HardAssetsInvestor

Written by Tom Vulcan  |

February 29, 2012

Strategic Metals: Where To Dig For Information Sources & Resources

Details

• International Antimony Association (i2a)
• Beryllium Science & Technology Association (AISBL)
• International Cadmium Association (ICdA)
• International Chromium Development Association (ICDA)
• Cobalt Development Institute
• International Manganese Institute (IMnI)
• International Molybdenum Association (IMOA)
• Rare Earth Industry and Technology Association (REITA)
• Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (TIC)
• International Titanium Association (ITA)
• International Tungsten Industry Association (ITIA)
• Selenium Tellurium Development Association (STDA)
• The Vanadium International Technical Committee (VANITEC)
• Vanadium Producers & Reclaimers Association (VPRA)

For those metals with just one or two significant uses — for example, vanadium in steel — following the metals “downstream” also on such sites, can be extremely helpful. In the instances of vanadium and niobium, two relevant sites are the World Steel Association and the Stainless Steel Information Center.

Finally, for data on such things as domestic consumption and/or production of different metals — where such an organization exists — a country’s geological survey can be very helpful. Often, though, where the country’s language is not English, it is unusual to find its survey’s site in anything other than the local language(s).

These surveys’ sites include:

• Geoscience Australia
• British Geological Survey (BGS)
• Geological Survey of Canada
• Council for Geoscience, South Africa
• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

And a comprehensive list (although not quite up-to-date) of surveys worldwide (both national and regional) can be found on the site of the University of Mainz in Germany.

Among their various publications, the USGS produces its annual, and very useful, “Mineral Commodity Summaries” and “Commodities Yearbooks,” the only trouble being that these are usually quite out of date when they are eventually published. And the BGS produces its “World Mineral Production” volumes, summarizing production over rolling five-year periods — the last one covering 2006-2010.