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The winds of change

July 27, 2010 - 00:00 GMT

KEYWORDS: Power sources , photovoltaic , wind

The new generation of alternative power sources are providing attractive prospects for industrial mineral applications. Despite the recession, and against expectations, the photovoltaic and wind power sectors grew significantly in 2009, a trend that is expected to continue through 2014

This fledgling market sector has thrown up an array of exciting new opportunities for industrial mineral applications. The trick of course, is securing, and then processing, the right raw material to make the correct grade for a particular application.

Offshore wind farm Lillgrund being built in the
Oresund between Malmo and Copenhagen
Siemens press picture

Most applications for minerals in this growth market are low volume but high value, and demand tight raw material specifications.

Some of the new energy technologies are more advanced than others, and have already sparked widespread interest among mineral developers and investors in their anticipation of future market demand growth for what have already become “strategic” alternative energy minerals.

Clearly, lithium and rare earth minerals are the buzz words of an excited, and at times over excited, mineral investor market. But there are other key minerals required, such as graphite, boron minerals, zirconia,...

All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. © Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC.

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