RE SPECIAL: Earth, wind & fire
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Published: Tuesday, 25 May 2010
From wind turbines to missiles, rare earth based magnets can been seen as strategic in many ways. But why are they so special? Can they be replaced? And does the magnet industry have an over-reliance on a product derived from a source controlled by China and on the verge of a supply crisis? Simon Moores talked with Gareth Hatch of Technology Metals Research, LLC to find out
Magnets have been at the heart of the furore surrounding the
rare earth industry. The present and future use of rare earth
permanent magnets in key defence and green technologies, from
missiles to electric vehicles to wind turbine generators’
have been a primary reason for the attention that this
group...