Global demand and Supply. Cobalt which is considered a ‘technology enabling’ substance has maintained a solid rate of growth in demand, and is sustaining a CAGR of >5% and this growth rate is likely to be sustained or even increased in the foreseeable future, driven largely by increased demand for cobalt in rechargeable batteries (Li-ion systems particularly) and superalloys for aerospace applications. Over the past 15 years, there have been two major shifts in cobalt demand patterns. The first one being the shift in demand from the USA and Western Europe to Asia in 2002 and the second one being the increase in demand caused by increases in chemical applications, most notably rechargeable batteries and catalysts. An estimate in 2014 indicated …show more content…
Accordingly countries will begin to hoard supply to ensure cobalt strategic stocks are maintained at healthy levels. This gap between the demand and supply of cobalt can be seen in Fig 5.12. Further with the main supplier being the conflict-stricken Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) there is always a supply side constraint. With China State Reserve Bureau (SRB) purchasing upto 80% of Cobalt being produced by DRC since 2014, and imports far exceeding actual consumption, resulting in a significant inventory accumulation, resulted in a supply chain locking and eventually causing a supply crunch. Hence substantial new sources of secure, long term supply will be required to meet 200%+ increases in demand for …show more content…
Resources India has no known primary resource of cobalt; however occurrences of cobalt are reported from various districts of the country. In India, Cobalt occurring with nickeliferous limonite/ laterite (from Sukinda area, Jajpur district, Odisha) and Copper slags and the seabed nodules are the known resources of Cobalt. As per UNFC system, resources of cobalt in terms of ore as on 1.4.2013 are estimated at 44.91 million tonnes of which about 69%, i.e. 30.91 million tonnes are estimated in Odisha. The remaining 31% resources are in Jharkhand (9 million tonnes) and Nagaland (5 million tonnes). 5. Consumption Since cobalt has a specific usage and there is no known substitute for the metal, future demands are likely to increase. In India, cobalt finds its demand for special alloys/ super alloys, in cutting tools and as an alloy in permanent magnets. Need for bonded tools in diamond industry have increased the demand for Cobalt powder. 6. Substitutes Cobalt is used in specialized applications and is difficult to be substituted. Potential substitutes include barium or strontium ferrites, neodymium iron- boron or nickel-iron alloys in magnets; nickel, cermets or ceramics in cutting and wear-resistant materials; nickel-based alloys or ceramics in jet engines; nickel in petroleum catalysts; rhodium in hydroformylation catalysts; and cerium, lead, manganese, iron, or vanadium in paints. Presently, about one-third of cobalt is replaced by cobalt-manganese- nickel in lithium-ion
In addition, the bargaining power of the sources of inputs is high. The switching costs from one supplier to another are high because there are not many substitutes for the particular input for metal products. Besides, the number of suppliers who produce raw metals is small. The threat of substitute is high. There are many different kinds of substitutes for metal product company. These companies may also produce a large variety of product like Slade Company. Therefore, the substitute is low for this market. Only companies that produce high quality are able to not be substituted by the others.
The compound was predicted to be Copper I Sulfide because the error analysis of the final mass was only 1.17% and the error analysis of Copper II Sulfide was 15.6%. Also the empirical ratio is 2:1 which fits Copper I Sulfide (Cu2S), but not Copper II Sulfide which has an empirical ratio of 1:1. The % composition and mass : mass conversion was calculated for both Copper I Sulfide and Copper II Sulfide in order to make sure the results and conclusions were as accurate as possible.
This case study is about a man, Miller, who has worked at a factory for 27 years. He is a pocket setter and is able to run two machines in an efficient manner. He is happy with his job as well as happily married to his wife who works at the same factory. He has children but they are raised and moved out of the Miller’s home. He wants to work another ten years before retiring but is rethinking this decision due to the company hiring a consultant firm who has recommend a job enrichment program and his job will be the first to be effected by this program. Right now he just uses the machines and sews but under the new program he will also have to get his own materials, get his own needles, perform routine maintenance on his equipment, and deliver his work to the next station. He believes this will be having him to do three jobs instead of two and that he could go elsewhere and not to have to deal with something like this.
According to recent statistics, zinc is the third most commonly used nonferrous metal in the United States. This unassuming metal was among the first minerals exploited by Man, used as a decorative material for thousands of years, although it never achieved the fame and notoriety of other metals such as gold or silver. In more recent times, new extraction and processing methods have allowed Man to produce higher-quality zinc than ever before, and to use it in an astonishingly high number of chemical and high-tech applications.
As the global population increases exponentially, having passed six billion in 1999, the world population is expected to be 8.9 billion by the year 2050. The worlds energy consumption will increase by an estimated 54 percent by 2025. Energy demand in the industrialized world is projected to grow 1.2 percent per year. Energy is a critical component of sustained economic growth and improved standards of living. One of the major requirements for sustaining human progress is an adequate source of energy. As the world’s technological enhancements and standards of living improve, so too does their appetite for electricity.
Tellurium can also by obtained commercially through the process of electrolytic copper refining. The cost of pure Tellurium is twenty-four dollars per one hundred grams compared to the cost of unpurified Tellurium at forty-four cents per one hundred grams. Of all of the Tellurium available to the world about ninety percent of it is found as a byproduct of copper. The rest is found in small deposits of bismuth, gold, and silver. The amount of telluride ores found can be large on these deposits, but is only cost effective to mine when bismuth, gold, and silver are also recovered. There are rumors that in China that there is a large deposit of Tellurium, but upon investigation into the mine it was determined that it was bismuth telluride ore. It is estimated that the amount of Tellurium that can be recovered in a year can be as much as 3,200 tons. While actual reports of the recovered amount is near twenty-five to fifty percent of 3,200 tons. Meaning that 1,600 tons could possibly be the most Tellurium we can recover and produce in a year from a 1997 study done by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory
force. Because of this tremendous growth the industry is now facing a major shortage of
Nickel is one of the most important elements on the periodic table. It has plenty of history, as well as a huge importance to society. Its has unique chemical, physical, and geological properties. Nickel is used commercially in abundance, as it is used anywhere from simple art products such as ceramics to complex structures such as tubing for desalination plants. It is even used in the American five-cent coin, the "nickel".Nickel was discovered by Axel Fredrik Cronstedt, in Sweden, during the year 1751.
After the Bhopal Disaster, Union Carbide made an ethical decision through their legal strategy to secure the best outcome for themselves and to keep their company from going bankrupt multiple times over. Union Carbide used the corruption of the Indian court system to their advantage to minimize the amount they would pay in damages to the victims. Their strategy wouldn’t be considered moral to the victims of this chemical explosion if the trial were kept in the American court system. What is ethical isn’t always considered moral to all the parties involved. With a company facing bankruptcy and losing everything they had, the only ethical decision was to use the court systems to their advantage. By doing so, they made the ethical decision strictly
x. With or without diamond-studding, gold jewellery is a market where India has tremendous scope for export growth. India is the world’s biggest consumer of gold according to World Gold Council Statistics. However, India’s exports of gold jewellery (13 per cent of its total gem and jewellery exports) are negligible: less than 2 per cent of the US$ 80 bn global market.
Metalloids are elements that share properties of both nonmetals and metals. They usually share physical properties with metals and chemical properties with nonmetals. Although they are not as good at conducting electricity and heat as metals, metalloids can still act as semiconductors; they can act as conductors in the right condition. Metalloids are solid at room temperature and are semiconductive. Being semiconductive means that, in the right conditions, metalloids can conduct heat and electricity. Because of their metallic physical properties, metalloids most commonly appear to be lustrous and brittle. Metalloids’ nonmetallic chemical properties allow metalloids to form alloys with metals and be weakly acidic. Metal-metalloid alloys such as pewter and Babbitt can be used in porcelain and electrical motors alongside other uses.
The yellow metals was priced at $20/ounce in 1883, $260 in 2001, $300 in 2003, $500 in December 2005 and $1208.75/ounce on July 9, 2010. Notwithstanding the constant rise in price, appetite of retail investors and consumers has yet to slowdown-instead, it moved up further. The significant increase in investment demand, in coins and bars, has offset downslide in the demand of gold jewelry, as investors seek refuge in gold. The share of Jewelry as end user of gold has declined from 80% to a little over 60% (yet its appetite in China and India the two largest consumers of gold is growing). Global investment demand, according to Mining Weekly estimates, jumped 885T in 2008 to 1820T at the end of 2009-a gain of 105% and a record high increase.
Corrosion may be defined as the deterioration of a material due to a reaction with the environment around it. Metals corrode because we use them in environments that are chemically unstable. Very few metal are found in nature in their metallic state such as copper, gold and silver . All other metals are processed from minerals or ores into metals which are innately unstable in their environments. These unstable metals have a tendency to revert to their more stable mineral forms. Some metals form protective ceramic films (passive films) on their surfaces and these prevent, or slow down, their corrosion process. We can prevent corrosion by using metals that form naturally protective passive films, but these alloys are usually expensive, so we have developed other means of corrosion control. That are discussed later in this paper.
These are just a fraction of the uses of Silver in different industries. The tensile strength, conductivity, catalytic activity, and corrosion free properties of silver make versatile and its applicability is endless. The increasing demand for silver will eventually deplete the silver reserves and will, in turn increase silver value.
Metals possess many unique fundamental properties that make them an ideal material for use in a diverse range of applications. Many common place things know today are made from metals; bridges, utensils, vehicles of all modes of transport, contain some form of metal or metallic compound. Properties such as high tensile strength, high fracture toughness, malleability and availability are just some of the many advantages associated with metals. Metals, accompanied by their many compounds and alloys, similar properties, high and low corrosion levels, and affects, whether negative or positive, are a grand force to be reckoned with.