Scandium (Sc): Why is everyone talking about it and how will it impact Australia’s industry?

“There are some very exciting things happening for anyone involved in the manufacturing of aluminum products.” (1)

Scandium has been shown to increase the strength of aluminum while reducing its weight, a benefit found in bicycle frames, boats, tennis rackets and even MiG fighter jets. It can also be used in aluminum foil, door screens, window frames, pots and pans, nails, computer parts, sinks and more. Plus, Australia has the most mineable scandium in the world, which, if mined, would dramatically reduce the current exorbitant prices.

Business What is Scandium?

If you don’t already know, that last paragraph might be a little confusing, but don’t worry, we’ll explain scandium in more detail shortly.

Scandium is Dmitri Mendeleev Its existence was first suspected in the 1860s, but it was discovered in 1878 by a Swedish professor of chemistry. Lars Fredrik NilssonHe discovered this while observing euxenite and gadolinite, which he found in nature also occurring in many other minerals, including the aluminum phosphate minerals muscovite, pyroxene, bassit, and ixolite.

Scandium, atomic number 21Scandium is a silvery metallic element in the transition metal category. Due to its properties, it is also classified as a rare earth element. Although it is not particularly rare, it is rarely found in high concentrations. Processing this element is also complicated, so sources of this mineral are very limited. As a result, it was only in 1937 that scandium was isolated in its pure form (2). It took another 23 years before one pound of pure scandium was produced. Due to the lack of a stable supply, scandium is not used much, but with a reliable source of scandium like the one available in Australia, that could change the situation and increase global demand.

Business New Applications

Considering the fact that scandium is an expensive metal due to its rarity, its potential uses in a variety of industries make it a very accessible and highly sought-after metal.

As a direct result of demand, scandium can be utilized in a variety of applications, including transportation and the burgeoning energy industry, if it becomes more affordable. Scandium’s uses generally fall into three categories: Strengthening of alloys, utilizing electrical properties and heat resistance The aim is to capture the optical properties of solid oxide fuel cells for the improvement of natural light in lamps, lasers, crystals and video screens (3).

Alloy Strengthening

Scandium is known as the most powerful refining agent associated with aluminum. Adding just 0.5% scandium to an alloy can double or even triple the strength of many aluminum alloys without sacrificing malleability. It also improves plasticity, thermal conductivity, corrosion resistance, durability and strength. Scandium is effective in reducing the overall weight while maintaining aluminum’s weldability. Reduced weight leads to improved aerodynamics and fuel efficiency.

Electrical properties and heat resistance

Adoption of fuel cells has been sluggish until now, outside of NASA missions. Solid Oxide Fuel Cell SOFCs are used to generate electricity, water, heat, and carbon monoxide from natural gas and oxygen. The hard ceramics that SOFCs are made of convert natural gas into energy at high temperatures. Scandium’s low operating and reaction temperatures extend the life of the fuel cell.

Capturing unique optical properties

Sunlight is produced by the burning of scandium in the sun. Similarly, natural light is produced by lighting fixtures. Cinema and stadium lighting use scandium to replicate sunlight. High-intensity lamps made with scandium can also provide light similar to sunlight.

Business Supply and demand

Currently, scandium is reportedly traded at only 10 tonnes per year worldwide. Scandium is typically mined as a by-product of rare earth elements in China, Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Ukraine is the only country in the world that directly mines scandium. Currently, there is no typical market for scandium, it is not listed on an exchange and there is no futures market for scandium. Scandium is typically traded commercially between private parties, so there is no hard data on its trading.

Business Scandium Risks

Scandium seems like a real blessing to the world, but it is not without its drawbacks. Due to the bull market, it is not easy to invest in it. It is not traded on an exchange, so the price is hard to follow, and there is no possibility of hedging. Currently, the market for scandium is small and its supply is dependent on the by-product of other minerals, which means that the supply of scandium will rise and fall intermittently due to production stoppages. The price of scandium is determined by its discovery, not by a measure of production. GDP (GDP). Scandium chloride, scandium iodide, scandium acetate, and scandium fluoride all have different prices. Widespread adoption is difficult because scandium in its purest form is expensive and rare. There is also a lack of knowledge about the technology required to produce it. Current known reserves of scandium are rapidly depleting, making it difficult to educate people about the commercialization of scandium SOFCs.

Business Impact on Australia

Essentially, most of the risk with scandium comes from the fact that it was discovered relatively recently and is not widely available for mining. A mine in New South Wales is aiming to produce 78,000 tonnes of scandium ore per year (4), which would be a huge economic boost for Australia. Owning one of the largest mines of scandium, a rare element, could make the country very wealthy due to its rarity and price. However, as with any product, oversupply is a risk. If the supply of scandium increases too quickly in a short period of time, the price could crash. The best way to deal with this is to use long-term contracts to mine scandium. Mining companies must be able to demonstrate that they can produce a scalable, high-quality supply of scandium before reaching these long-term contracts, which can be difficult. But if done properly, there is no reason to say Australia cannot benefit from this amazing element.

Resources used in this research paper:

1. Unknown Metals is great news for Australian manufacturingan article published on Sitecraft
2. CRC Handbook of Chemical Physics, 93rd ed.Edited by William M. Haynes
3. Scandium: Why it’s a big opportunityAn interview with John Kaiser of Kaiser Research. Published by Investing News.
4. Could Australia benefit from the ‘miracle metal’ scandium?By Rod James, Mining Technology Magazine

Cite this article:

Ivanovic J (2017-02-20 09:03:26). Scandium (Sc): why everyone’s talking about it and how will it impact Australian industry? Australian ScienceRetrieved May 26, 2024, from http://ozscience.com/chemistry-2/scandium-sc-everyone-talking-affects-australian-industry/