In April 2010, India successfully traced manganese nodules at the poly metallic nodule (PMN) site in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) by using ROSUB 6000, the remotely operable vehicle (ROV) developed at India’s National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Tamil Nadu. The ROV is a part of the technologies being developed to observe and explore deep-sea mineral wealth. The UN’s International Sea Bed Authority (ISBA) has allotted India 7,500 square kilometers in the CIOB to harness PMN nodules of cobalt, copper, manganese, and nickel. PMN nodules are located at depths of about 6,000 meters and according to estimates, the total resources available are a massive 380 million metric tons.

Research workers at the University of California-Berkeley are currently working on the idea of extracting hydrogen gas from fresh and seawater more efficiently and economically by using a new molybdenum-oxo complex based proton reduction catalyst. The new catalyst costs about 70 times less than the currently used platinum catalyst. If successful, hydrogen, which is essential for promoting renewable energy prospects, would be more easily sourced from seawater – the most abundant source of hydrogen on earth.

Automobile manufacturers favor magnesium because of its lightweight structure and ease of recycling that makes it a ‘green’ material. Manu-facturers already have plans to increase the magnesium content in automobiles from 11–13 pounds to 99–353 pounds. According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the reduced weight would mean a 1% boost in fuel efficiency, which in turn would translate to a saving of 100,000 barrels of oil per day.

According to Alan Clark of commodities consulting company Clark & Maron, magnesium will be more broadly used in the automotive industry. Although China’s supply base is very strong now, he forecasts a larger supply base outside China in future. Other countries will win over China largely in terms of process efficiency, technology advances, supply demand balance, and government and legislation.

One such example of upcoming manganese production efficiency is American Manganese Inc. (TSX.V:AMY) who recently announced a patent application for their process design to produce Electrolytic Manganese at Artillery Peak Arizona. The overall process, based on a unique application of commercially available processing equipment is deemed to be very robust, energy efficient, uses minimal water and in addition to production of electrolytic man-ganese metal will also produce a clean, saleable anhydrous sodium sulphate by-product.

Moly Mines Limited (ASX:MOL) announced in early May that its largest shareholder Hanlong Mining from China would invest about $5 billion in Australia. Hanlong plans to focus on the resources industry and was considering investing in related infrastructure development. Hanlong has also committed a $500 million loan facility by September 2010 to develop Moly Mines’ Spinifex Ridge molybdenum project. The project, when launched, would be the world’s largest molybdenum project in 25 years. That being said, Australia’s proposed mining tax is expected to have a detrimental effect on future investment in resources.

By Anthony David

http://www.criticalstrategicmetals.com

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is to serve as a monthly compass for those who take a fundamental view of investment regarding the Molybdenum, Manganese and Magnesium metals markets, are concerned with the emerging critical under-supply of these strategic metals to Western nations and wish to profitability chart their course. Each month we will research and provide, in as short and concise a manner as possible, the most applicable information available on resources that will have the biggest impact on our day to day lives. Click here to sign-up for our FREE monthly report

© 2010 Copyright Anthony David- All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

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