The term 'minor metals' encompasses a vast array of metals, including tungsten, titanium, cobalt and molybdenum, to name just a few. Traditionally, minor metals were those metals not traded on formal exchanges, although cobalt and molybdenum are now traded on the London Metal Exchange along with base metals. Minor metals have a relatively low annual production volume, compared to base metals, and very specialist, and often high technology, applications. Uses include filaments in lightbulbs, electronic pastes, components in mobile phones and tablet pc’s, as well as alloying agents in specialist steels for the automotive and aerospace sectors amongst others. As technology progresses, new applications are found which create new supply and demand patterns, as demonstrated by the growth in renewables technology.
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