New Rare Earth Manufacturing Facility to Open in Oklahoma

rare earth

This Tuesday, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and the President of USA Rare Earth announced plans for a $100 million metal and manufacturing facility in Stillwater that’s expected to create more than 100 jobs. “Currently, the United States, European Union, Japan, and much of the developed world is largely reliant on China for critical rare earth …

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Biden Admin Announces Requirements for U.S. Made Steel, Iron for Infrastructure

steel iron

Last week, the Biden administration took a key step toward ensuring that federal dollars will support U.S. manufacturing with a new set of requirements for how projects funded by the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package source their construction material. According to new guidance issued by the administration on Monday, materials purchased for infrastructure construction projects …

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Trump Aluminum Tariffs Revived U.S. Industry, Says Think Tank

Aluminum tariffs

During his presidency, many critics of President Trump raised concerns over the string of tariffs raised as part of his economic policy. Key among them was the 10% increase of aluminum, which went into effect in March of 2018 and still are in place under President Biden. Now, a new report from a leading think …

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Copper Prices Continue to Drop Due to Virus Concerns

Copper Prices Falling

The price of copper has continued to dip in response to the recent coronavirus outbreak. The resource, which is used by economists as a measure of overall global economic health, has seen it’s price dip by around 13% since mid-January. For 13 days straight, the prices have continued to fall to a low not seen …

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British Steel Collapses

British Steel

After years of being on life support, the second largest steel manufacturer in Great Britain has collapsed. British Steel had been seeking a loan from the British government for £75 million  ($95 million) as recently as last week when the news of the firm’s implosion broke on Wednesday of this week. The company received a …

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Russian Aluminum Giant Rusal Invests $200 Million In Kentucky Mill

Aluminum

United Company RUSAL, the second largest producer of aluminum on the world, has committed to a 10-year, $200 million investment in Kentucky-based Braidy Industries. The deal will make Rusal the single provider of low-carbon aluminum for Braidy Industries’ new rolling mill which is slated to begin production in 2020. The deal is the result of …

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Welding The Unweldable

Aluminum AA7075

AA7075 aluminum alloy is as fantastic as it is frustrating. Originally developed in secret by Sumitomo Metal during World War 2 for airframe construction, it’s unique properties make it as strong as steel at one-third the weight. The downside is you can’t weld two pieces of AA7075 together. Titanium carbide nanoparticles to the rescue. The …

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SpaceX Will Build Their New Rocket Out Of Stainless Steel

SpaceX

Not since the Atlas program in the late ’50s has a spacecraft been designed to use stainless steel as a major component, but SpaceX is going to do exactly that. Why would anyone use steel when more exotic, seemingly more space-worthy metals or composite materials are so readily available? The engineers working on the project …

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Lithium Market Is On The Rise As Demand For Electric Vehicles Grows

Lithium.

A report released by Global Market Research Inc. indicated that the global market for lithium ion battery products is likely to exceed $60 billion by the year 2024. The increase in the demand for rechargeable lithium ion batteries is largely due to the rising usage of rechargeable consumer electronic gadgets like mobile phones, tablets, and …

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