[2011-11-25] MMTA Metal Statistics – Rhenium

When compared to the 15mln tons of copper from which it is sourced, rhenium's approx 46mt supply and 54mt demand is by any standards small. But this small market has big applications – an un-substitutable 3% addition in nickel-base super alloys and 0.3% with platinum in bi-metallic reforming catalysts.

A newcomer to this market will not be surprised, therefore, that the world's largest copper producing country, Chile, is also the world's largest rhenium producer. The figures below are taken from official records published by Banco Central de Chile and show the development of exports over the last 15 years. The main producer responsible for these exports is Molymet who produces rhenium as a by-product of roasting molybdenum sulphide concentrates. Most of the rhenium exported is in the form of rhenium metal pellets Re 99.9% and 90% or more of the exports are to USA.

The below pie illustrates the more than 50% market share of supply held by Chile and the extent to which the world depends on this country for rhenium. It is a rule of this market that supply is in-elastic with supply restricted to the few countries listed below. Most noteworthy as a development over the last 15 years is the entry of Poland who in 2007 established their hydrometallurgical plant linked to KGHMs copper smelters. Their supply came to the aid of UK users, providing a European solution.

Pie chart 2 below shows how super-alloy demand for the aerospace and industrial gas turbine industry dominate rhenium demand. Not shown in the figures is the approximately 15t of rhenium recycled each year from spent reforming catalysts, as they do not affect the supply-demand balance. The figure of 5mt catalyst demand represents top-up quantities for the manufacture of new catalyst and demand for other rhenium-bearing catalysts. The remaining 4mt approx is consumed variously in anodes for medical equipment, thin filaments for spectrographs and lighting and the Re content in alloy spray powders.

SUMMARY

Missing from these figures because they may not be statistically followed, is the amount of rhenium that finds its way back into the super-alloy production loop from nickel-base alloy scrap such as end-of-life turbine blades, casting scrap, grindings. It is these units that presently make up the deficit of this market.

Anthony Lipmann
25 November 2011