Global Rare Metal Market Represents 17 Trillion Yen in 2006

Global production of precious metals and rare metals, including 33 items, is estimated to be 52.02 million tonnes (except rubidium, cesium and hafnium) and 17.6 trillion yen in value in 2006, according to a market research by Fuji-Keizai, Japanese market researcher. Global market of recycled precious and rare metals is estimated at 8.24 trillion in 2006. Recycling rate is calculated at 46.8%.Gold consumption for bonding wire was 102 tonnes in 2006 when Japanese suppliers produced and sold gold at 2,500 tonnes at home and overseas markets. Bonding wire connects a semiconductor chip and a lead electrode, for which gold is mainly used. Platinum consumption for passenger cars’ exhaust purification was 52.8 tonnes in 2006 while global platinum production was 223 tonnes by Japanese suppliers.Indium was consumed at 596 tonnes for transparent conductive coating of flat panel display (FPD) in 2006, 480 tonnes of which was newly produced in 2006 and the rest recycled. Indium consumption for FPD is estimated at 920 tonnes in 2007. Cobalt consumption for positive electrode of lithium-ion secondary battery represented 7,650 tonnes in Japanese cobalt suppliers’ global production at 57,500 tonnes in 2006.