ISSN 2056-6735 (Online)

REACH & The Artist’s Palette
Metals In The Body: Titanium

The magazine of the Minor Metals Trade Association

5th Edition 2014/November

www.mmta.co.uk

Welcome from the Editor
Welcome to the latest edition of the Crucible. We are now entering the final period of what has been a very
busy year for the MMTA. I would very much like to thank all the Members who have offered input and helped
us with our current projects, as well as our planning for 2015. We hope to get the opportunity to see many of
you at one of our end-of-year events in New York and London, or at our conference in April. As this is the last
Crucible of 2014, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families a festive end to the year
and our very best wishes for 2015.

Maria Cox, MMTA

THE MMTA’S INTERNATIONAL MINOR METALSCONFERENCE 2015
TAKING PLACE AT THE FAIRMONT ROYAL YORK HOTEL, TORONTO,
FROM 27—29 APRIL 2015
Be sure to take advantage of the current MMTA Members’ Early-Bird Rate which is available until 14th January.
If you aren’t yet an MMTA Member, don’t delay in completing your application to ensure your Member
discount.
We are also offering a competitive non-members’ Early-Bird Rate.
Join over 100 delegates who have already registered for this event.

We will once again be hosting a high-quality speaker programme, including confirmed presentations from
Pratt & Whitney, Alcoa, IBM, First Solar, Indium Corp, 5N Plus & the Mining Association of Canada,
as well as excellent networking opportunities.
Themes include aerospace, batteries, solar applications electronics and more!

Platinum Sponsor

2

Gold Sponsor

JOHN SYKES, RIP

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

John Sykes, who died aged 75, was an accomplished sportsman and lawyer withconsiderable charm, who was a good friend to many members of the MMTA. He was
Captain of Esher Rugby Club in 1966 and helped fellow rugby players with everything fromdriving infringements and marital problems to commercial disputes. He won several
notable cases for Wogen in different jurisdictions including the USA, Japan and Holland inthe ‘80s and ‘90s and later, and news of his achievements spread mainly on the golf course,
so that other MMTA members signed him up.
In a Fathers’ and Sons’ Cricket match he once bowled out Prince Harry. The umpire, who
was Prince Andrew, told John “Sorry, mate, there goes your Knighthood”.
By Colin Williams, Wogen Resources Ltd

MMTA’s International Minor Metals
Conference 2015………………………………...2
Obituary—John Sykes……….………….…..3
Metal Norms…………………………………….…..3
REACH & The Artist’s Palette……….….4
Critical Raw Materials Alliance ……....5
History of Minor Metals in Paints......6
Letter from North America…………..….11
Minor Metals in Renewables……….…..12

John Sykes was a member of the MMTA’s Mediation & Arbitration Committee.

Economic Outlook for China…...….…..13
Fanya Metal Exchange Summit……...14
MMTA’s Anniversary Dinner ……….…..15

NOTIFICATION—MMTA METAL NORMS
It has been drawn to our attention that some Members did not
see the notifications we sent out prior to implementing the

Glencore Does the Right Thing……….16
Beware Fraudulent Consignments..17
Minor Metals in the Body: Titanium..18
New MMTA Members …...pp 17, 18 & 19changes to several of the MMTA Metal Norms which had beendeveloped by the Metal Norms Working Group.

Some new norms have been added, some existing norms
have been amended and some norms have been
removed.
These changes were implemented in September and affect thefollowing norms:
Ferro-Chrome

Antimony

Hafnium

Ferro-Silicon

Manganese

Tantalum

Molybdenum

Ferro-Titanium

Ferro-Molybdenum

Ferro-Vanadium

NiobiumTungsten

Nickel-Niobium

Ferro-Tungsten

The MMTA promotes
essential elements thatadd quality, safety andenjoyment to our lives.
The MMTA is the world's
leading minor metals
industry organisation.

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO ENSURE YOU ARE FAMILIAR
WITH THE CHANGES & NOTIFY THE MMTA EXECUTIVE TEAMIF YOU STILL NEED ANY OF THE REMOVED NORMS
3

REACH &The Artist’s
Palette
REACH legislation is having an impact on many aspects of the minor
metals world, but some may be unaware that the European Union’s
Chemical Agency (ECHA) is considering a request from Sweden to
severely restrict or even ban the use of all cadmium pigments. When
we think of pigments, we may think of all the industrial uses, but theart world is currently mounting a campaign to highlight the effect ofpotential restriction on the work of artists. “It could be a significant
reduction to the artists’ palette – arguably an even bigger change
than the restrictions applied to the use of lead in artists’ colours.
Whereas the risks associated with lead were undeniable and obvious,
the premise on which the cadmium proposal is based appears both
unconvincing and entirely unnecessary to many in the industry,”according to Michael Craine, Managing Director of Spectrum Artists’Paints and representative of the European artists’ colours association(CEPE).

batteries in the waste stream. However, for the purposes of reducing
the potential for cadmium compounds leaching out of landfills,
cadmium from all sources is of concern to the agencies regulating
waste disposal. Any cadmium-containing waste that releases themetal is considered hazardous waste.
According to the International Cadmium Association (ICDA),“cadmium pigments and stabilisers are important additives in certain
specialised plastics, glasses, ceramics and enamels to achieve brightcolours along with long service lives, even in very demanding
applications. From an ecological point of view, it is important todevelop and maintain functional products with long service lives,
once again to minimise the input into the world's waste stream.
Inferior substitutes which produce shortened service lives will
ultimately only increase the volume of the world's waste. It should
also be emphasised that cadmium in these applications is in achemically very stable, highly insoluble form, and embedded in the
product's matrix”.
CEPE fears that if the case against cadmium in artists’ colours is
accepted, it makes no recognition of the generally high standards
demanded by artists and paint makers and leads the way to furtherbans of even safer pigments in the future. CEPE members also fearthat should European manufacturers lose the right to use cadmium
pigments, inferior products, with potentially lower environmental
standards, will be imported and remain illegally in circulation.
“The worst-case scenario is that cadmiums could have disappeared
within a couple of years, which in the view of many of us in theindustry is both distressing and entirely unnecessary”.

Cadmium pigments were discovered around 1820 and first usedcommercially for artists’ use by the mid 1840′s. The cost and scarcityof the metal kept their use relatively limited in mainstream artists’materials until the 1920′s. Their introduction provided unequalled
hues in the yellow to deep red range. Cadmium hues range fromThe environmental concern is to prevent such materials entering the pale to golden deep yellows; light fiery to deep oranges through tolight, bright scarlet to deep reds and maroons. These brilliant
water course and, as Michael Craine outlines, the fear is that by
pigments are loved for their strength, purity and light fast properties.
rinsing brushes in the sink, cadmium may enter the waste water
Some artists prefer more descriptive and perhaps more illustrative
treatment plants and end up in the sludge. When the sludge isspread on agricultural land, growing crops absorb the cadmium and adjectives such as zingy, joyous and singing colours!
consequently this will lead to an increased exposure to humans via
There are alternatives, but they are limited and generally poor
food. It is important to differentiate that the cadmium pigments
relations. Although the properties of alternative organic pigments areused in artists’ colours are not classified as hazardous, on the basis of
in many ways similar to cadmium colours, they are not identical in
all the testing and data gathering required for REACH registration
every respect. Variations include how the colours mix to create new
dossiers. Nevertheless, over the years, paint makers have usedcolours, their strength, opacity and purity, all of which are important
cadmium pigments of progressively lower solubility in efforts toqualities for the artist.
further increase safety.
Craine argues that “the art world uses cadmiums of low solubility toArtists are not amongst the world’s big polluters, but “the artist
make the small risk smaller still. They are sufficiently safe that we all
fraternity has probably been caught with a punch intended for amake casserole in pots that are painted in cadmium orange andmuch bigger boxer!”, describes Michael Craine, “The greater risks
yellow! Even the EU itself admits that the paints we make using theassociated with cadmium are in the industrial setting of the paintpigments we select are not considered hazards under REACH. [There
manufacturer, where inhalation of dry pigment could be possible if
are those who would like] metals generally to be taken out of paints,
appropriate measures were not taken. As a consequence CEPE
however, if we were to do that, where would that leave the building
members set stringent workplace exposure limits and hygiene
blocks of painting: titanium and zinc white?”requirements. We take this seriously and workers exposed to
The laboratory results (right top) illustrate the difference in quality
cadmium pigments are required to have periodic testing to
between the cadmium colours and the alternatives, according to thedetermine their blood levels of the element”.
work CEPE has undertaken.
There are a number of initiatives regarding the long term
environmental impact of cadmium in landfills and water courses.
Maria Cox, MMTA (adapted from an article by Spectrum Artists’
The landfill issue is largely the result of the use of soluble cadmium Paints)
compounds in battery manufacture and the sheer numbers of spent

4

Laboratory Test Results on
Cadmium Pigments
Lightfastness

Opacity

Tinting Strength

CRITICAL RAW MATERIALS ALLIANCE
The MMTA recently joined other members of the CRM Alliance at theEuropean Parliament in Brussels on 14th October for the first official
CRM Day. The objectives of the Alliance, which now has 15 members
from across industry, were to review concerns, experienced byindividual materials on the CRM list, and also concerns experienced
across the group at the EU level. Alliance members reconfirmed theirobjective to ensure that CRMs receive a systematic consideration
when EU legislation is being drafted, and that EU funding should
not be focused on substitution, which all agreed takes place at acommercial level as a matter of course. In practice, this meant theestablishment of a clear strategy of the CRM Alliance to promote
the importance of critical materials (many of which are minor
metals) to the EU and to support a CRM policy.
During a CRM Lunch at the European Parliament, members of the
CRM Alliance had the opportunity to voice their concerns torepresentatives of the European Parliament and Commission with a
responsibility for Raw Materials Strategy. The group also learned
more about the methodology for defining the 2014 CRM list and otherfactors that may be taken into consideration when compiling the next
list.
Following the CRM Day, the Alliance received notification from theEuropean Commission that, due to its specific expertise, the Alliancewill be granted a seat in the Ad Hoc Working Group on Raw Materials
as observer. This means that the Alliance will be invited to attend
technical discussions for each CRM within the Alliance during theprocess of revising the list of "Critical Raw Materials for the EU".
The CRM Alliance is now working hard to provide the information thatindustry and government need to understand CRM supply, and help
level the playing field after about 30 years of lack of investment.
Efficient and supportive government policy is very important to thedevelopment of the CRM businesses, as is industry being aware andrealistic about the time and cost that is required to provide secure
alternate supply.

Tamara Alliot, MMTA

To read the full event report, please see the Members’
Area of the MMTA website.

MMTA OFFICE MEETING ROOM

Screen, projector & flipchart

FREE USE FOR MEMBERS

Free Wi-fi

CENTRAL LONDON LOCATION

Tea, coffee, water provided—otherrefreshments can be arranged at cost

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Flexible booking and cancellation —just email us

Click here to book the
MMTA meeting room.
5

The History of
Minor Metals in
Artists’ Paints

Cobalt blue is a cobalt oxide-aluminium oxide.
Although very costly, it provided an extraordinary
stable pigment of pure blue colour. It is now the mostimportant of the cobalt pigments, having replaced
smalt, which was by far inferior.
Vincent van Gogh declared to his brother Teo, ‘Cobalt[blue] is a divine colour and there is nothing sobeautiful for putting atmosphere around things…"
The below painting witnesses Renoir's shifts fromcobalt blue to the new and cheaper artificial
ultramarine.

Renoir, Pierre-Augustec. The Umbrellas (LesParapluies)1881-85

This painting was painted
during a period ofrestlessness in Renoir'swork, and it can be seen
Until paint was produced commercially during thethat the picture exhibits two
Industrial Revolution (circa 1800), painters had to
distinct styles. The group of
make their own paints by grinding pigment into oil.
figures on the right is
The paint would harden and would have to be madepainted in a soft feathery
fresh each day. Although paint appears smooth to thestyle reminiscent of his work
naked eye, on a microscopic level, particles of pigmentof the later 1870s, while theare suspended in oil.
umbrellas and the couple on
the left are painted in a
Cadmium pigments are not the only minor metals that
harder manner with more
have been used by artists over the centuries.
distinct outlines and
The Artists’ Palette
subdued steely colours. The
exact date of the painting is
Blues:
not known, but it isgenerally accepted that it
In spite of its high cost, medieval and Renaissancewas worked on over a period of several years.
artists used ultramarine, a brilliant pure blue
extracted from the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli,
The women in Renoir's paintings are usually dressed
the only source of which was the Sar-e-Sang mines in in the latest styles, and the dresses and hats worn bymodern-day Afghanistan.
the figures on the right conform to a fashion thatappeared in 1881 and which became popular in 1882.
Indigo – a dark inky blue – and also used from the
The vogue was superseded the following year by aearliest times, is extracted from plants, but fades due more severe style of dress with simple straight lines.
to light, as do many plant based pigments.
The woman at the front of the picture to the left is
dressed in this latter style,
Smalt – awhich was fashionable in theblue glass
1885-6 season.
made byadding cobalt
Examination of the crossoxide to a potash richsections has shown that in themolten glass, gave aearlier phase Renoir usedpale colour but poor
exclusively cobalt blue,
tinting strength, andavailable from 1802, and hislost its colour with time,
habitual choice during the
becoming brown or
1870's and early 1880's, but ingreyish. It was afinishing and revising thestandard pigment in thepainting, he used onlythth
16 and 17 centuries
ultramarine, which came inbecause it was cheap
use in the 1870s.
and widely available.
Egyptian Blue—a
Prussian blue appearedvery stable syntheticth
at the start of the 18
pigment of varyingAperfect
newpigmentfortheImpressionists—
century and marked a
blue colour, is achromeorangeiscontrasted
withcobaltblue,
itsmajor change in thecopper calcium silicate that
opposite in the colour spectrum
artist’s palette. It is a
was the first synthetic pigment
synthetic pigment
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Seine at Asnières (1875), The National Gallery London. and the most extensively usedmade in Berlin
from the early dynasties in
between 1704 and 1710. It has a dark intense colour
Egypt until the end of the Roman period in Europe.
similar to indigo and quickly became popular.
Many specimens, well over 3000 years old, appear to
In 1802, another synthetic blue, cobalt blue, be little affected by the passage of time.
was invented, providing a stable and reliable
The New Life of Egyptian Bluepure, deep blue that was very popular with
the Impressionists.
Egyptian blue could find use in the modern era in“Colour – along with light, shadow and movement– defines everything we see”.

6applications such as biomedical analysis,
telecommunications, and lasers, according to a reportfrom 2009. A study of the pigment’s luminescent
properties assesses its quantum efficiency andlifetime. It was found that Egyptian blue has an
exceptionally high luminescence quantum yield for amolecular-level infrared emitter. These features make
Egyptian Blue a promising candidate for use in biomedical applications, for example, because infrared
photons can deeply penetrate human tissue and thepigment's emission at 910 nm minimizes lightabsorption by tissues. Furthermore, the pigment isextremely stable, exhibiting bright luminescence evenafter millennia.

Vincent Van Gogh, Café Terrace at Night, 1888, KröllerMüller Museum, Otterlo

Ancient Egyptians may not havegained eternal life, but one of
their most frequently used
pigments may now have a future
in a variety of high-tech
applications.

Fowling in the marshes ,Nebamun wall painting fragment,
British Museum, London, UK
Top: visible.
Bottom: infrared photoluminescence. Bright white areasin the photo-luminescence image
correspond to the presence ofhigh luminescent Egyptian blue.

Greens:Essential for depicting landscapes, and usedReds:
extensively in European art for depicting drapes andclothing, green has always been an important colour in Another indispensable colour, in ancient times
vermilion was ground from the mineral cinnabar, with
European art. Although there were no stable, intense
fromgreen pigments before the 19th century, this was not a a synthetic vermilion being manufacturedthmercuryandsulphurfrom
the9
century.
Both arehuge problem, as green pigments can always bemixed from blue and yellow and adjusted with whites, dense, opaque, brilliant reds but do darken over time
unfortunately.
blacks or browns etc. Malachite, a green mineralpigment, was used, but was insufficiently strong.
Red lake, a plant/animal based pigment, has
Verdigris, a copper-based pigment used from thebeen used where a more translucent red isearliest times, has a powerful, intense colour, but canrequired, but the lake pigments (yellows as
be unstable and vulnerable to light fading. In the 19 th
well as reds) are vulnerable to fading in light.
century, new green pigments such as emerald green
Red lead was one of the earliest artificially prepared(copper and arsenic) and viridian (chromium oxide)
were used, with viridian being a favourite of Cezanne, pigments and is made using lead oxide.
Renoir and Monet.
It was used by Byzantine and Persian illustrators
Viridian is a very stable and powerful cold
green. It is a chromium oxide di-hydrate.
Guignet of Paris patented the process for
manufacturing viridian (or transparent oxideof chromium) in 1859. Its excellent permanence andlack of toxicity could replace all other greens, bothancient and modern.

(below), as well as in European manuscripts andpaintings.

“Viridian analysis spots fake Van Gogh”
Studying paint compositions may give quite specific answers on ancientpigment production and adds to the armoury of forensic research.
Analyses on more than 90 paintings from around the turn of the 20th
century (Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Hodler, Klee) have revealed that the
majority of samples with viridian contain a production by-product, a low
water containing amorphous chromium oxide borate, which is absent incontemporary viridian. In contrast to modern samples of the post-war
period, earlier viridian products are associated with this process-related
by-product. This pigment information is used in combination with otherdata for the authentication and dating of paintings.

7Vermillion is an orangish, red pigment withexcellent hiding power and good
permanence. It's a mercury sulphide mineral(cinnabar) used from antiquity through to thepresent though only scarcely due to its toxicity. Madeartificially from the 9th century, it was the principle
red in painting until the manufacture of its synthetic
equivalent, cadmium red.

Cobalt yellow was an expensive yellow thatwas briefly in vogue. It is of very pure yellow
colour and is lightfast but has only fair hiding
power. Introduced as a pigment in 1852, it
replaced an earlier pigment called Gamboge, an Asianyellow gum used until the 19th century. Cobalt yellow
remained popular until the late 19th century, whenless expensive, cleaner and more lightfast pigments
like the cadmiums were introduced.
Chrome yellow was a relatively inexpensive
yellow pigment with high covering power butwith only fair lightfastness and chemical
stability. The chrome colours were in use by1816 but on a limited basis. Because the pigment
tends to oxidize and darken on exposure to air overtime, and it contains lead, a toxic, heavy metal, it has
been largely replaced by cadmium yellow.

Cadmium red (above) was a favourite with Henri
Matisse. He was keen on this strong new red. This isbasically cadmium yellow (cadmium sulphide) withsome selenium added instead of sulphur (cadmium
selenide). Mineral pigment produced from cadmium
sulphide when heated with selenium becomes red.

Yellows:
Orpiment was used by the ancient Greeksand Persians and is made from arsenic
sulphide. It can be seen in this papyrus fromthe 13th century BC.

Cadmium yellow: Stromeyer discovered
metallic cadmium in 1817 but production of
the cadmium pigments was delayed until
about 1840 because of the scarcity of themetal. A natural mineral, green ochite, is known innature but was not used for pigments. Cadmium
sulphide was prepared with an acid solution of
cadmium salt (either chloride or sulphate) which washeated with hydrogen sulphide gas until a powder wasformed. Hues ranging from a lemon yellow to a deeporange were made in this way.
The deeper varieties of cadmium yellow and orange
were the most permanent. The paler varieties were
known to fade on exposure to sunlight. All of thecadmiums were brilliant and the deeper shades had
the greatest tinting strength. Apparently, the best
cadmiums were those produced without an excess ofsulphur and that the permanence of a carefully madecadmium was improved when mixed with lead whiteusing only an ivory knife. They were used in both oil
and watercolour but could not be mixed with copperbased pigments.
Cadmium yellow was discovered in 1818 andcontinues in use today.
Chrome orange is a basic lead chromate
which was introduce as a pigment in 1809.
The colour of the pigment can range fromlight to deep orange, the hiding power is
excellent. The world production of chromeorange ceased few years ago. Now it is an obsolete
pigment.

Before the 19th century, artificial yellows were
manufactured, such as lead-tin yellow used from the14th century often to depict gold.

New Scientist (4 October 2014): Art conservators recently
investigated the reason why the yellow paint in a number, but notall, of Van Gogh’s Sunflower series had turned a dull brown. Using

X-Ray technology, they were able to examine the chemical
Lead-tin yellow was produced by firingoxides of lead and tin in a furnace to overelements present in the pigment. Van Gogh had painted with
800 degrees c. This produced either a pale
primrose or deep daffodil powder which was chrome yellow (lead chromate) and the analysis showed aroundreliable, dense and opaque. In the 17th century a
2/3 of the chromium in the darkened samples had changed frommodified yellow replacing tin with antimony (Naples
yellow) became the standard. It has a warm, pinkish bright yellow chromium (VI) to a darker green chromium (III), alsoyellow tone, less bright than lead-tin yellow.
known as viridian green.
By around 1820 a whole range of new yellows basedaround compounds of chromium began to be
manufactured, the most well known of these being
chrome yellow (lead chromate). These, and latercadmium yellow became the most important yellowsof the 19th century. Turner, for example, was a greatlover of chrome yellow.

8

When examining why this only occurred in some paintings, they
discovered that in an attempt to make some of the yellows evenbrighter, Van Gogh had mixed his chrome yellow with a white
powder based on lead sulphate, causing the sulphate to react withthe chromium under the influence of light.

Another use is as an opacifier for ceramics. Whitenessor opacity is introduced into transparent andOne of the essential colours in the palette, thecolourless glass ceramic coatings by adding a phaseprinciple white pigment used from early times until(opacifier) that disperses as discrete particles tothe early 20th century was lead white, a poisonous lead scatter and reflect some of the incidental light. The
compound formed as a white corrosion crust on
particles are chosen among oxides with a highmetallic lead exposed in closed vessels to sour winerefractive index. The most ancient oxide ever used is(acetic acid) in the presence of carbon dioxide.
cassiterite (SnO2). Today, rutile (TiO2, titanium white) is
commonly used. Indeed, titanium white is unaffected
Lead white has the warmest of all the whites. by heat and therefore it is commonly used in pottery
It has a very subtle reddish-yellow undertone
glazes and enamel which require a high baking
that is almost unnoticeable unless you aretemperature. In the 19th century, titanium compounds
looking for it, or comparing lead white side by were used for porcelain glazes and crystallites of TiO
2side with other kinds of white. This undertone isformed during firing generated opacity.
minimal in the best quality of lead whites. It was the
only white used in European easel paintings until theBlacks:19th century when its poisonous lead content
Most black pigments come from natural carbon based
restricted its manufacture and sale as an artist’s
sources – charcoals from a variety of woods, soot andpigment. In the early 20th century it was replaced bygraphite.
non-poisonous whites made from zinc and latertitanium.

Whites:Lead white is also the fastest drying of all of the whites
because of the drying action of the lead pigment upon
the oil. This makes lead white particularly valuable forpainters who need a relatively fast drying time forunderpainting or Alla Prima techniques.

Black Angels in a XIV Century English Manuscript?

Browns:Umber is a natural mixture of iron andmanganese oxides and hydroxides. Usedthroughout history, it has earth-tones fromcream to brown, depending on the balanceof iron and manganese compounds, and is
totally stable. This pigment is known also has Sienna
earth.

Byzantine
It comes in two varieties:
illuminatedmanuscript, seriesof readings based Raw earth umber (Raw Sienna earth): the earth justmined and ground into a pigment.
on the gospel,
1220, British
Burnt umber (Burnt Sienna earth): the raw earth
Library.
umber pigment is also calcinated in order to get
The British
Library, which has
owned the booksince the early
19th century,
found out that large areas of the 60 richly coloured
illustrations had turned black. The lead white pigment
mixed with red pigment for the flesh tone has turned
to a black compound—lead (II) sulphide—due to thereaction between lead white and hydrogen sulphideemitted by the gas lamps used in the museum in the
Victorian age.

darker shades.

Frans van Mieris, Pictura(An Allegory of
Painting),1661, private
collection

In a painting by Vermeer's
contemporary Frans van
Mieris, the allegoricalfigure representing Pictura
can be seen holding a typical palette. Van Mieris'
represented the palette
Titanium white is the strongest, most brilliant whitenecessary for painting
available to artists in the entire history of art. Excellent flesh tones. The layout of
hiding power and with twice the opacity of pure leadthe pigments, from light towhite. Its chemical stability is likewise outstanding. The dark, was common. From
pigment’s natural ore is rutile (titanium dioxide) and
top to bottom, one canmanufacturing it as a pigment presented difficulties. It clearly distinguish white lead, the principle component
was not until 1921 that American and Norwegianof the lighter flesh tones, then yellow ochre, vermilion,
companies began to develop its production for
madder lake, green earth, umber and carbon black.
painting. Most supplies of its ore come from Norway
today. There are many industrial grades of titanium
Greys:
white pigment, none of which are used in their pure
In Renaissance times both bismuth and antimony
form for artists’ oil colour. It is truly an all-purpose
white oil colour. Since titanium dioxide, by itself, dries were mixed with white to form grey pigments.
to a spongy film and zinc oxide dries to a brittle film,
References:
the two are combined in a balanced blend for better
New Scientist 4 October 2014: State of the art, Norman Miller
quality, professional grade titanium white. In someBall, Philip, Vintage Books, London, 2009, Bright Earth, The Invention ofbrands, where zinc oxide predominates in the mixture, Colour
the colour is called titanium-zinc white.
Bomford, David & Roy, Ashok, A Closer Look at Colour, The National Gallery,

An important use of titanium dioxide is in powder
form as a pigment for providing whiteness and opacity
to such products as paints and coatings but also
plastics, paper, inks, food and cosmetics, including
most toothpastes.

London 2009

Pigments through the Ages : http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/
Craine, Michael, Chromium in Crisis, Spectrum Artists’ Paints
International Cadmium Association (ICDA)
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)

910LETTER FROM NORTH AMERICA
Dear Members,
Here in New York, our stunning summer appears to be changing rapidly into a pretty dodgy fall. We had somechilly weather the other night when it dropped to nearly freezing. And we’ve had continuous rain for the past
couple of days. My sincere commiserations, though, to all in the UK (and elsewhere) who were hit by the remainsof Hurricane Gonzalo.
The results are in! Has the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 been a success when it comes to conflict minerals? Well,
actually, no!
When it came to June 2, the deadline for filing, just four companies, out of a universe of some 6,000 issuers (both
U.S. and foreign companies that file reports with the SEC), had had their Conflict Minerals Reports (CMRs)
audited for the calendar year 2013 and could describe their products as “DRC Conflict Free”. As also noted in
Schulte Roth & Zabel’s excellent white paper, Conflict Minerals Report – A Review of Calendar Year 2013 Filings
and Recommendations for Calendar Year 2014 Compliance – a total of only 1,315 Form SDs were filed. (Uniquefilings were slightly lower.) Whatever the excuses, and there are many, a 22% filing rate can, I believe, only bedescribed as a questionable accomplishment.
It should then, perhaps, not come as a surprise, that, at a speech at Fordham University School of Law here in
New York in mid-October, SEC Commissioner Daniel Gallagher Jr. said that his organization should not be
responsible for “many, if not most” of its Dodd-Frank mandated responsibilities, including, in this context,
issuers’ CMRs. According to Commissioner Gallagher, the Department of Defense, Army, Marines, or the
Department of State could all be better at the job. Many would agree.
So, seeing as how I’m writing from North America, I thought I’d have a quick look for any recent reports about theComprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the EU. Well, the Canadiangovernment certainly likes what it has negotiated (but not yet signed), describing it as “ historic” and “Canada’s

most ambitious trade initiative, broader in scope and deeper in ambition than the historic North American Free
Trade Agreement.”

And others? Well, it appears that, for a start, Germany is none too happy with the final text and could squash thewhole thing, particularly when it comes to possible new powers for foreign investors. Unite, too, the union in the
UK and Ireland, was particularly concerned when draft wording of the agreement was leaked at the end of
September. But as to any official reaction from the UK government to the investor-state dispute settlement(ISDS) chapter, and whether it believes that, as worded, the agreement does actually ensure that governments
always retain the right to regulate, I can find nothing. Nor can I find any recent analysis on any potential benefits
that may accrue to the UK, as a member of the EU, from the agreement. I should welcome any information on
this that members may have.
On that rather bemused (and concerned) note, and in the hopes of seeing some of you in London for the Xmas
Lunch (I shall, surprisingly, be over), I remainWith best wishes, as always, from New York, to MMTA members everywhere.

Tom Butcher, October 24th, 2014 Hard Assets Investor ©2014 Tom Butcher

BOOK NOW FOR THE MMTA’S CHRISTMAS LUNCH
Wednesday 17th December 2014 from 12—4pm
Ironmongers’ Hall, London
Celebrate the festive period with friends, colleagues and clients.
A festive networking Drinks Reception will be followed by a 3-course lunch with wine and a glass of port!
Cost: MMTA Members: £80

Non-members: £105 (+ VAT where applicable)

11gallium (Ga) and either selenium (Se) or sulphur (S)based on crystalline silicon use relatively
MINOR METALS IN RENEWABLE Technologies
thick and rigid wafers in solar panels, whilst others arethin-film technologies.
ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES –MMTA SUSTAINABILITY
WORKING GROUP (SWG)

The MMTA’s Sustainability Working Group has
published its first guide on how minor metals
contribute to a sustainable economy through their use
in Renewable Energy Technologies.
The full report is available for download at http://
www.mmta.co.uk/sustainability.

Figure 1 shows a CIGS solar cell

Renewable energy technologies have grown massively Wind Energy
in the last decade, with technology breakthroughs,
Minor metals used for wind energy- chromium,support from policy makers and development ofmanganese, molybdenum and rare earths:
infrastructure.
neodymium and dysprosium
Photovoltaic (PV) panel manufacturing has been
Land-based turbines still account for 98% of alltransformed into a mass production industry in thelast five years, in thin-film technologies, as well as in Si- installed capacity but both Industry and academia
agree that future focus will be on larger turbines
based technologies (thick-film), which currently
dominate the sector. Wind energy turbine installations situated offshore.
have also grown significantly in number in recent
years, with an increasing use of Rare Earth Element(REE) permanent magnets for efficiency.

The basic principle behind wind turbines is that kinetic
energy in the form of wind moves the blades, driving agenerator. REEs neodymium and dysprosium are usedin the generator in permanent magnets. Permanent
Minor metals are essential raw materials in themagnets reduce the size and weight of the generator.
production of photovoltaic systems, wind turbine
Slow-speed turbines generate more electricity atmagnetic motors and structures, and will remain so,
slowerwind speeds, but these require larger
even with technological advances, due to their uniquepermanent
magnets, which consequently require
technical properties. Many minor metals are described
more
REEs.
by governments and policy makers as ‘strategic’ or‘critical’ due their exceptional characteristics, supply
Wind turbine technology is divided between
constraints—perceived and actual— and importancepermanent magnet and electromagnet generators andfor ensuring a sustainable future.
between geared and gearless transmission. Studies

How Minor Metals Contribute
Photovoltaics (PV)
Minor metals used in photovoltaics – silicon, indium,gallium, cadmium, tellurium, selenium
Photovoltaic cells (PV) are made up of two semiconducting layers, one layer containing a positive
charge and the other a negative. Photons fromsunlight excite electrons into a higher state of energy
allowing them to act as charge carriers for an electric
current.
The main commercial PV materials today are:

Crystalline silicon (c-Si)
Amorphous silicon (a-Si)
Cadmium telluride (CdTe)
CIGS (or CIS), an alloy of copper (Cu), indium (In),12

have estimated that 20% of global wind turbine
installations between 2015 and 2020 are likely to use
permanent magnets, rising to 25% for the years 20212030.

The other minor metals mentioned: chromium,manganese and molybdenum are to be found in thesteel used to build the turbines, in order for them towithstand sometimes extremely hostile and corrosive
environments, particularly in offshore installations
where salt spray and high winds test the wind turbines
to the maximum.

Next…How Can Sustainability be Good Business?
The Sustainability Working Group’s next piece of work
will be a Guide to Sustainability for SMEs – stay tuned!
If you are interested in Sustainability, contact the
Executive Team for ways to get involved.

Economic Outlook for China - A Women in Mining (WIM) SeminarOn the 9th September, the MMTA attended a Women in Mining Seminar at the Houses of Parliament in
London, focussing on the economic outlook for China after the recent slowdown in growth. The evening waschaired by Eric Joyce MP for Falkirk.
The first presentation was The Commodities Super Cycle: How do capitalist economies work? The theme was that
Commodity Super Cycles consist of a 15-20 year up cycle followed by a 15-20 year down cycle. This pattern has
been measured since 1788, with commodity intensive wars often acting as catalysts for an up cycle. The
drivers of Super Cycles are debated, but the speaker focused on two: The first, monetary factors: cheap
money pushing commodity prices up, and the second, industrialisation. Today’s cycle began in 2001 with
China also joining the WTO in the same year. In 2000, China began an aggressive investment plan, with heavycommercial use of steel, growing so much that China consumed half of the total world market for steel in 2010
(and was responsible for all of the growth in 2010).
Where is China today? Credit is at twice the GDP; this is one of the fastest credit booms in the developed
world. Generally these credit booms don’t end well, and there is evidence of a downturn, given the estimated70 million properties in China that are un-occupied. The speaker concluded that at the moment, China is
experiencing a pause with excess capacity in a number of commodities.
The second speaker, Sha Luo PHD from CRU Consulting, asked the question ‘Is China’s slowdown a problem forcommodities industries?’
Currently, 14% of Chinese GDP is in the metals and mining sector, however, the decline is beginning. The
following are the five main challenges that need to be overcome, according to Sha Luo:

Resource constraints. Can China satisfy its own demand? China is a net importer of all raw materials and net
exporter of finished products. Therefore, China is vulnerable to global markets. It is therefore developing
scrap/recycling and buying up overseas deposits to secure resources.
Environmental Issues and the war on pollution. The environmental problem is now too serious to ignore andtherefore there is a lot of new regulation to tackle
polluters. China needs to improve the environment
without killing its industry with high green taxes, so a
careful balance needs to be struck. A very positive
development is that some producers have taken thedecision to be leaders of change rather than waiting forthe inevitable to be imposed upon them.
How to accommodate this demand? The relationship between
demand and economic activity is crucial, an example
being steel, where there is a huge over capacity. Supply
and demand are not balanced, meaning that a
restructuring of industry is needed. The top 10 producers
only make 50% of steel, but there are many socio-politicalchallenges involved in restructuring, with many layers
from the government, local government, as well as
businesses themselves, to overcome. Why is China still
importing, despite this over-supply? One reason is thatoverseas ores contain less sulphur and are cheaper.
Rising Labour & Production Costs. The state-owned sector isvery large in China, especially in metals and mining. China
is losing its competiveness: the cost of labour and the costof energy have increased; plants are starting to move tocheaper areas such as Vietnam and India where acheaper, English-speaking labour force is readily available.
China wishes to move up the value chain and create moreadvanced, higher-value products.
The MMTA Executive Team enjoying theechelons of power
Domestic Margins Will Stay Under Pressure. There are stillhuge opportunities, and China will still continue to drive commodity markets. There will, however, be morechallenges ahead. MMTA Executive Team13

NEWS IN BRIEF

FOR SALE
www.minormetals.com
Fastmarkets is currently considering selling theminormetals.com domain name, and would like tohear from any interested parties.
If you would be interested in acquiring thewww.minormetals.com domain name, pleasecontact Dominic Hall of Fastmarkets for more
information atdominic.hall@fastmarkets.com.

The Fanya Metal Exchange Holds its first
Strategic Metal Entrepreneurs’ Summit
For those keeping an eye on developments at the Fanya
Metal Exchange, it was with interest that we learned
about Fanya’s recently held first Strategic Metal
Entrepreneurs’ Summit, held jointly with the China
Chamber of Metals, Minerals & Chemicals Imports &Exports in Beijing on October 31st.
The main focus of the event was on the integration ofindustry capital and financial capital against abackground of the financial internet. The event was
attended by over 300 delegates from government,
financial agencies and the non-ferrous metal industry,and provided Fanya with the opportunity to launch its
listing of two rare earths—dysprosium oxide and terbiumoxide, both new to the exchange. According to Fanya’sreport of the event, both listings were sold out in amatter of seconds.
To see the full event report please follow this link:
http://www.fyme.cn/english/
news/2014/1105/25540.html

14

MMTA 41st Anniversary Dinner
21st October 2014
Intercontinental Hotel, Park Lane, London

A huge thank you to our Drinks Reception Sponsor
Avon Metals
and our Main Dinner Sponsor, Argus Media,
for helping to make the event a great successagain this year.

Many Thanks
to all those who took part in the charity business card raffle insupport of the MMTA’s link with
Mufulira in Zambia, this year sponsored byAlex Stewart International

We raised a wonderful £1,565 on the night, which has been forwarded to the charity.
For an update on developments in Mufulira, please see Anthony Lipmann’s article in this edition.

15

How Glencore did theright thing and how the
MMTA was part of thestory
In 2008 I travelled to Mufulira in Zambia for the firsttime. After 30 years of knowing the name, it was good
to be there. As MMTA members know, it is the place
where the British mined copper from the late 1920s
and is synonymous with the red metal. So steeped incopper is the town, that the locals cannot conceive oflife without it. I was regularly asked how we mine
copper in London and Somerset.

the community.
I heard it said that Mopani is now regarded as the best
mining company in the copperbelt and best payer too.
That is a reputation well-earned.
The MMTA’s linking with the community will not end.
We have completed storage tanks at Kamuchanga
Hospital and the new laundry is now working. A
second stand is serving the Robin’s Nest Orphanage.
The previously donated anaesthetic machine is stillsaving lives and the autoclaves for sterilising surgicalinstruments are giving good service .
If anyone from the MMTA is travelling in Zambia,
please feel free to contact me and see the work that isbeing done and see for yourself a little part of thisstory.

Anthony Lipmann, Lipmann Walton & Co. 31.10.14

Today, schools in Somerset have been twinning with
Mufulira for 20 years and, more recently, the exchange
programme has been funded by donations frommembers at our annual dinner and other events. It is acharitable link that makes sense – a metals industry
reaching out to a metal town.
But just to remind MMTA members, let me tell you
about our journey from 2008. The town I visited in thatyear was still blighted by sulphur emissions vented tothe atmosphere for as long as the smelter had been in
operation. The lives of 300,000 were affected daily. It is
the particular feature of sulphur that, if inhaled, thevictim feels choked. However irrational, the person
feels he is being strangled.

The site before—Photo courtesy of Anthony Lipmann

MMTA became part of the advocacy for removal of
airborne sulphur and perhaps our representations
were taken seriously because we are of the metal
trade and not an NGO with a world agenda.
Today, all airborne pollution is gone and that is thanks
not to the British, or the Zambians under ZCCM,(neither of whom captured sulphur), but to Glencore.
The purpose of my trip just now in October 2014 was
to witness this transformation. From a smelter thatemitted sulphur to one that recycles gases from every
part of the plant and safely recovers all otherdeleterious elements. Instead of emissions to theatmosphere, the plant produces 2000 metric tons per
day of safe industrial sulphuric acid, some of which isused for electrolysis in the refinery.

After—Photo courtesy of Hilary Forward

Perhaps you will gain a better impression via the‘before’ and ‘after’ photos included in this report.
Therefore, in summary, I would like to be the first to
pay credit to Glencore who spent $500 million to do
this job. As far as I can tell, it is to the highest world
standards. At the same time, they have been open withme and our groups from Somerset, inviting us to see
progress on our annual visits and always available toanswer questions too.
Apart from the acid plant, Mopani has opened a stateof-the-art training centre for locals to learn skills as
fitters, boiler-makers, electricians, mechanics. We haveseen new clinics in the community, a cervical smear
programme, newly-built roads, the restored footballstadium (home to the Mufulira Wanderers) and many
more examples all attributable to Glencore’s work in

16

After—Photo courtesy of Hilary Forward

For more on this development, see Lord Copper, entitled ‘How
Glasenberg did the Right Thing in Zambia’.
See also, the Glencore website at http://www.glencore.com/
assets/sustainability/doc/140608-Mufulira-Smelter-UpgradeProject-comletes.pdf

BEWARE FRAUDULENTCONSIGNMENTS WHICH
INSURANCE MAY NOTCOVER
In the last couple of years, we have been consulted bya number of buyers who have been sold consignments
which turned out to be fraudulent. In each case, theproduct was weighed, stuffed and photographed incontainers as part of the pre-shipping survey. At somepoint prior to delivery, the product was switched withrocks, soil or sand. The switch was discovered ondelivery at the discharge port or consumer's premises
when the containers were unloaded. It is suspectedthat the switches took place in transit prior to loading
onto the ship, possibly by container doors being
unscrewed to allow the contents to be switched whilst
keeping the door seals intact.
The buyers all had marine insurance claims declined
because they could not prove that the goods theybought had been shipped. Typically, such insurance
policies only provide cover from the start of thejourney when the goods are loaded onto the ship. It istherefore vital to obtain evidence that the goods wereindeed loaded on board at the start of the journey forthe insurance policy to provide cover.
Inspection of the goods at the time of stuffing in the
supplier’s yard is insufficient, as the goods can be
tampered with between stuffing and loading on board
the ship. Appointing an expert surveying company tosupervise from stuffing to loading and to certify thatthe goods have been loaded on board in compliancewith the contract is a way around this. They may also
be able to add their own seal, as well as the shipping
seal, to verify that the goods were indeed loaded on
board.
Also consider the wording of your policy. How is thestart of the journey defined? Is road transport
covered?
Knowing who you are buying from also helps toprevent fraud. If the seller is a company that you
haven’t done business with before, ensure you makeadditional enquiries. Be particularly cautious when
dealing with newly incorporated companies with notrading history or reputation.

To summarise:
Try to deal with people who you know or who are
reputable in the market wherever possible;
If you don’t know the seller, appoint an independent
party to inspect the goods and be present when thecontainers are loaded on to the ship. If the goods arethen subsequently switched, it will be clear that thishappened after loading when the loss of the goods
should be covered by marine insurance.

Nicole Finlayson, Senior Associate, Penningtons
Manches LLP

NEW MMTA MEMBER
Hunan Jinwang Bismuth Industrial Co., Ltd—The Global
Leading Bismuth Metal and Bismuth Chemicals Manufacturer
Based in Chenzhou City, Hunan Province, P.R. China, Hunan
Jinwang Bismuth Industrial Co., Ltd ("Jinwang") wasestablished in April 2001 and specializes in the production ofhigh purity bismuth metal as well as bismuth chemicals. With
more than $280m total assets invested and $435m turnoverin 2013, Jinwang is the only fully vertically integrated player inthe field with operations starting from its own mining assets(crushing, smelting, refining, separation) right through to the
production of a very broad range of bismuth products used ina number of industrial, electronics and pharmaceuticalapplications.
With a newly finished plant, Xianxi, the company is currently
the largest bismuth recycling base in China. It uses an oxygen-rich side-blown smelting furnace and bismuth electrolytic
refining process, which is the world’s first such technology.
Compared with traditional methods, this new one can adapt
not only a variety of materials, but also greatly reduces theenergy consumption of smelting. More importantly, theoutput of the flue gas contains more SO2 to be produced assulfuric acid. This means that the long-term environmental
protection difficulty of the pyro-metallurgical refining
bismuth industry is fundamentally solved. Meanwhile, all of
the industrial wastewater from the whole plant is collected
into the water treatment plant. The water is recycled andreused after treatment, achieving zero discharge of
wastewater. Dust removal and desulfurization equipment for
waste gas treatment is installed to ensure that the exhaustemissions meet the standards. The slag is sent to a cement
plant as raw ingredients after evacuation by water quenching,in order to make it a truly resource-saving and environment
friendly Green Plant.
The bismuth products of Jinwang have been registered for
REACH, and are therefore permitted to enter into the EU
market. Jinwang has also met the requirements of ISO 9001
and ISO 14000 and acquired Certificate of GMP for its bismuth
Parma products.
Now that the 2 million sq-ft plant, Xianxi, is fully operational,
Jinwang is capable of producing high-purity bismuth (8,000
tonnes), ultra fine bismuth oxide (3,500 tonnes), Parma bismuth salts (1,000 tonnes), silver (500 tonnes), tellurium (300
tonnes), gold (10 tonnes) and a variety of metal recovery including lead, antimony, and copper.
Jinwang wishes to co-operate with friends all over the world
based on the principles of Equality, Mutual Benefits, andCredit Standing in order to add value to the society.
Contact: Alex Wu
Email: wuyan@jin-wang.com.cn or sales@jin-wang.com.cn
Website: http://www.jin-wang.com.cn

17NEW MMTA MEMBER
Zuidnatie NV is a logistics company based in
Antwerp, Belgium. The company was
founded in 1870 and has grown into one of
the major players in the port of Antwerp.
Zuidnatie disposes of two deep waterterminals in the port, specializing in handlingbreak bulk cargos, amongst which both
ferrous (iron and steel products) as non
ferrous metals. One of these terminals also
hosts an empty depot function for various
major container lines, giving us anadvantage on both imports and exports.
Added value activities are on site, such as a
cutting machine for metals (Ni and Cu), a
steel slitting facility, and a dedicatedfumigation area. The terminals are AEO and
ISPS approved, and fully fenced/gated,guaranteeing the security the market islooking for. We have both MMTA as LME
approved facilities on site, offering allservices required in this line of business. An
in-house customs brokerage company, ourown trucking fleet for both containers andconventional trucks including silo trucks, abarge shuttle service to the main container
hubs, a packing facility, and, last but notleast, a dedicated team to assist you with all
your enquiries.
Our website also gives you additional
information – please checkwww.zuidnatie.be
Our new MMTA warehouse is situated on
our Terminal Zuid, at quay number 118(TZ118). This is a 300k sqm terminal withaccess by road, rail and water, including 15
warehouse units with a total capacity of
150k sqm covered space. One of these will
be dedicated to the minor metal business,with a specific desk assisting you – for all
enquiries, please contact Bart Van Gils.
Email: b.vangils@zuidnatie.be

Minor Metals in the
body: Titanium
The ‘Metals in the Body’ series continues with titanium. The firsttitanium mineral was discovered in 1791, with titanium metal
isolated in 1910. Titanium, however, quickly became a prized,
strategically important material in the 20th Century and especiallyduring the space race and cold war. Not only is titanium being used
to explore beyond our planet, but it also has many diverse
applications in and on the human body. A comforting thought for
those who may have some titanium spare parts is that it is possible
to recycle these components at end-of-life, a rather neat example
for Life Cycle Assessments.
Titanium has some impressive properties which include being highstrength and lightweight, making its various well-known aerospace
applications obvious. However, it is its outstanding corrosion
resistance, non-toxicity and bio-compatibility that lend it well to the
medical sphere, which includes surgical implants and surgical tools.
Titanium’s corrosion resistance is thanks to a thin layer of titanium
dioxide making it impervious to most extreme conditions.
Another notable aspect of this metal’s bio-compatibility is withbones. Titanium has the property of being able to fuse together
with living bone, a process called osseointegration. The bone
forming cells attach themselves to the titanium implant and astructural and functional bridge forms between the bone and the
newly implanted, foreign titanium object, no other tissue is formed
between the implant and bone.

Properties
Medical-grade titanium is stronger than stainless steels or cobalt
chrome alternatives but is also lighter, meaning that where cost is
not the key consideration, titanium has the technical advantage.
Titanium can be made with variations on its characteristics fromhighly-ductile commercially pure metal to alloys with higher
strengths and fatigue properties, gained from various additions.

Uses

Today, titanium alloys find extensive use in military, aerospace andmarine applications, due to the above-mentioned properties.
Titanium’s industrial applications are also a major market
sector. Nearly all acids and hot liquids can be passed throughtitanium tubes or stored in titanium. Market factors such as pricevolatility impede titanium’s greater use in the automotive sector.
A small proportion of the titanium market, namely ferro-titanium, islargely dependent on the outlet of titanium scrap (likely to be wheretitanium body parts end up), as well as the workings of the steel
industry, due to its application; and thus this market moves withsteel production. (see September 2014 Crucible for more on ferrotitanium)
Now on to its many medical applications…

DentalAs mentioned, titanium has the ability to fuse together with livingbone. This property makes it a huge benefit in the world ofdentistry. Titanium dental implants have become the most widely
accepted and successfully used type of implant.

18Surgical tools
Titanium is incredibly durable, giving instruments greater longevity,
as well as being bacteria resistant and being useable with radiation
emitting tools. Some tools often made of titanium are surgicalforceps, suture instruments and dental drills.

Artificial hips, knees and other spares
Some of the most common and well known uses for titanium are in
hip and knee replacement surgeries. It is also used to replaceshoulder and elbow joints. Titanium pegs are used to attach false
eyes and ears and titanium heart valves are even competing withregular tissue valves.
Titanium has a well-matched Young’s modulus with bone, and soskeletal loads are distributed equally between the host bone and theimplant. This leads to a lower risk of bone degradation from stressshielding and subsequent fracture. A titanium hip replacement canremain fully functional for 20 years, and titanium dental implants
have a lifetime of more than 30 years. Furthermore, titanium is nonferromagnetic, so patients with implants can be safely examinedusing MRI scanners.
Not strictly a medical
necessity, but the nonallergenic property oftitanium also makes it
popular for use in the
body in the form of body
jewellery such as tongue
studs and eyebrow rings.

Problems with titanium
implants

NEW MMTA MEMBERFAM International Corp
FAM is first of all very honored and proud tobe the very first Korean company - being
wholly headquartered in Seoul, S. Korea - tobecome an MMTA Member.
FAM is a trading house specializing in various
minor metals, as well as secondary & primarynon-ferrous metals, raw material andchemical products. With over 30 years'
experience & relationships in the industry, weare proud that FAM has carved out its own
unique position in both the international andhome markets.
FAM, through the continuous expansion of
our sales networks, business scope, andutmost services to our valuable partners,
aims to achieve our vision of becoming thenational No. 1 trading house for minor metals,
chemicals and their raw material, all within
one business.
Contact: Ms Sue Oh
Email: sales@fam-intl.com
Website: www.fam-intl.com

Although an exceptional
material, titanium
implants do not comeproblem-free. Titanium is
twice as stiff as bone,meaning that the bone
bears a reduced load,
which can then deteriorate,loosening the implant and causing further problems. For screws andplates, the titanium needs to be carefully selected in order avoid
poor shear strength. The toxicity of the alloying elements also need
to be thought about, for example vanadium can be toxic to cells, so
niobium may be a preferable choice while maintaining strength and bio-compatibility.

Titanium-dioxide
As it is actually the majority of the titanium market, it would be remiss not to mention titanium dioxide in thecontext of its use on humans. It is bright, white and highly opaque, so it is used as white pigment in paints (asmentioned on page 9 in this edition), paper, toothpaste and plastics. Titanium dioxide nano-particles absorb UVlight and scatter visible light, making them excellent additives for sunscreen, which is invisible on the skin.
Tamara Alliot, MMTA
IT’S TIME TO REGISTER FOR THE NEW YORK DINNER—ONLY 3 WEEKS TO GO!
Circus Restaurant, New York, USA, Thursday 4th December 2014 from 6pm
Brazilian themed evening * Welcome Caipirinha * Networking Drinks Reception * Openbar * Authentic Brazilian menu with a modern twist
Pre-Dinner Speaker: Mr. Andre Sharon, Consulting Research Analyst, Euro Pacific Capital,
Inc, before which he was Head of Global Research Product Development at ABN-AMRO
Cost: $150 for MMTA Members$200 for non-members (or GBP equivalent)19