Tim Worstall

It is all obvious or trivial except…

 

 

Entries Tagged as 'Metals'

George Today

May 6th, 2008 · 15 Comments

Actually, he’s quite fun today. Airships. Sure, I’ll get behind that, however, one teenise technical detail he’s missed:

A new generation of solar panels relies on gallium and indium, whose global supplies appear close to exhaustion.

Erm, no. Not even close. Both are extracted as by products from other mining processes. Both require only the addition of […]

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Tags: Metals

A New Element

April 29th, 2008 · 2 Comments

You know, this makes so much damn sense it’s amazing that no one thought of doing this before.
If we think (as many do) that the actinides and  above become stable near or around element 120, then instead of sweating buckets trying to make them, why not go and look and see if there are traces […]

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Tags: Metals

Thallium Poisoning

February 9th, 2008 · 2 Comments

A slightly odd report in The Guardian about a case of thallium poisoning in Iraq.

Thallium is a highly toxic soft radioactive metal that was once widely used in rat poisons and insecticides.

It ain’t, I’m afraid, radioactive. There may or may not be radioactive isotopes (I’ve not bothered to look that up) but the commercial material […]

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Tags: Metals

AE Bullion

January 10th, 2008 · 8 Comments

American Elements has launched something called AE Bullion. This post should be considered as a warning not to actually buy any of their products.

Los Angeles based American Elements announced today the launch of AE Bullion™. The new product group will mint certified high purity coins and bars from approximately sixty advanced, rare and less common […]

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Tags: Metals · Scams

Mainstream Minerals Corporation

November 14th, 2007 · 1 Comment

Just a minor point for Mr. Google and anyone who might have received the press release from Mainstream Minerals Corporation:

New 40 ft intersection with a grade of 13.54 g/t Gallium (Ga), 21.50 g/t Scandium (Sc), 12.98 g/t Rubidium (Rb), 20.27 g/t Cerium (Ce), 8.25 g/t Lanthanum (La), 12.03 g/t Yttrium (Y), 1.83 g/t Ytterbium (Yb), […]

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Tags: Metals

Commerce Resources Corp

November 8th, 2007 · No Comments

Just a quick note for any thinking about investing in a company called Commerce Resources Corp.
In the company’s press release here they seem to have  made a small error.

Rare earth oxides, which are processed into powdered form, may range in price from US$3.00 per kg, for cerium oxide to US$15,000 per kg for scandium oxide.

That’s […]

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Tags: Metals