finland’s profile as a leader in sustainable extractive industry. Led by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy,
the plan – introduced in April 2013 – includes measures to be taken by theindustry to obtain society’s support for its activities. Proposals for improving
the operating conditions for the industry were made with regard to administration, training, infrastructure, and more active, open dialogue.
During the week, the British delegation met representatives from over 20 public and private organisations. First in Helsinki, Geological Survey of Finland
introduced our visitors to mining in Finland, followed by discussions over themineral policy and the mining cluster with the Ministry of Employment andthe Economy and about the environmental aspects of mining with the Ministry of the Environment. As an overarching theme, education and the demand
for new skilled labour was discussed
on several occasions during the week.
After spending two days in Helsinki
our delegation travelled north toRovaniemi, Lapland, “the home of
Father Christmas”. The focus at thispoint turned more practical, intended
to illustrate the cluster in action, andwe had the opportunity to visit the
recently operational First Quantum
Minerals Kevitsa nickel-copper mine
Each load leaving the Kevitsa minein Sodankylä. Another overarching
pit can weight over 200 tons
theme, that of mining and the environment, and especially water issues, was brought up on several occasions andremains a hot topic in the public discussion as well. From an industry perspective, also ensuring the positives and benefits are communicated leaves room
for improvement. Other top issues that emerged during the week included theneed for international collaboration and as for financing, it is no secret that at
the moment it is difficult, if not impossible, to find Finnish funding for juniorcompanies.
Our key message to the Finnish stakeholders was that the UK offers a uniqueselection and network of mining operators across the whole spectrum of thecluster. Many of the world’s natural resource focused investment funds andbanks are UK headquartered, as are many of the world’s mining houses. The
UK offers world-class mining equipment manufacturers, state of the art engineering services that cut across the whole life cycle of mines and the UK’s mining related training and research capabilities are some of the best in the world.
The UK’s and the City of London’s financial services with the London Stock
Exchange and AIM have created a natural pull for mining operators to gather
their know-how and expertise within the UK. For a sector already in dire needof professionals, such as mining engineers, providing services in educationand training presents a clear opportunity for the service sector. Consulting andcollaborative research & development projects, especially in environmental
aspects of mining such as waste handling and water treatment, presents another clear prospect for the UK expertise. In mineral exploration, in addition
to the other 50 or so companies, several UK juniors are already exploring theregion. Finally, there is always a demand for high-class innovative mining
equipment solutions and the potential to engage in joint-ventures with Finnish companies to gain a foothold within the international mining supply chain.

Upon arrival at Alfred H Knight’s
premises, I was introduced to PaulChew, who gave an introduction to
AHK outlining their ethos and operations. I was surprised to learn they
currently have over 35 offices worldwide. Soon we were taken on a tourof their laboratories.
The tour started at sample arrivaland followed a logical progression
through to preparation and analysis.
Samples are coded and tracked
through the entire process to ensure
traceability. It was interesting tolearn that this site alone receives
hundreds of samples a week, from allover the world.
During the tour we were taken
through preparation and melting. It
was fascinating to see the pouring of
the first melt (>99% metals are extracted), and the slag which is processed further to collect any remaining metal.
As the tour progressed, it became
clear that assaying is a complicatedprocedure and cannot be rushed!
Throughout the tour we were taken
to many departments, each an important process in the chain. Samples
are taken through a circuit, andshould a sample not adhere to strict
criteria, it is not advanced to thenext stage, but is reprocessed.
Overall I was struck by the friendly
office culture and approachability of
all the staff. I am grateful to everyone at AHK for an informative andexciting visit, and a special thank you
to Neil for tolerating all of my questions!

Alex Lewis, MMTA Intern

Eero-Matti Salminen, UK Trade & Investment

13

EARLY DAYS: GROWTH OF THE MMTA

Would you like tocontribute to the
Crucible?

Do you have a little
time to get involved
with one of the
MMTA projects?

When Victor Hugo coined thephrase ‘an idea whose time has
come’, he wasn’t thinking about abunch of minor metal dealers meeting for a booze-up in London. But
the speed at which the MMTA developed from the first get-together inthe early 1970’s fits Victor’s snappy
term to a T.
Demand for strange metals was beginning to boom in the electronics,
chemical and the aerospace industries. Established metal trading
companies hadn’t yet realised thatminor metals, with exacting technical properties, had to be tradeddifferently from base metals. And
most minor metal traders wereyoung and had a lot in common witheach other.

Does your company
have a good news
story you would liketo share, or a vacancy
you would like toadvertise?

Getting together, however informally, was, people realised, exactly what
was needed. It was a way of identifyPeter Robbins
ing ourselves outside the companies weworked for and establishing a forum
where we could discuss the issues that concerned us most. So what were theseissues?

Get in touch with the
MMTA executive
team.

The first thing I was told, rather pompously, when I started work in the City wasthat the maxim that guides all trade in the square mile is ‘My word is my bond’.
The second thing I was told was that, if you have any sense, you should take thebond. But I was always surprised by how few disputes there were considering
how many details needed to be agreed in a deal – quantity, quality, origin, delivery location, insurance status, ETA, etc. We tried to settle disputes amicably because we needed to continue trading with each other. If I give something awayon this deal the other guy is more likely let me off the hook on the next deal.

Email: maria@mmta.co.uk

But there is another characteristic of minor metals’ trading that could test trust
to the limit. If a consumer, let’s say, wanted a large quantity of antimony, you
couldn’t ask them to hang around for a few days to get firm offers from othersuppliers, in order to do a risk-free deal. You had to decide quickly either to sell
the consumer your stock or go short. In other words, you had to trade from position. In other words, you had to gamble. And this was the beginning of a longbullish period in which prices for some minor metals changed more rapidly thanfor any other traded commodities. It was a great temptation to try to get out of asales contract when the price of whatever you had sold had doubled since you
did the deal. An agreed contract was clearly needed; as was an arbitration service.

Tel: +44 (0)207 833 0237

Contractual arrangements at that time were a problem. My company issued
modified London Metal Exchange contracts but many traders were not membersof the LME. Did the seller’s or buyer’s contract rule? It was all a bit of a mess andthe only we could operate effectively was by goodwill and trust.

I was pleased with the success of our party in the Thames-side pub and a date foranother get-together was quickly agreed. More far-sighted traders than I, however, instantly saw the merit of institutionalising our trading activities. It became
clear that what we wanted was a trade association. There are hundreds of tradeassociations in Britain alone. There’s one for bankers another for basket makers
and another for dental implantologists – why not one for us?
There was a long debate over what we should call ourselves. The word ‘minor’, it
was pointed out, could imply that there was a bigger and better association dealing with metals. ‘Special’ sounded a bit superior. ‘Rare’ might be confused withrare earth metals. ‘Strategic’ might imply armaments, and so on. ‘Minor’ was14

EARLY DAYS, CONT’D….
agreed more through exhaustion than inspiration.
I should confess that I would have been very satisfied if all our future meetings were kept to informal social occasions, but I was pleased enough to see
my fellow members forming several sub-committees, appointing officers andopening bank accounts. The London Chamber of Commerce led us all quickly
and inexpensively through the legal and technical hoops and the MMTA wasborn.
Forgive me if I forget some names but I seem to remember that it was Brian
Morgan, Howard Masters, Peter Pemberton, Angus Kinnear, Robbie Lichtenstern and the late Len Hillyard who acted as the main midwives of the new
association.
As I saw it, one of the merits of forming an association was that it would be
able to carry a great deal more weight in any debates we had with governmentor regulatory bodies than individuals or individual companies.
An anomaly in the UK’s import tariff system at the time became the guinea
pig we decided to use to test our new-found strength. Nearly all the UK’s magnesium was imported from Norway through a single agent and it attracted
little or no import duty. They had a semi-monopoly. Russian magnesium,
however, was plentiful but carried a huge import duty. This meant that us
traders were denied a chunk of business and that British consumers were paying through the nose for their magnesium. So, the arrangements were, albeit
in a small way, harming the country’s economy.
Len Hillard and I wrote to the Department of Trade and Industry under an
MMTA letter heading and we swiftly received a reply inviting us to a meetingwith a senior civil servant. We were courteously received and offered a cup oftea before the civil servant rose from his chair and pointedly closed the doorof his spacious Whitehall office. In a cut glass accent he wearily explained that
there was very little he could do to help us. ‘Well’, he drawled, ‘you can guess
what happens in cases like this. A minister is button-holed by someone at a
cocktail party; promises are made, and these arrangements fall into place
without much discussion I’m afraid. Magnesium is not exactly a big issue inthe great scheme of things’. So in our very fist fixture it was UnfathomableBureaucracy 1, MMTA nil.
We didn’t want to make too much of a fuss, especially as this was in the middle of the Cold War with Russia, and we were very busy doing other things but at least we road-tested our new facility.
Within a few months of its formation the MMTA went global and increased its
membership enormously. I turned up to many of its social functions whichbecame increasingly up-market and prestigious. I left the business to work for
the UN in the 1980s and have sadly not been close to the MMTA ever since,
but I thought that current members might be interested to know how their
institution grew from its very humble beginnings.

Peter Robbins, founding MMTA member.

Do you have an MMTA story to tell?
If so, we want to hear it.
Please send your contributions for the 40th
Anniversary edition of the Crucible tomaria@mmta.co.uk

HELP THE MMTAPROMOTE YOU
The MMTA executive
team receives many
hundreds of calls andemails a year enquiring
about potential new
business contacts. We
refer enquirers to the
MMTA Members’
Directory, where they
can search by metal orcompany.
Is your member
listing up-to-date?
Please take a few minutes
to check your website
contact and other details
to ensure they are as you
would like to see them:
Are contacts current?
Do we have all the metals
listed that you are involvedin?

We have expanded our
database to allow
visitors to the site tosearch by ferro-alloys
as well as pure metals.
Contact
emma@mmta.co.uk if you
would like to makechanges.
15

SUPERALLOYSMMTA SEMINAR
How to Use
Arbitration to
Resolve International
Disputes

When: Wednesday
18th September 2013
9.30—12.00
Cost: £75 for MMTA
Members / £120 for
non-members










What are Litigation
and Arbitration
Advantages ofarbitration explained
How arbitration
works
Which arbitration
rules to use
Alternatives including
mediation

The seminar will bepresented at the MMTA
Office by Donald
Lambert and Nicole
Finlayson of Penningtons
Solicitors LLP
To register, please contact
emma@mmta.co.uk
16

seen in a breakdown of the chemicalcomposition of two common Nickel
base superalloy families; CMSX andRene (Figure 1). Each addition plays aspecific role in satisfying a service requirement and alloy development canbe seen as a ‘series of compositional
The superalloys continue to be of sigmodifications designed to improve spenificant interest to the metals’ trade,cific properties without adversely afprimarily due to the myriad of businessfecting others’. Before investigating theopportunities presented by the extenmetallurgy in greater detail, let’s take asive range of alloying additions. The
look at why this group of alloys dediversity of elements utilised can beserves the prefix ‘Super’.
Super—a prefix occurring originally inloanwords from Latin, with the basic
meaning “above, beyond.” Words
formed with super-, have the following
general sense: “to place or be placed
above or over”.

The Rolls Royce Trent 1000 was introduced into service underneath the wingof the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in October of 2011; it is one of the most fuelefficient gas turbines ever produced,
has a specific thrust in excess of 30
metric tons and yet produces 20% less
CO2, 40% less NOx and 50% less noise
than the previous generation of engines. The Trent 1000 owes its performance to nickel base superalloy bladesin the high pressure turbine (HPT),
which are subjected to temperatures inexcess of 1,500oC whilst each converting up to 800HP from the gas flow into
torque, the equivalent power of a formula one engine. At 10,000 rpm the
HPT blade tips are encroaching on the
speed of sound, imparting a centrifugal
loading analogous to hanging a double
decker bus from each of the ~100 palm
sized blades, and yet incredibly they
can travel over ten million miles before
requiring replacement. Super? Justifiably so.

for gas turbine operation occurred long
before Frank Whittle first conceived his
turbojet, and the relationship between
increased operating temperature andimproved efficiency is still an inescapable fact. It should not be forgotten thatsuperalloys find considerable use in the
petroleum and petrochemical industries, space vehicles, nuclear reactors,
steam power plants as well as primary
metals’ production, but the prime reason for their existence is their outstanding strength over the temperatures at which gas turbine components
operate.
The term superalloy formally applies toan alloy developed for high temperature service, usually based on group
VIIIA elements i.e. iron, cobalt andnickel. It may be surprising to learn
that the refractory alloys actually offer
superior mechanical performance athigh temperatures, as can be seen in
Figure 2, but they have very high densities, poor ductility at low temperatures
and are extremely susceptible to oxidative degradation, so much so that theiruse is limited to inert environments
until reliable coatings can be developed.

What came first, the chicken or the
egg? The modern jet engine and thelatest generation of superalloys owe
their existence to a mutual partnership
dating back to conception in the late1930’s, with advancements in one field
The standout feature of the superalloys
spurring on an almost chronologicalis their combination of oxidation redevelopment in the other. The fundasistance and creep strength, and many
mentals of gas turbine performance aredescribed by the ‘Brayton
Cycle’, a thermodynamic
framework that details
three interrelated variables;
temperature, pressure, andvolume. The realisationthat high temperature materials would be essential

SUPERALLOYS, CONT’D ….
(15-20%) have been developed for utiliza- noticeable effects on the surface stabilityof the alloy. Figure 3 shows turbinetion in corrosion-resistant applications
blades with varying degrees of surface
alone.
degradation due to hot corrosion; in mostCorrosion or oxidation resistance is vital
instances this will have little effect onsince the gaseous surroundings of many
immediate performance (except for aerohigh temperature components often condynamic efficiency) but will dramaticallytain sulphur, chlorine and sodium, which
decrease the time to fatigue failure andalthough present in small quantities haveincrease the creep rate.

METAL EVENTSLTD PRESENTED
WITH QUEEN’S
AWARD

Figure 3

Creep is the gradual ‘permanent plastic
deformation’ (elongation) under a constant stress at a load below the yieldstress of the material. Creep rate always
increases with temperature, hence theimportance of suitable creep strength inhigh temperature alloys. To give an example of the problem: turbine blades operate most efficiently when the gap
between the blade tip and the casing is at a minimum (typically 2%of the blade width), with such tighttolerances even creep in the orderof tenths of a millimetre will result
in contact with the casing and ultimately failure.

Figure 4 shows a conventionally cast turbine blade that has had an acid etch applied to the surface so that the microstructure is visible, it can be seen that thecasting is not one continuous solid but isin fact made up of a series of individual
crystals or ‘grains’. Almost all conventionally cast metals are

Figure 4

On Thursday 30th June, theMMTA was invited to attend thepresentation of Metal Events’
Queens Award for Enterprise for
Outstanding Achievement inInternational Trade 2013 at the
Marriot Hotel, County Hall,
London.
The Mayor of Lambeth waspresent to witness the event, but
it was Rosi Prescott DLL, on
behalf of Her Majesty, who
presented the award to Jill
Fitzgibbon and Rachel Carnac, Co-Directors of Metal Events Ltd.
The Queen’s Awards forEnterprise are presented on therecommendation of the Prime
Minister and with Her Majesty
the Queen’s approval. The
Awards were inaugurated in 1966
and are awarded to businesses
for outstanding achievement ininternational trade, innovationand sustainable development.

Iron base superalloys are the least
expensive of the three families but
have the lowest useful temperature
ceiling at around 800oC, cobalt
base alloys offer superior hot corrosion resistance and higher temperatures still but development
Congratulations to Metal Eventswas discouraged by the cobalt
Ltd on this achievement.
shortage of the 1970’s and they are
not used widely. Nickel base superalloys are the most complex, mostwidely used for the hottest parts, and to‘polycrystalline’ (multi-grain), the boundmany metallurgists the most fascinatingaries between grains form as a result ofof all of the superalloys. The current state
misalignment between atoms as theyof the art is seen in a single crystal turstruggle to order themselves uniformlybine blade made from a 3rd-4th generation
upon cooling from liquid to solid.
nickel superalloy, a component that
demonstrates the developments made in Grain boundaries are regions of atomic
both metallurgy and process engineering. mismatch and less dense atomic packing,at elevated temperatures the strength of17

SUPERALLOYS, CONT’D….
IMAGE FROMWASHINGTON DC

and the relatively small number ofthe boundary is lower than thestrength of the grain. Grain boundaries boundaries remaining are all orientated with the loading direction to elimiare primary sources of creep, due tonate sliding. The principle behind thethe mechanisms of ‘grain boundary
process involves cooling the alloy fromsliding’ (the sliding of grains past one
the melt at an extremely slow rate byanother), and ‘grain boundary diffusion’ (the movement of atoms along the minimising the temperature gradient;
this gives the atoms longer to arrange
gaps in the grain boundary).
themselves and the starter grains are
The development of production metheffectively ‘grown’ upwards. The use ofods to remove grain boundaries such asa ‘grain selector’ is an advanced modifiDS (Directionally Solidified) and SC
cation to the process that allows for(Single Crystal) was a major breakproduction of castings that are comthrough that resulted in dramatic inpletely free of grain boundaries; thecreases in creep strength. An example
casting is grown from one single crystalof a directionally solidified blade that(grain) Figure 6. Single crystal alloys
has been etched is shown in Figure 5;
therefore have excellent creep strength,
the casting consists of a small number
and can operate at temperatures circaof large longitudinally grown grains
30oC greater than DS.

Paine overseeing the installation of Graft.
Photo by Rob Shelley

Stainless Steel Tree—
Graft, (2008-2009) by
American sculptor
Roxy Paine can beseen in the Sculpture
Garden of the
National Gallery ofArt, Washington DC.
The stainless steel
structure is 45ft highand 45ft wide, is madefrom over 8,000
components andweighs over 16,000 lbs.
Copyright ©2013 National Gallery ofArt, Washington, DC

18

Figure 5

Figure 6

On a metallurgical level Nickel base sup- der an electron microscope, the magnifieralloys derive their properties primarily cation is 13,000x putting the true widthof the image at approximately
due to the relationship between two
0.00001m. The dark background is thephases; Gamma (γ) and Gamma Prime
Gamma phase or ‘matrix’, this can be(γ’). A phase is a region that differs instructure and/or composition from an- thought of as the amalgam within which
other region, and is defined by the atom- the light grey Gamma prime phase preic bonding and arrangement of elements cipitates are distributed.
in a material. For a simple alloy of metal
Nickel initially seems like a poor choice‘A’ and metal ‘B’, the phases could confor a superalloy base, as it has mediocre
sist of: Pure A, Pure B, and many percreep properties, however it has an exmutations of A+B.
cellent tolerance for alloying, making it afavourable choice for the Gamma matrix. Chromium, molybdenum andtungsten all act as potent strengtheners
Figure 7
to the Gamma phase and are added inhigh percentages; iron, cobalt and vanadium fulfil the same role in certain compositions, but are less effective. At temperatures above 60% of the alloy melting point, strengthening of the Gamma
matrix is dependent on how easily atoms
can move or ‘diffuse’ through the metal.
Molybdenum and Tungsten are the mostFigure 7 shows the microstructure of apotent strengtheners here, due to
Nickel base superalloy when viewed un-

SUPERALLOYS, CONT’D….
superalloys the quantity of Gamma
their high densities. Nickel also has thePrime has steadily been increased; intendency, with chromium additions, toform rich chromium oxide and alumini- modern single crystal alloys it makes up
um oxide protective scales, which provide about 60% of the volume. The strength ofthe majority of the oxidation and hot cor- Gamma Prime has also been increased byrosion resistance to the alloy. Chromium adding refractory elements; Tantalum,
is typically present at 10-20%wt, but with tungsten and rhenium, with their higher
the development of effective thermal bar- melting points, have been found to berier coatings the environmental exposure more effective strengtheners than columbium, and molybdenum.
of the alloy itself has been reduced, resulting in lower loadings in modern alBoron, carbon and zirconium are imloys.
portant additions to conventionally cast
The Gamma Prime phase plays the most or directionally solidified alloys, as theysegregate to the grain boundaries; here,
important role in the final properties of
the alloy and has a remarkable strength- thanks to their odd atomic sizing, theyboth act to ‘pin’ the boundaries preventening effect; it is most unique in that its
ing sliding, and also fill the gaps that alstrength increases with increasing temperature. Gamma Prime forms as a regu- low for the movement (diffusion) of otheratoms. In addition to improving oxidalar array within the Gamma matrix, intion resistance, hafnium was found to be
the case of Figure 7 as cuboidal precipitates but can also be found as spheres or very effective at improving the stability of
the grain boundaries. This allows for easplates (Figure 8).
ier casting of the alloy; without it thegrain boundaries tend to ‘tear’ as themetal shrinks upon solidification fromthe melt. In a single crystal alloy thegrain boundaries have been removed asa source of weakness altogether, so theseelements are typically absent or found inlow levels. Another feature of the latest
Figure 8
single crystal alloys is the addition of
yttrium, which is thought to increase
Gamma Prime consists primarily of A3B
the stability of the surface aluminium
compounds with Ni3Al making up theoxide scales further improving oxidation
majority, although it is common to add atresistance.
least as much titanium to the alloy as
Obviously due to the vast number of supaluminium. Of the other elements aleralloy compositions available and theready in the Gamma matrix, smallvarying performance requirements based
amounts of cobalt, chromium and molyon application, the above constitutes a
can substitute for A in the Gammavery basic overview of the metallurgy. A
Prime, whereas additions of hafnium,
columbium and tantalum can substitute condensed summary of the preferential
location and role of the various elements
for B.
can be seen in Figure 9.
As the principal strengthening phase in

Figure 9

A discussion about candidate materials
for the potential replacement of superalloys is beyond the scope of this article, butboth GE and Rolls Royce have committed
to the use of Ceramic Matrix Composites
in certain gas turbine components in thenear future. The gas turbine industry is
incredibly risk adverse; a mature technology will spend thousands of hours on ademonstrator rig, followed by thousandsof rigorous flight hours in a military program, before even being considered forcommercial applications. Given the risk
inherent in replacement of a material thathas over 80 years of development andexperimental data behind it, it is likelythat the phase in will be extremely gradual. Remembering that current engines
have thirty years of operational life remaining, during which they will require
replacement superalloy components, andthat superalloys are used across a wide
range of applications with broad performance requirements, the next 20+ years
should be considered transitional rather
than revolutionary.
Will Parry-Jones, AMC plc

INFORMAL DRINKS& INTRODUCTION
TO METALLURGYCOURSENEW YORK, USA

Thanks to those MMTA
members and guests whojoined us for a pleasant
after-work drink on 26th
June. It was a hot, humid
evening, but those who
were there had the opportunity to catch up withfellow MMTA members,
as well as make some newcontacts.
The following day, a groupof us went back to theclassroom for an Introduction to Metallurgy, delivered by Tom Glasgow,
former NASA metallurgist,
who gave attendees agrounding in why metals
act the way they do, as
well as the reasons forselecting different combinations of metals for different applications.
If you were not able toattend the course, butwould like to register yourinterest, we will let you
know when we are able torun it again.
Please contact
maria@mmta.co.uk
19Community.

Keeping you connected—
 to the global minor metals community
 to who and what you need to know
 providing regular networking opportunities

Giving you peace of mind—
 MMTA approved warehouses
 trade regulations
 sampling standards
 mediation & arbitration service
 insurance task force

Promoting you— raise your company profile

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

 advertise your services and products
 take advantage of sponsorship opportunities
 get involved and have a voice

Always here for you— the MMTA executive team responded to hundreds of queries on a wide range of metalsrelated issues in 2012

Saving you time and money— free wi-fi members’ meeting room and workspace in central London
 find what you want, when you want it—online resources and links on a wide range ofminor metals related subjects all in one place substantial discounts for MMTA members on all business, social and educational events,
including up to 40% discount on MMTA’s International Minor Metals Conference

Minor Metals Trade Association
Suite 53
3 Whitehall Court
LondonSW1A 2EL
Telephone: +44 (0)207 833 0237
Fax: +44 (0)207 839 1386
Email: executive@mmta.co.uk