Atomic mass of rhenium. rhenium metal

Rhenium metal, along with tungsten and molybdenum, makes up the trinity of refractory elements.

At the same time, it is able to maintain strength for a long time at ultrahigh temperatures, up to 20,000 C.

Externally, metallic rhenium has a light silver tint, while its powders are black. This element belongs to the rare earth metals.

It turns out to be scattered, that is, there is no concentration of the element in a certain geographical area of ​​​​the planet. Rhenium is a classic example of a diffuse element. The average content of metal in the earth's crust by mass is one hundred millionths of a percent.

In nature, there are three rhenium-containing minerals, these are copper oxide, sulfide and copper sulforate. The last mineral is also known as dzhezkazganite (zhezkazganite) after the name of the deposit of the same name in Kazakhstan.

As an impurity, rhenium can be found in minerals of rare earths, as well as other elements: columbites, tantalites, zirconates. The impurity content of Re in molybdenite is especially high, reaching up to 0.5%.

Modern world reserves of the element are estimated at 17,000 tons. Mostly, it is molybdenite. The metal is found much less frequently in carbonaceous raw materials. For example, the content of rhenium in crude oil ranges from 0.002 to 0.2 grams per ton. As noted earlier, there are no rhenium deposits in the world, which refers the element to the class of trace elements.

The popularity of rhenium is associated with its extreme physical characteristics, among which high rates are distinguished by: heat resistance, strength, refractoriness, corrosion resistance, weldability, oxidation resistance, ductility.

The metal is resistant to most acids, in particular hydrofluoric and hydrochloric, but is soluble in nitric acid.

Rhenium is one of the "heaviest" elements and is paramagnetic. Its density of 21.03 g/cm3 is commensurate with the values ​​of this parameter for platinum group metals.

In terms of refractoriness, the metal is second only to tungsten, but unlike it, Re is characterized by plasticity in the crystallized and cast states, as well as the ability to deform at low temperatures.

The modulus of elasticity of this element is 470 Gn/m2, second only to osmium and iridium, which determines the ability to quickly harden under pressure.

The melting point is 31800 C, the boiling point is over 56000 C. In addition, Re has a high recrystallization temperature, at the level of 28000 C. This is used in industry to increase the recrystallization temperature threshold by introducing this metal into alloys.

Rhenium is mined mostly from molybdenum concentrates, and only partly from copper. The advantage of molybdenum solutions is a higher concentration of the element, up to 0.04%. On the contrary, the content of rhenium in copper concentrates is almost an order of magnitude lower, not exceeding 0.003%.

The areas of use of rhenium are quite diverse and include: electronic devices, vacuum technology, medicine, jewelry, metallurgy.

"Rhenium" is an extremely rare, and, accordingly, an extremely expensive metal. It is mined all over the world in very, very small quantities. About sixty tons per year, worldwide! This is a very small figure for the world volume of mined metal.

And it is not only rare, in itself, but also its isolation from impurities of accompanying rocks, metals and oxides is extremely laborious and energy-consuming. However, the game is worth the candle!

The most powerful and virtually endless supplier of Rhenium to the world market can be the Kuril Islands.

There is on it, one interesting volcano (active), named "Curly", which, together with gas and steam from its mouth, throws out from the depths of the earth - the purest Rhenium! True, in a gaseous state. Its reserves in the gas cloud are staggering! And in Russia there is a technology for the extraction of this metal from a gaseous state (no one else has it!)

Where is this super-valuable metal used? Its main purpose is Space and Aviation! Of course - the most advanced of their technologies! I mean, hypersonic missiles of the Russian Federation and its "space engines", which will allow the Russian "Air Aviation" to turn into "Space Aviation".

It is rhenium that is needed for these engines, for nozzles and reactors of "micro-nuclear engines"! Nothing else can replace it. In this regard, Rhenium acquires the status of a "strategic raw material" of the Russian Federation. As well as a unique installation for its extraction from the steam volcanic cloud of the Kudryavy volcano!

Now, my dear Russians, when you hear the hoarse cries of the "Japanese samurai" about the return of the "Northern Territories" (that is, the Kuril Islands), you know what the sly Asians are pouring snot about. Together with them, tears and snot pour their "Patron" - the United States, for the same "unbearable economic reason." Even the EU is trying to add their poisonous saliva to them!

Therefore, do not be surprised, Russians, when for these Islands, Russia will begin to turn the heads of the rabid samurai, who decided to take the “Treasured Islands” from the Russian Federation by force.

The Kremlin, and without Reny would not have given them to anyone, ever. And for the overvalued metal (gold rests next to it), for Rhenium, which is “Our Everything” - the Russian Federation will wipe any aggressor into powder. In the radiation ashes, if anyone did not understand something.

• Tags:

Most of us think that the most expensive metals in the world are platinum, gold and silver. But in reality, there are other dense chemical elements that are hundreds of times more expensive than them. A high price is determined by such indicators as: rarity, inaccessibility and properties.

So, here is the TOP 10 most expensive metals in the world!

1. California-252

Price: 1 gram = $6.5 million

In the first place of the most expensive metals in the world is californium-252. The cost of 1 gram of California is estimated at 6.5 million dollars. About 30-40 micrograms of the element are produced annually, which justifies its inflated price. For all time, only 8 grams of californium-252 were produced. It was first received at one of the Californian universities in 1951. Now it is being created in the laboratory using nuclear reactors in Russia and the United States.

The uniqueness of the isotope lies in its released energy, the power of which can be compared with an average nuclear reactor. It is actively used in medicine and nuclear physics. With the help of California-252, malignant tumors are treated. The metal is able to detect damage in reactors and aircraft structures that X-rays could not detect. In addition, the most expensive element is used to discover new deposits of oil, gold and silver.

2. Osmium-187

Price: 1 year = $200 thousand

Osmium-187 is the second of the 10 most expensive metals in the world. Its extraction is associated with some difficulties and takes about 9 months. One of the rarest isotopes in the form of a black fine crystalline powder is the densest substance on the planet. But despite this, the most valuable element is quite fragile.

For scientific research, osmium-187 is of great importance, as it is used as a catalyst for chemical reactions, as well as for the production of high-precision measuring instruments. The cost of 1 gram of osmium-187 is 200 thousand US dollars.

3. Rhodium

Price: 1 gram = $225

Rhodium is highly reflective and is used in the manufacture of glass and mirrors. In addition, it is also used for the production and processing of jewelry. Rhodium gives products shine and prevents them from darkening, thanks to its high resistance to oxidation. One gram of the isotope is currently valued at 225 US dollars.

4. Platinum

Price: 1 g = $70

Platinum is the most expensive and noble metal in the world. It is a natural alloy of six isotopes that has a silvery-white hue. Platinum is one of the rarest elements. Its deposits are found mainly in Russia, the USA, China, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Platinum is used not only for the production of jewelry, but also for medical and industrial purposes. Previously, the metal was classified as low-quality silver and was often used to fake silver and gold items. Today, 1 gram of platinum is valued at an average of $70.

5. Gold

Price: 1 gram = $45

Gold is in the middle of the ten most expensive metals in the world. In nature, the noble isotope occurs exclusively in its pure form. Due to its ductility and durability, gold is considered one of the most popular metals used for jewelry production. In addition, it is used in the electronics industry and dentistry.

Some of the most expensive investment coins are minted from gold. The cost of 1 gram of a noble element is estimated at 45 US dollars.

6. Palladium

Price: 1 g = $30

Palladium is one of the ten most expensive metals in the world, which belongs to the platinum group. The silvery-white isotope is characterized by fusibility and ductility. It lends itself perfectly to polishing, does not lose its luster over time and is resistant to corrosion. It was discovered by the British chemist William Wollaston in 1803. The scientist decided to separate the unknown metal from the platinum ore that arrived from South Africa.

Now palladium is actively used for making jewelry of different price categories. It is also widely used in medicine and industry due to its anti-corrosion properties. One gram of metal costs about 30 US dollars.

7. Iridium

Price: 1 gram = $20

Iridium is a silvery-white color that looks like tin. It is very heavy, hard and at the same time fragile. Iridium is most commonly used to make alloys with other metals such as platinum. Jewelry made from this alloy is highly durable and very beautiful.

Iridium is widely used in the manufacture of electrical contacts, precision chemical balances and surgical instruments. The world learned about the metal thanks to the British chemist S. Tennat, who discovered it in 1803. Currently, about a ton of iridium is consumed annually. Its supplier is South Africa - this is where the deposit is concentrated. One gram of the isotope is valued at about $20.

8. Scandium

Price: 1 gr = $12

Scandium is one of the most expensive metals in the world. The silver-colored element with a yellow tint was first discovered in 1879, thanks to the Swedish scientist Lars Nilson, who named it after Scandinavia.

The most valuable isotope is used in innovative technologies in the design of rockets, robots, laser technology, satellites and aircraft. Sports equipment is made from alloys with this element. The largest deposits of scandium are concentrated in Madagascar and Norway. One gram of metal is valued at $12.

9. Rhenium

Price: 1 gram = $10

Rhenium is a chemical dense element of silver-white color and is also considered one of the rarest, hard-to-reach and sought-after isotopes. Due to its high density, rhenium is one of the most refractory metals.

Since the discovery of the element (1925), it has been actively used in the chemical and electronic industries. Alloys for jet engine nozzles, turbine blades, rocket technology, etc. are made from it. It is the only refractory element that does not form carbides. On average, 1 gram of rhenium is valued at $10.

10 Ruthenium

Price: 1g = $1.5

Ruthenium closes the top ten most expensive metals. The chemical element of bright silvery color is distinguished by infusibility, hardness and brittleness. Ruthenium is one of the rarest elements of the platinum group. It was first discovered by Professor Karl Klaus, who conducted research at Kazan University in 1844. The name of the element comes from the Latin Ruthenia, which means Russia / Russia.

Ruthenium is actively used in jewelry, electronics and chemical industries. It is used for the manufacture of electrodes, wires, contacts, etc. With the help of the element, chlorine and alkali are also obtained. The cost of 1 gram of metal is currently estimated at 1.5 US dollars.

Don't miss interesting news in photos:

• 
  12 DIY Christmas trees for 2019
• 
  Easter Egg Decorating Ideas
• 
  The world through the eyes of a child

One of the most sought after rare metals in the world. And this is not surprising, because today the price of a gram of rhenium on the world market is on average about 9 dollars or 514 rubles.

In order to understand what is the reason for such a popular use of rhenium and, accordingly, its price, we will consider in more detail the physicochemical properties and areas of application of the metal.

Origin story

As early as the end of the 19th century, D. Mendeleev suggested the existence of a new element that was similar to manganese, while the atomic weight was about 190. Therefore, the famous chemist gave such a name to the new hypothetical metal as three manganese.

However, pure rhenium was isolated in 1925 by the German chemists Noddak. Since this family lived near the Rhine River, the new metal was accordingly called rhenium.

It is also worth noting that rhenium was the last discovered non-radioactive chemical element.

Mining features

To date, the world reserves of rhenium are estimated at 17 thousand tons.

Typically, it is extracted from the following natural materials:

• molybdenum ores;
• coal-containing raw materials;
• jezkaganite;
• pyrite;
• zircon;
• some rare earth minerals.

Among the countries in which the largest deposits of rhenium are located, we can safely note:

• Chile;
• Russia;
• Canada;
• Kazakhstan;
• Peru;
• Armenia;
• Uzbekistan.

It should be noted that there are no native deposits of rhenium, since it is mined from copper-molybdenum ores, while the important aspect is that the metal is extracted from the rock only after copper or molybdenum has been obtained.

Production

First of all, it should be understood that the production of rhenium is a rather costly and time-consuming process, which, as a rule, occurs in a number of the following steps:

• the material is extracted from the rock by leaching, using a weakly concentrated solution of sulfuric acid;
• ammonium perrhenate is obtained by methods such as electrolysis, ion exchange, sorption or extraction;
• directly rhenium in the form of a powder is obtained by reduction of perrhenate, while hydrogen is necessarily present in the reaction;
• powdered material is converted into metal by a metallurgical method, and in some cases smelting is carried out in a furnace;
• to reduce the loss of rhenium during remelting, installations such as filters, cyclones and scrubbers are used, which greatly increase the amount of metal obtained.

The use of the latest technologies in the production of rhenium makes it possible to obtain high-quality metal.

Properties

First of all, it is worth understanding that rhenium is a solid and dense metal with a white tint. In the chemical periodic table, this element has atomic number 75.

Among the physicochemical features of rhenium, a number of the following important aspects should be distinguished:

• melting point - 3186 0 C;
• boiling point - 5870 0 C;
• recrystallization temperature - 2800 0 С;
• density - 24.03 g / cm 3;
• element elasticity modulus - 470 Gn/m 2 ;
• intensive oxidation of rhenium begins at a temperature of 300 0 C;
• the metal does not dissolve in acidic environments - the only exception is nitric acid;
• interaction with mercury is accompanied by the formation of an amalgam.

The popularity of the use of rhenium is primarily associated with a number of such advantageous properties as:

• high heat resistance;
• excellent strength;
• good resistance to corrosion;
• excellent refractoriness;
• high resistance to oxidation;
• excellent plasticity;
• good weldability.

Applications of rhenium

Unique physical and chemical properties make it possible to use rhenium in the following areas of human life:

1. In the oil refining industry, it is the main component in the manufacture of catalysts that make it possible to obtain gasoline with a high octane number. Also, rhenium is very successfully used to increase the throughput of installations and equipment, which greatly increases the service life.
2. In the aircraft industry, rhenium is used as the main element in the production of parts for supersonic fighters. This is due to the fact that this metal has increased heat resistance characteristics, while it is worth knowing that the amount of rhenium in alloys is at least 6%;
3. In the electrical industry, its application is used in the production of the following elements:

• semiconductors;
• supports with a rotating frame, in other words, cores;
• rhenium contact groups are notable for the fact that oxide always appears on the working surfaces, which quickly evaporates, in other words, the contacts are self-cleaning;
• cathode ray tubes;
• cathode heaters;
• generator lamps;
• details of precision instruments.

1. In the nuclear industry, it began to be used in the manufacture of thermocouples, which make it possible to measure the high temperature in the reactor. This metal is also used to manufacture seamless pipes for the removal of fuel elements.
2. In the medical field, rhenium is mainly used in the manufacture of specialized instruments that allow you to successfully carry out research work and treat diseases of varying severity.
3. In jewelry, rhenium has found successful use in coating jewelry and precious items.

Pricing policy and price dynamics

As a rule, prices for any manufactured products are set based on the availability of goods. From this perspective, it is quite logical to conclude that rhenium is by no means a very affordable material, while it is worth taking into account the fact that active demand for this metal quite likely dictates price dynamics.

According to statistics, the world reserves of rhenium range from 13 to 17 thousand tons, while the annual consumption of rhenium is 40-50 tons. Based on these data, it is easy to make calculations that will say that with such consumption, rhenium will be enough for mankind for 250 - 300 years.

The content of the article

RHENIUM- (Rhenium) - element of the 7th (VIIb) group of the periodic system, atomic number 75, atomic mass 186.21. There are 34 known isotopes of rhenium from 160 Re to 193 Re. Natural rhenium consists of two isotopes - 185 Re (37.40%) and 187 Re (62.60%). The only stable isotope is 185 Re, the 187 Re isotope is radioactive, but the half-life is huge - 43.5 billion years. Rhenium in its compounds tends to exhibit the highest oxidation state +7.

Rhenium was the last element in the periodic table with stable isotopes to be discovered. D.I. Mendeleev, on the basis of the Periodic Law, predicted two analogs of element No. 25 (Mn) - ekamanganese and dvimanganese, which were supposed to be open to occupy the empty places that he left when compiling the table of elements. His predictions of the existence of scandium (Nilson, 1875), gallium (Lecoq de Boisbaudran, 1879) and germanium (Winkler, 1886) served as an impetus for more and more research. Unlike ekaboron (Sc), ekaaluminum (Ga) and ekasilicon (Ge), whose physicochemical properties were quite accurately described by Mendeleev, there were no predictions characterizing the behavior of ecamarganese and dimanganese.

In 1877, the Russian chemist S. Kern reported the discovery of a new element in platinum ore waste. He named it davy (Da) after the eminent English chemist Sir Humphry Davy. It was also reported about the discovery of a new qualitative reaction - the formation of the rhodanide complex of devia. Kern suggested that devy should take the place of dvimanganese, since the atomic mass determined by him turned out to be 154. Kern's discovery did not receive recognition, because it was not possible to repeat his experiments and today it remains only to believe that the qualitative reaction he discovered is indeed identical to the now widely known reaction the formation of a rhenium rhodanide complex.

Subsequently, there were many reports claiming to have discovered eka- and dvimarganese. Of these, the following could probably correspond to element No. 75: uralium (Giyar, 1869) and pluranium (Hosanne, 1928). They did not receive further confirmation and remained only a part of the history of science.

Since the discovery of hafnium (1923) in the periodic table (the last element in it was 86 - radon), there were four "gaps" in the places of elements with serial numbers 43 (Tc), 61 (Pm), 75 (Re) and 85 ( At). Eka- and dvimanganese aroused the greatest interest among researchers, since only one representative of this subgroup, manganese, was known. The search for the missing elements resumed with renewed vigor after the discovery of Moseley, who showed that for each element it is possible to set the atomic number, based on the frequency of the main line of its X-ray spectrum. Now there was a powerful tool for identifying chemical elements - X-ray spectral analysis, which made it possible to determine small amounts (on the order of 0.1%) of a substance in a sample.

In June 1925, at a meeting of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, Professor Walter Noddack (1893-1960) with collaborators Ida Tacke (1896-1978) and Otto Berg made the first report that they had discovered elements 43 and 75, of which the first is named Masuria in honor of the Masurian region - the birthplace of Noddack, and the second rhenium in honor of the Rhine region - the birthplace of Takke.

The physical properties of elements No. 43 and No. 75 were determined by interpolating the properties of the elements between which they are located in the periodic system, i.e. for No. 43 - molybdenum and ruthenium, and for 75 - tungsten and osmium. Noddack's calculations for dwimanganese:

It was harder to predict the chemical properties. It could be assumed that both elements have a certain similarity with manganese, that ecamarganese heptaoxide is more stable than Mn 2 O 7 , and that dvimanganese heptoxide is more stable than that of element No. 43 in accordance with the general pattern observed in the periodic table.

The failure of the predecessors to search for elements No. 43 and No. 75 led the Noddacks to the idea that these elements were extremely rare and could not be directly detected in samples from the characteristic X-ray spectra. A pre-enrichment of at least 0.1% was required. They suggested that eka- and dvimanganese do not form their own minerals. It has long been noticed that chemically similar substances are capable of co-crystallization. As Goldschmidt showed, only such substances are capable of mutually replacing each other in crystals in appreciable quantities, which, in addition to chemical analogy, simultaneously also have closely coinciding ionic radii. In accordance with the law of distribution of elements in the earth's crust, platinum ore and columbite were taken as suitable minerals.

As the first object, the Ural platinum ore was investigated, 80 grams of which Noddak received from Russia. After a long separation of platinoids, as a result of sublimation, a small amount of yellowish needle-like crystals was found, which attracted special attention. The chemical properties of this substance, collected in an amount of 1 mg, were not identical with those of any of the compounds of known elements.

The second object of study was columbite, since platinum ore had to be abandoned due to its high cost. As a result of processing about one thousand three hundred samples after enrichment, about 1 g of metal sulfides was obtained, which, according to preliminary calculations, should have contained 1 mg of eka- and dimanganese. Due to the predominance of niobium and tantalum oxides in the sample, it was not possible to isolate pure rhenium compounds. The new element could only be identified by X-ray analysis. Based on the results of these studies, Noddack announced the discovery of elements No. 43 and No. 75.

The published message about the discovery of new elements caused a lively discussion. Employees of the Platinum Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences obtained thirteen samples from many kilograms of platinum ore using the method described by Noddack, none of which contained new elements either by chemical, spectroscopic or X-ray methods.

A few months after Noddack's message, the Czech chemist I. Druce and the Englishman F. Loring announced the discovery of element No. 75 in pyrolusite. In addition, Druce believed that the honor of discovering rhenium should be shared with him by J. Geyrovsky and V. Doleyzhek, who announced the polarographic detection of rhenium in commercial preparations of manganese chloride and sulfate.

The discussion, however, ended when Noddack and co-workers managed to obtain 120 mg of rhenium in 1927. The issue of priority in the discovery of rhenium has not yet been resolved, but the fact that Noddack received the first sample of the rarest metal, and the very name of element No. 75, testify to the recognition by the world scientific community of the decisive merits of the Noddack group.

Rhenium in nature, its industrial production and market.

Rhenium is the rarest and highly dispersed element, according to modern estimates, its clarke (average content in nature) in the earth's crust is 7 10 -8 wt.%, which is less than the clarke of any metal from the group of platinoids or lanthanides. If we do not take into account the clarks of inert gases in the earth's crust (which, however, are much more numerous in the atmosphere), then rhenium can be called the rarest of the elements with stable isotopes.

Rhenium (with rare exceptions) does not form its own minerals, but only accompanies the minerals of molybdenum, tungsten, lead, platinum, tantalum, niobium, etc. Rhenium minerals (for example, dzhezkazganite, Pb 4 Re 3 Mo 3 S 16) are so rare that are not of industrial, but rather of scientific interest.

The most characteristic property of rhenium is its pronounced geochemical similarity to molybdenum. Both elements exhibit equally high affinity for sulfur. Higher halides of molybdenum and rhenium have increased volatility and close reactivity. The ionic radii of the four charged Re 4+ and Mo 4+ ions are practically the same. The Noddacks found that rhenium and molybdenum disulfides can form a continuous series of solid solutions - they obtained several samples of artificial molybdenite with a rhenium content of 0.5 to 10%. Therefore, it is not surprising that a significant part of the rhenium in the earth's crust occurs as an impurity in molybdenite. There are large deposits of molybdenite in the USA, Armenia, Uzbekistan, China, Norway, Chile, Germany. It is known that the most favorable conditions for creating an increased concentration of rhenium in molybdenite are the low crystallization temperature of the mineral and the shallow depth of deposit formation.

Molybdenite is not the only mineral containing rhenium; the content of rhenium in the minerals of granitic pegmatites (alvite, gadolinite, zircon, columbite, tantalite, etc.) is quite high. They contain rhenium in the form of finely dispersed sulfides. Rhenium is also found in the minerals of platinum and tungsten. The content of rhenium in meteorite iron is relatively high - 0.01 g/t, which significantly exceeds the clarke of rhenium in the earth's crust. The reason for the absence of rhenium in manganese minerals is, most likely, a noticeable difference in the radii of the Mn 2+ , Mn 3+ and Re 4+ ions. Large amounts of element No. 75 are concentrated in cuprous sandstones, an example of which is the group of deposits in the Dzhezkazgan region in Kazakhstan. There is an accumulation of rhenium, along with other heavy metals, in bituminous residues. For example, the Mansfeld deposit (Germany) of cuprous shale served as the main source of rhenium production before World War II.

With the collapse of the USSR, the problem of rhenium mining faced Russia, since its raw material base remained mainly in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Armenia. In the 1990s, a unique geological find was made in the high-temperature sublimates of the Kudryavy volcano on Iturup Island in the Kuril Range: its own rhenium mineral, ReS 2 , tentatively named rhenite, was discovered. Until that moment, there was no such deposit in the world, the industrial value of which would be determined only by rhenium. The uniqueness of Kudryavoy lies in the fact that volcanic gases at the exit points (in the so-called fumarole, volcanic fields) have an unusually high temperature (500–940 ° C). Only under such conditions is it possible to form the mineral rhenium. The gases coming to the surface from other volcanoes are much colder. For centuries, in places where volcanic gases were released, rhenium was concentrated in ore crusts (by a factor of 109). The content of rhenium in these crusts, according to various estimates, is from four to several tens of tons. Every year, the volcano ejects several tons of rhenium in the form of a gas-dust mixture. Curly is a Hawaiian-type volcano, it does not erupt hot lava flows, but only “smolders”, which greatly simplifies the extraction of rhenite. It is estimated that in 100 years about 2000 tons of rhenium flew into the atmosphere and dispersed around the planet. Currently, industrial installations for capturing rhenium disulfide from volcanic emissions are being developed and implemented. Russia's annual need for rhenium is about 5 tons, therefore, with the introduction of an effective technology for its extraction, it is possible not only to fully satisfy the country's domestic needs, but also to export the metal.

The first gram of fairly pure rhenium was obtained in 1929 by the Noddacks as a result of complex chemical processing of 660 kg of Norwegian molybdenite. In 1930, world production of rhenium was three grams. In the early 1930s, the first industrial production of rhenium was organized. In 1940, 200 kg of rhenium was produced - more than a modest figure, if we compare it even with the world production of gold (about 1000 tons). In 1943 the production of rhenium in the USA amounted to 4.5 kg.

The main industrial sources of rhenium are copper-molybdenum, copper, lead and polymetallic ores, as well as oil shale. The world practice of cheap production of rhenium is based on the associated extraction of element No. 75 from molybdenum concentrates. Since rhenium is not the main purpose of processing such concentrates, it is natural that the technology of its extraction is "tied" to the production of molybdenum raw materials. All this translates into huge losses of the rarest metal. According to American scientists, in 1965 only 6% of the total rhenium contained in molybdenite was extracted. Molybdenum concentrates are processed according to traditional schemes. The first stage is oxidative roasting in fluidized-bed furnaces at 550–650°C. Almost all of the rhenium passes into heptaoxide, which is volatile at such temperatures, a significant part of which cannot be captured, and it flies out into the chimney along with the exhaust gases. The second stage is the transfer of rhenium compounds after gas and dust recovery into solution. The third stage is the adsorption or extraction extraction of rhenium and its conversion into commercial salt - ammonium perrhenate. All stages are carried out in parallel with the extraction of molybdenum. Next, ammonium perrhenate is reduced in tube furnaces with hydrogen at 800 ° C and rhenium powder is obtained.

In addition to obtaining rhenium from dust from the roasting of molybdenite concentrates, there are several industrial methods for extracting element No. 75 associated with the use of other raw materials. Rhenium is extracted from the dust of copper smelters, from copper concentrates before they are smelted, from soot deposits formed during the mine smelting of cuprous shale, from lead-zinc dust from the mine smelting of cuprous slates.

The first place in terms of rhenium reserves is occupied by the United States (4.5 thousand tons, 62% of world reserves), the second is Kazakhstan. Now the world leader in the production of metallic rhenium is the Chilean company Molybdenos Y Metales SA (Molyment). Rhenium is isolated as a by-product during the firing of molybdenite. Chilean exports of rhenium account for approximately 58% of the world's primary supply, which is 35 tons per year. Rhenium production in the US is about 11% of the world's primary supply. The second place in terms of rhenium production is occupied by Kazakhstan (Dzhezkazgan copper mine and Balkhash). The country annually produces 8.5 tons of rhenium (24% of world production) in the form of ammonium perrhenate; at the same time, the resources of the Dzhezkazgan mine are not used at full capacity. The production of rhenium in Russia at present, due to the lack of a raw material base, is at a low level and amounts to several hundred kilograms per year.

The United States is the main importer of rhenium. Rhenium prices are mainly dictated by exporters and are not officially published. We can only say that the price of pure rhenium is quite high and has fluctuated in the range of 1000-2000 dollars per kilogram over the past twenty years. In 2002, the US average price for rhenium was $1,060/kg. High-purity rhenium used in electronics is much more expensive; prices for it reach up to $900/g.

Characteristics of a simple substance.

Compact rhenium is a silvery heavy metal similar to platinum. In powder form, it has a dark gray (almost black) color. Its density (at 20 ° C) is 2102 kg / m 3. Melting point 3170 ° C, boiling point 5600 ° C. The reactivity of metallic rhenium depends on the degree of its grinding and purity. Powdered rhenium metal can be made into a compact metal by sintering (cermet process), melting in an electric arc, or a focused electron beam. Powder metallurgy makes it possible to obtain rhenium in the form of ingots. In this case, powdered metallic rhenium is pressed in steel dies in a hydraulic press. The pressed ingots are then sintered in two stages. In the compact state, rhenium has a relative chemical inertness: it is not oxidized by atmospheric oxygen up to 350 ° C, does not interact with water, hydrohalic acids and dilute sulfuric acid. Powdered rhenium oxidizes in moist air to rhenium acid:

4Re + 7O 2 + 2H 2 O = 4HReO 4 .

When heated, metallic rhenium interacts with fluorine, chlorine, bromine, sulfur, selenium:

Re + 3F 2 = ReF 6 ; 2Re + 5Cl 2 = 2ReCl 5 ;

Re + 2S = ReS 2 .

Even at elevated temperatures, rhenium does not react with carbon monoxide (II), methane and carbon.

Rhenium metal is easily soluble in concentrated and dilute nitric acid, concentrated sulfuric acid, perhydrol. In all cases, rhenium acid is formed:

3Re + 7HNO 3 = 3HReO 4 + 7NO + 2H 2 O

2Re + 7H 2 SO 4 = 2HReO 4 + 7SO 2 + 6H 2 O

2Re + 7H 2 O 2 \u003d 2HReO 4 + 6H 2 O.

In the presence of oxygen, rhenium dissolves in molten alkalis to form metaperrhenates.

Rhenium metal is obtained:

1) in the reduction of perrhenates of alkali metals and ammonium with hydrogen (industrial method). Ammonium perrhenate is preferred because it produces a pure metal:

2NH 4 ReO 4 + 7H 2 \u003d 2Re + 2NH 3 + 8H 2 O;

2) in the reduction of oxides, oxyhalides and rhenium sulfides with hydrogen:

Re 2 O 7 + 7H 2 \u003d 2Re + 7H 2 O

ReS 2 + 2H 2 = Re + 2H 2 S;

3) electrolysis of a solution of potassium perrhenate in the presence of sulfuric acid:

4KReO 4 + 2H 2 SO 4 = 4ReЇ + 2K 2 SO 4 + 7O 2 + 2H 2 O.

The most important compounds of rhenium.

A relatively small number of compounds of one, two, three, five and hexavalent rhenium are known, all of them are unstable. The most stable compounds are tetra- and heptavalent rhenium.

Rhenium dioxide, ReO 2, non-volatile brown-black crystalline powder with metallic conductivity type, stable in air at room temperature. When heated in oxygen, it transforms into heptaoxide. It dissolves in concentrated hydrochloric acid to form a complex compound - hexachlororhenic acid, H 2 green-brown. Rhenium dioxide can be obtained by partial reduction of Re 2 O 7 with hydrogen at 300°C, reductive pyrolysis of ammonium perrhenate in the presence of hydrogen or metallic rhenium. It is an intermediate product in the production of rhenium.

Rhenium disulfide, ReS 2, black soft crystals. Obtained by heating powdered rhenium metal with excess sulfur in an atmosphere of hydrogen sulfide. It is a component of catalysts in petrochemical industries.

Rhenium trioxide, ReO 3, dark red crystals with a metallic sheen. The easiest way to obtain is the decomposition of the Re 2 O 7 complex with dioxane, Re 2 O 7 2C 4 H 8 O 2 2H 2 O.

rhenium oxide(VII), Re 2O 7, rhenium anhydride, light yellow, highly hygroscopic crystals. It can be obtained from elements or by oxidation of lower rhenium oxides. An intermediate product in the production of rhenium. It dissolves well in water, alcohol, acetone. When dissolved in water, it gives a colorless solution of rhenium acid. HReO 4 is a strong acid; it has not been isolated in free form.

ammonium perrhenate, NH 4 ReO 4 , colorless crystals, soluble in water. An intermediate product in the production of rhenium.

The use of metallic rhenium.

In the textbook of inorganic chemistry G. Remy 1961, the following lines can be found: “Rhenium turned out to be very suitable for the manufacture of nib tips for fountain pens; small amounts of it give high strength and corrosion resistance in relation to drying ink ... ". It is clear that this is not the most successful use of such a rare metal. Indeed, during the period from 1925 to 1967, the world industry used only 4.5 tons of rhenium. In the early 1930s, a gram of rhenium cost a fortune - DM 40,000. In the 1960s, it was worth much more than platinum and gold. The high prices were explained by the low efficiency of production, the improvement of which, in turn, was limited by small demand. In the early 1980s, world consumption of rhenium was no more than a ton per year. In 1990, 10 tons of rhenium was used in the Soviet Union. Now the requirement of the US alone is 30 tons annually, and this figure will continue to grow.

Now the largest areas of rhenium consumption are the production of refractory special alloys (50%) and catalysts for the oil refining industry (40%). Rhenium is a metal of strategic importance. Rhenium-based alloys are used in the aviation, nuclear and space industries. In particular, blades for gas turbine engines, rocket and aircraft nozzles are made from them. Without rhenium, it is impossible to create aircraft engines of the near future. In some models of expensive cars (for example, Rolls-Royce Trent 500), rhenium alloys are increasingly used. Tungsten alloys with rhenium in the nuclear power industry serve as shells for fuel elements operating at temperatures from 1650–3000 ° C. The heat shields of vehicles returning from space to Earth are made from the Ta-W-Re alloy.

Rhenium is an indispensable material in the manufacture of high-temperature electrodes and thermocouples. Tungsten filaments of electric lamps under the influence of oxygen and water vapor are quickly destroyed. However, if they are covered with a thin layer of rhenium, the life of the bulbs is significantly increased. The thinnest rhenium coatings are one of the most effective methods of protecting metals from corrosion.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the global petrochemical industry began to develop platinum-rhenium catalysts for reforming petroleum fractions, which made it possible to significantly improve the quality of motor gasoline. The use of such catalysts has increased the throughput of reforming units by 40%, in addition, their service life is increased by almost 4 times.

All this allows us to call rhenium a high-tech metal.

Yuri Krutyakov

Author sections

Opening history

extreme world

Info Help

File archive

Discussions

Services

Infofront

Information NF OKO

RSS export

useful links

Important Topics

War for rare earths

The Kuril Islands have again been in the spotlight in recent weeks after harsh statements from the Japanese side. This ridge of islands is important for Russia not only from a military-strategic point of view, since it provides access to the ships of the Pacific Fleet to the ocean, but also from a resource point of view. This is not only about marine bioresources, but also about the reserves of rare earth metals.

All high-tech products manufactured in the world, such as iPads, Blackberries, mobile phones, lasers, hybrid cars and much more, are built on the basis of using the properties of rare earth metals. Being a commodity exporter in this area is much more prestigious than supplying gas and oil.
At the same time, the extraction and bringing of materials to the requirements of customers is already a rather high-tech occupation.

The real need of the world's economies in rare earth elements - REE is growing. According to the chemical encyclopedia, in 1980 the world produced only 26 thousand tons of REE per year, in 2007-2008 the world already produced 124 thousand tons per year.
The leaders in production were China 120 thousand tons, India 2.7 thousand tons, Brazil 0.65 thousand tons.

It is China that has the largest explored REE reserves - 89 million tons. In the CIS countries, 21 million tons of REE are supposedly concentrated, but the scale of production is significantly inferior to the competing countries.
In the Russian Federation, according to Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 2, 2002 No. 210 "On approval of the list of strategic types of minerals, information about which constitutes a state secret", data on reserves, production volumes of rare earth elements are a state secret.

China, which is a raw material monopolist in this area, controlling the extraction and processing of more than 90% of the total volume of 17 key rare earth elements, has decided to drastically reduce the export of strategic resources.
The extraction of 17 rare earth elements will immediately decrease by 72%, including lanthanum, samarium, thulium, terbium, and lutetium. China announced a significant reduction in REE exports at the end of 2009. This caused a serious panic in the developed countries of the world. The leading industrial countries of the European Union urgently began to create strategic reserves of REE.

One of the most important elements used in high-tech industries such as electronics and electrical engineering, space and aviation industries, as well as in catalysts for cracking and reforming oil, is rhenium. The price of a gram of high-purity rhenium reaches $900.

During the period 1925-1967, the world industry consumed only 4.5 tons of rhenium. By 2000, the requirement of the United States alone was about 30 tons per year. Then the United States accounted for more than 50% of the world's consumption of rhenium, and over the past five years, the demand for this rare metal has increased 3.6 times.

In the 1990s, Russian scientists found a new mineral, rheniite, on the volcanoes of the South Kuril ridge and on the top of Kudryavy volcano on Iturup Island in places where volcanic gas was released. Outwardly, it resembled ordinary molybdenite, but it turned out to be rhenium sulfide. The content of rhenium in it reaches 80%. This is an extremely rare phenomenon, since rhenium is present mainly in a dispersed form as impurities in molybdenite.

It turned out that rhenium, as well as other rare earth elements, is emitted by the volcano itself. In 1999, Russian scientists patented a technology for extracting rhenium from high-temperature volcanic gases, the Science and Life magazine reported in 2000.
The Ministry of Natural Resources financed work on the creation of an experimental facility for trapping rhenium on the crater of the Kudryavy volcano on Iturup Island. Scientists of the Institute of Mineralogy, Geochemistry and Crystal Chemistry of Rare Elements - IMGRE of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Russian Academy of Sciences speak about the possibility of organizing the extraction of rhenium on a scale sufficient for industry.

"Of particular interest is the rhenium content of modern thermae, partly explored and exploited as balneological and geothermal fields - Reidovskoe, Okeanskoe. Despite the low content of rhenium in the waters of 0.06 mg / l, its associated extraction from solutions can be cost-effective using ion-exchange technologies", - says the General Plan of the municipality "Kuril City District", developed by the Russian State Research and Design Institute of Urban Studies in 2006.

The shortage of metal in the rhenium market is now estimated at 10 tons per year. Rhenium is also widely used in its electronics industry by Japan, which over and over again demands the transfer of the Russian Kuril Islands.
The reduction of export quotas from China not only increases the profits of Chinese companies mining rare earths. But it also means the beginning of a war on the part of the PRC against the high-tech industries of Japan.
Japan rushed to Central Asia, which turned from the former Soviet into a real passage yard, where China is already trying to install its barriers. Agreements on the supply of uranium were signed with Uzbekistan.
And the Kazakh authorities also signed a secret agreement with Japanese business circles on the organization of large-scale production on the territory of Kazakhstan for the production of high-tech products from rare and rare earth elements. The fate of this agreement is still unknown.

It should be noted that in the USSR, rhenium was mined precisely in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan - on the sandstones of the Dzhezkazgan deposit in Kazakhstan and copper-molybdenum deposits in Uzbekistan and Armenia. It can be assumed that the Japanese are interested not only and not so much in the uranium reserves of these countries.
The Germans also fled to Kazakhstan with the same ultimate goals - to get either rare earths or their deposits.

The Government of the Russian Federation also drew attention to the need to restore and develop the extraction and processing of rare earth elements. Rosnano State Corporation supported the project of creating germanium production on the basis of the Spetsuglepoloskovskoye open-pit mine, Rosatom State Corporation announced the project of the Rare Earth Metals technological platform, initiated the development of the draft federal target program "Development of production of rare and rare earth metals for 2011-2015 and perspective until 2020".

According to Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Valery Yazev, all these measures are targeted, and the lack of its own processing industry for rare earth elements poses a threat to Russia's security.

Rhenium on the way to growth

Metal-Pages provide excerpts from the latest information report from Roskill, one of the leading analyst firms specializing in the OTC, specialty and rare earth markets. This report focuses on the prospects for the rhenium market up to 2015. For the period from 2009 to 2015. the growth of annual consumption of rhenium will average 5%, reaching 71.5 tons, influenced by demand in the production of high-quality rhenium-containing alloys for the aerospace industry (superalloys are commonly used in Western literature). Given the cyclical nature of the development of this industry, linear growth should not be expected and it will take a long time for the market to reach growth rates in 2007-2008. The more efficient use of rhenium and the growth in the use of recycled material will somewhat limit the growth in the consumption of virgin rhenium. As the global economy recovers from the recession, demand is expected to recover significantly during 2010-2012. followed by fairly even demand during 2012-2013. and repeated strong growth in demand in 2014-2015.

As with many metals, last year saw a sharp correction in rhenium prices - after spot market peaks of around $12,000/kg in mid-2008, a price decline to $4,000-4,500/kg followed, with further stabilization in this year in the range of 4500-5000 dollars per kg. The decline in demand for rhenium in 2009 was 16%, the decline in primary rhenium production was at least 10%, but this could not prevent the price decline. According to the director of Roskill, Mr. Mark Seddon, we can expect a certain recovery in prices before the end of this year with their further strengthening in 2011-2012. and the market's entry into a price plateau in 2013.

The report forecasts a steady rise in prices to average $6,500-$7,500/kg in 2015, with a possible slight correction in 2012 due to an expected decline in demand for rhenium in the superalloy sector this year. For contract prices, the trend will be almost the same.

In 2009, global primary rhenium production was 41.2 tons, down 10% from 45.6 tons in 2008. Nearly two-thirds of primary rhenium was produced in Chile, other important producing countries were the USA, Poland, Kazakhstan and China, relatively small but not negligible amounts of rhenium were obtained in Uzbekistan and Armenia.

The main driver of growth will continue to be the aerospace industry. The market for rhenium for use as a catalyst is not very large, in addition, the processing of rhenium has recently been established very efficiently. There is also a market for industrial gas turbines that requires materials that can operate at very high temperatures - Siemens uses rhenium in such applications - but this market is much more difficult for rhenium suppliers to penetrate.

The demand for rhenium in the aerospace industry is driven by the demands for aircraft engines to operate at ever higher temperatures to achieve maximum efficiency and reduce environmental pollution. Based on such requirements, in recent years, the rhenium content in superalloys used in aircraft engine blades operating in the hottest chamber has doubled. As a result, Roskill estimates that the US aerospace industry alone accounts for 75% of global rhenium consumption.

Jet engine makers, most notably General Electric, are trying to limit the amount of rhenium in engine designs, but the Roskill chief doesn't see much of a threat to demand for rhenium. He noted that rather than reducing the volume of rhenium, it can be expected more efficient processing. Mr. Seddon explained that nickel-containing scrap from the superalloy sector is too often sold to stainless steel makers, and instead of such a simple but wasteful process, rhenium could be recovered. In addition, the recycling of so-called revertible scrap, which contains almost no impurities, which can be remelted into the same alloy, is not fully utilized.

On the supply side, there should not be any major problems, as several rhenium production facilities could be commissioned, although there could be temporary market stress in the event of delays. Overall, Roskill expects demand growth to be met head-on with plans to expand existing operations such as Molymet in Chile, KGHM in Poland, and plans to produce rhenium at Codelco's facilities in Chile, Kennecott Utah Copper in the US, and possible production at Xstrata Copper and Ivanhoe's new Australian Merlin project.

Bashkiria will be engaged in the extraction of the rare earth element rhenium

In Bashkiria, the development of Russia's largest deposits, Yubileynoye and Podolsky, has begun, with total reserves of non-ferrous metal ores of 200 million tons. This was stated by the head of the department for subsoil use in the republic (Bashnedra) Rasikh Khamitov. These fallow ores contain 14 elements of the periodic table, including not only copper, sulfur, zinc, cadmium, silver and gold, but also rare earth metals - germanium, indium. According to Mr. Khamitov, another new element has recently been identified - rhenium, which is used as a strategic raw material in the aviation and space industries.

We will look for ways to identify and extract it, - said Rasikh Akzavovich.

According to him, up to 15% of all Russian copper is now mined in Bashkiria, more than half of Russian zinc, the republic ranks first in salt production in brine fields. In addition, 95% of the reserves of underground drinking water of the entire Volga region are concentrated here.
The head of the department for subsoil use also said that Murtykty, the largest gold deposit in the southern Urals, will be put up for sale in the third quarter of 2010, the auction may be announced in August.

The site, with explored reserves of 30 tons, is attractive because it has both explored and probable gold resources, moreover, shallow occurrence. It is also important that it is located next to the railway and the leaching plant, he explained.

The auction will be announced by Rosnedra

“We are still considering the starting price, according to my forecasts, it may be at the level of 50 million rubles,” said the head of Bashnedr.

He admitted that he himself is a supporter of the competition, not the auction.

It is important for me that the rest of the useful components do not go to waste, but are extracted. It is important that the enterprise involve local residents in the work, so that the company is familiar with the territory and works in an environmentally friendly way, Mr. Khamitov said.

Other auctions of this year include the Suran fluorite deposit and the Yuzhno-Semenovskoye basalt deposit.
In addition, jasper deposits will be put up for auction in 2011. Exploration work has recently been completed, which revealed a jasper belt running from Miass in the Chelyabinsk region to the border with Kazakhstan, the main part is concentrated on the territory of Bashkiria. The predicted resources of shallow jasper are about 18 million tons.
The head of Bashnedr did not rule out that the most promising diamond plots in the Beloretsk region could be put up for auction in the coming years.

Diamond resources are estimated at 50 million carats, and their properties are better than Yakut diamonds and lie closer to the surface - at a depth of up to 100 meters, he said.

In addition, Rasih Khamitov expressed hope that several new auctions will attract mixed investments. Thus, according to him, the Austrian company Lasselsberger has an interest in deposits of refractory clays and quartz feldspar, which will be put up for auction this year. In addition, several European companies expressed their desire to deal with the area of ​​dispersion chalk in the Abzelilovsky district, which is used in cosmetology.
True, many subsoil users are scared away by the starting size of the exposed plots, which is calculated taking into account world prices for minerals. Due to high prices, three auctions have not taken place this year, and there are no applicants for one more plot. -- Regions.ru

Rhenium to you, not the Kuriles

Why You Should Say No to Japan

A new weighty reason not to give the Kuril Islands to Japan seems to have appeared in the Kremlin. “Why do you need these tiny and meaningless pieces of sushi?” - for many decades, one of Tokyo's main arguments in favor of our abandonment of the "northern territories" looked something like this. There were plenty of holes in such logic before. And now there is another strong argument to say “no” to Japan. On the disputed island of Iturup, there is a giant deposit of almost the rarest, most expensive and strategically important chemical element on earth - rhenium. The only question is how to extract it.

The Mystery of the Curly Volcano

During the Soviet era, the South Kuriles were an important center of strategic military construction. At the end of the existence of the USSR in Broughton Bay on the island of Simushir, they even began to build a huge base of nuclear submarines. But an extremely important field for defense was discovered at a time when science and the country's military-industrial complex were almost at the very peak of the crisis - in 1992.

However, this is only partly a happy accident. The leader of the expedition that made the discovery was the famous volcanologist Heinrich Steinberg. And he is known not only for his scientific achievements, but also for his ability to get out of the most difficult life situations.

The biography of this scientist reads like an adventurous adventure novel. Steinberg was a friend of the famous poet, Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky and the main character of Andrei Bitov's story "Journey to a Childhood Friend". In 1961, he became the first person to descend into the crater of the active Avachinsky volcano in Kamchatka. When in 1969 it was decided in the USSR to send a scientist into space, Heinrich Steinberg entered the final list of applicants. If not for the rejection of the idea of ​​sending scientists into space after the death of the crew of the Soyuz-11 spacecraft, Steinberg had every chance of becoming the first space volcanologist.

However, even despite this failure, Genrikh Semenovich may well be considered one of the godfathers of the unique spacecraft. In the same 1969, he became the head of an expedition that carried out sea trials of the lunar rover in Kamchatka. In order to carry out these tests on time, the impudent volcanologist went to a boldness unprecedented in Soviet conditions: he bought fuel for cash. As expected, the authorities who authorized this operation went into the bushes. And Heinrich Steinberg was taken into circulation by the OBKhSS. The world-famous volcanologist had to work as an electrician in a boiler room.

Many would not have recovered from such a blow. But Steinberg managed to stay on his feet and step by step restore his scientific career. By the 1980s, under his leadership, a methodology for predicting volcanic eruptions was developed. At the end of April 1989, an article was published in the Sakhalin press with a frightening title "Left before the eruption ...". And a week later, an eruption began on the Grozny volcano on Iturup Island.

The revived volcano was located at a distance of only 8 kilometers from the military center of the Kuriles - the village of Goryachie Klyuchi. Steinberg instantly became one of the authoritative people in the region. Perhaps that is why, even in the hungry year of 1992, the administration of Sakhalin found money for a new expedition to explore volcanoes. And in 1999, three days before the eruption, the governor of the region and the Ministry of Emergency Situations received a radiogram with the date of the start of the Kudryavoy eruption and the reliability (95%) of this forecast. Which turned out to be accurate.

Control over the state of any volcano is an occupation associated with exceptional extreme sports. Volcano Curly on Iturup Island is no exception. “In order to take gas samples from the same point, we had to install special ceramic pipes in the crater of the volcano,” Heinrich Steinberg himself recalls the moment of discovery. For this we dug a hole on the site. The temperature on its surface reached 500°. And even in rubber boots or felt boots on rubber, it was possible to hold out there for no more than 2-3 minutes. In one of these short shifts, my colleague Sergei Tkachenko pulled out a piece of rock with a silvery sheen with a shovel. I have never seen anything like this on volcanoes and I decided to myself: this is the material for a small note in a scientific journal.

But everything turned out differently. The mysterious specimen was taken to Moscow. And by the end of 1992, two leading scientific institutions came to a stunning conclusion. This is not molybdenite at all, for which scientists originally took it. It is a mineral containing one of the rarest metals in the world - rhenium.

Rhenium as it is

The discoverer of rhenium can safely be considered Dmitri Mendeleev. As early as 1870, the author of the Periodic Table of the Elements predicted the coming discovery of a compound with an atomic weight of 180. Over the next 50 years, various chemists often announced that they had succeeded in fulfilling Mendeleev's prediction. But each time these victorious reports turned out to be a bluff. Only in 1925, the German scientists Walter and Ida Noddak managed to discover this rarest stable metal in the world. In honor of the river Rhine, it was dubbed rhenium.

Most people have never heard of rhenium. But in the narrow world of scientists and industrialists, it is valued more than platinum. Without rhenium, for example, it is impossible to create modern aircraft. This metal is used for the production of aircraft engine blades. Two more areas of application are the creation of high-precision equipment like gyroscopes and the synthesis of high-octane gasoline grades. In America and Germany patented ways to create rhenium filters for cleaning automotive exhaust gases.

But the victorious march of rhenium is held back by one insulting circumstance. “A wide range of applications for rhenium has never been considered due to the acute shortage of this metal on the planet,” Albert Besser, deputy head of the State Research Institute for Non-Ferrous Metals, explained the situation to me. Until 1992, it was even believed that there were no actual deposits of rhenium on Earth.

Metal was mined along the way (and is still being mined) from copper and molybdenum ores. As a result of a complex technological process, during the roasting of the concentrate from gases, in addition to the main products, rhenium is also obtained. To extract a kilogram of rhenium, it is necessary to grind from a thousand to two thousand tons of ore. Not surprisingly, world production of rhenium rarely exceeds 40 tons per year. And the price of one kilogram of metal ranges from 1 to 4 thousand dollars.
At the same time, the demand for rhenium in the world is constantly growing. In 2002, the shortage of this metal in the United States, for example, amounted to 30%. This year, the price of rhenium on the London Metal Exchange reached a record high for the past twenty years - $ 3,800 per kilogram.
Until 1991, the inhabitants of the Kremlin could safely consider themselves world-class rhenium magnates. One of the three main centers for the production of rhenium on the planet - the Dzhezkazgan plant of non-ferrous metals - was located precisely on the territory of the USSR. But after the collapse of the Union, the title of the rhenium superpower passed to Kazakhstan.

In the early 90s, our Kazakh brothers were engaged in rhenium dumping and managed to collapse the world price of this metal. But the brief moment of rhenium abundance was again replaced by a deficit. The consumption of rhenium in America began to grow at an unprecedented rate. According to the US Bureau of Mines, in 2003 the Yankees “ground” 20 tons of the precious metal. And in 2005 - already 35 tons. With all this, attempts to find a cheaper and more affordable alternative to rhenium have not been successful. And in the meantime, another powerful participant entered the rhenium race - China - with its growing economy by leaps and bounds.

Under these conditions, the global rhenium structure does not work in favor of our industry, which has just begun to rise from its knees. “The trouble is that the world's rhenium reserves are mostly bought up by the Americans. We have to scrape up the remains,” Yevgeny Vygovsky, deputy director of the State Research Institute of Rare Metals, told me.

Chile, the main producer of rhenium in the world, is tied to long-term contacts with the United States. The same applies to Mexico. As for Kazakhstan, everything is not easy here either. While Russia was writhing in the crisis of the 90s, the leading positions in the raw material sector of the republic were won by the Yankees. And now the Chinese are more and more actively entering the country, to the extreme annoyance and fright of its inhabitants.

But the captains of Russian industry can make a knight's move: remember the discovery of 1992. Another thing is that for this you will have to enter absolutely unknown scientific and technological territory.

How to extract?

This is not the first time Kudryavy Volcano has become an arena for mining activity. Even during the Japanese rule, sulfur was mined here. The former owners of the island even built 4 kilometers of cable car here. But mining sulfur is one level of difficulty, and rhenium is another.

First about the good. The world's first deposit of rhenium proper is located on the volcano. Moreover, according to expert data from the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, renewable reserves of rhenium in gases are estimated at 36.7 tons per year. This means that global metal production could be doubled. How long will this lava last? The ace of volcanology Heinrich Steinberg assures that the entire period of the volcano's life. And these natural objects are exceptionally tenacious. A thousand years for them is the same as a minute in a human life. Steinberg is convinced that Kudryavy is guaranteed at least another 15,000 years.

But there are also plenty of fly in the ointment in a barrel of honey. Volcanoes have a habit of erupting occasionally. Over the past 250 years, this has happened to Kudryav at least three times: in 1778, 1883 and 1999. Nobody can guarantee that it won't happen again. If this happens, then all equipment installed at a possible future rhenium mine will be lost. But this does not apply to human lives. Modern science can accurately predict volcanic eruptions weeks in advance. Therefore, today awakened volcanoes destroy people only in third world countries.

The main hitch is elsewhere. The late scientist from the Institute of Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Rare Elements, Felix Shaderman, developed, patented and successfully tested a method for extracting rhenium from volcanic gas at Kudryavoy. “In order to extract rhenium from gas on the crater, you will have to build a dome up to 800-900 square meters in size. meters. Nothing like this has ever been done in the world. There are simply no analogues of such technology,” Leonid Chistov, head of the Raw Materials Department of the State Research Institute of Rare Metals, told me.

Heinrich Steinberg, however, is sure that all technological difficulties can be overcome. And the financial risk on the current scale of the bosses of Russian industry is not serious at all: “The whole project will require investments of $ 20 million over 7 years. Moreover, investments will more than pay off in two years after the project reaches the specified capacity.”

In any case, all the scientists I consulted are convinced that playing Kudryavoy is worth the candle. “You ask if the world market for rhenium will collapse if the mine at Iturup starts working? - Albert Besser was seriously offended by my question. “Honestly, I don't care. The main thing is the defense of the country. If our access to rhenium is finally cut off, our military aircraft simply cannot fly!”

Other experts are completely convinced that a new rhenium deposit can not only give us a guarantee against the intrigues of our foreign friends. “The real need for rhenium in Russia exceeds the current volume of its world production of 40 tons. It is spent as much as they find. Out of desperation, one has to use either low-rhenium alloys or alloys with worse characteristics. But if there was plenty of rhenium, then, for example, the resource of aircraft engines could increase significantly!” - convinced, for example, Evgeny Vygovsky.

Leonid Chistov also sees bright prospects: “When rhenium appears, new technological horizons will open, which we simply cannot imagine now.”

In the last years of Stalin's life in the USSR, it was customary to assert that almost all the most important scientific discoveries were made by our compatriots. In recent decades, we have become accustomed to something else. All technological breakthroughs occur in America, Europe, the same Japan, but not in Russia. By itself, the rhenium mine, of course, will not reverse this sad trend. Moreover, it will even confirm our current status as a resource country. But the “attack on Curly” will show that our industry is capable of completely new and daring moves. Perhaps it is precisely such actions that Russia lacks most of all now.

Problems of the global rhenium market

According to the experts of "Lipmann Walton & Co Ltd.", rhenium currently remains one of the "backwaters" of the periodic table. Its average content in the earth's crust is very low - 4 parts per billion. In molybdenum sulfide concentrates, where it is sometimes found, its content reaches 250 parts per million.

According to estimates, the total world production of this metal is about 40 tons, with 90% of the primary production accounted for by its three producers. Rhenium is one of the few metals for which China is not a major producer.

At present, relatively small amounts of rhenium are used for vapor deposition, filaments for spectrographs and special halogen lamps, and anodes for X-ray equipment. The dominant sphere of its consumption is energy. The refinery industry uses bimetallic catalysts containing rhenium to reform oil, and in the aerospace sector, rhenium is an ingredient in nickel-based alloys (3% or 6%) used in turbine blades.

Rhenium prices are not listed in Metal Bulletin. However, at $3,200/kg ($99.5/troy oz), it is currently reported to be in eighth place among the most expensive metals. The price of APR rhenium reached its historical maximum of $3,306/kg in 1980, rising to this level in about two years from $771/kg. Then there was a sharp drop in prices, and after a series of fluctuations in 1995 they fell to $300/kg. Now the metal is again rising sharply in price.

Why has rhenium prices increased so much in recent months? In reality, growth rates are more apparent than real. For a long time they rose slowly. For 30 years, the supply base of this metal has not changed and depended on a single producer - the Chilean company Molymet, which still provides over 60% of the world's primary production of rhenium. This world's largest producer of molybdenum benefited in the 1970s from the initial relocation of a rhenium recovery plant and equipment from North America to Chile. Until then, the main production of rhenium was carried out in North America, Germany and Kazakhstan.

For many years in Chile, the by-product recovery of molybdenum sulfide concentrates from copper mining was carried out in order to ship them for roasting. However, earlier mining companies did not attach importance to the content of rhenium in concentrates due to its low concentration. But with the growing demand for this metal, concentrate producers are already wondering about its return, as is the case with gold, silver, palladium and platinum contained in such raw materials.

While companies processing molybdenum sulfide ores on the basis of tolling contracts may not be happy about this development, world trade should consider it favorable for the functioning of the market. In the absence of due attention to the cost of by-product metals, which has often been observed in the past, this value will simply be wasted. Even with rhenium supply tight, many companies that require the metal (particularly aircraft engine manufacturers) are leaking it into nickel scrap used to smelt stainless steel and ultimately to make knives and forks. , instead of returning rhenium to the production of aircraft engines or catalysts.

The sad thing is that until the cost of rhenium reaches a level that is noticeable to interested consumers, a significant amount of this metal will continue to be lost during the processing of ores.
For comparison, we can cite the example of palladium, which in the 1970s, before the introduction of European environmental legislation regarding the composition of car exhaust gases, was sold at a price of about 40 dollars per ton. oz. (1286 dollars / kg), and then rose sharply. Now at a price of $350/tr. oz. and no one above will simply give away this metal.

Experts are wondering what will eventually balance the rhenium market. The only region of the world where this metal was always saved and never lost was the former USSR. The largest copper producer Dzhezkazgan, currently owned by Kazakhmys, is located in the center of the Kazakh steppe. In October 2005 it was listed on the London Stock Exchange. The enterprise annually produces about 450 thousand tons of copper and extracts approximately 8.5 tons of rhenium (about 24% of the primary production of this metal), and the existing capacities allow the production of rhenium in even larger volumes.

However, the situation here is complicated by the 10-year-old struggle between the mining company and the smelter for the right to rhenium. Another contender is the rare earth plant "Dzhezkazganredmet" of the Ministry of Complex Processing. Perhaps last year's registration of Kazakhmys on the London Stock Exchange will help this company take the position of the second rhenium producer in the world. In any case, the political battles are not over and only a small amount of material was exported during the year.

The situation with rhenium is similar to that which occurs from time to time for each of the associated metals, when they gradually increase in commercial demand. In the case of rhenium, the rate of growth in demand cannot be met by the current supply chain. Nowhere, except for Chile and Kazakhstan, rhenium is produced for its own sake. The challenge for the rhenium market is to find where the metal is currently being lost and put it back into the supply chain. Given the low content of rhenium in the earth's crust, it is unlikely that additional sources of this metal will be associated with the mining sector.

strategic metal
rhenium began to be mined from the Kudryavy volcano

Experimental work by Russian scientists to extract rhenium from disulfide, which is emitted by the Kudryavy volcano on Iturup Island in the form of gas and deposited on its slopes, was crowned with success. As ITAR-TASS was informed at the Institute of Volcanology and Geodynamics of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, scientists managed to extract the first 9 grams of rhenium.

This strategically valuable metal is used in the military-industrial complex and, first of all, in the aerospace sector. In the Soviet Union, metal was mined in the republics of Central Asia. On the territory of Russia, the only deposit of rhenium is located on Iturup (however, Japan disputes the ownership of this island).

According to scientists, the Kudryavy volcano annually emits over 20 tons of rhenium. Russia's demand is about 5 tons. In total, 25-30 tons of rhenium is mined annually in the world, which is contained in molybdenum concentrate and is hardly extracted from its crystal lattice. 1 kg of this extremely rare metal, which is extremely scattered in the earth's crust, costs from 1.5 to 3.5 thousand dollars on the world market.

Rhenium. Establishment of production for the processing of man-made waste in order to obtain nanopowders of rhenium and other metals

The first industrial production of high-quality nanocrystalline rhenium powders will be created in Russia by recycling industrial waste. Rhenium production capacity by 2015 will be 960 kg per year. Another type of product will be nano- and ultrafine powders of associated metals (tungsten, molybdenum, cobalt and nickel).

Objective of the project

Creation of industrial production of high-quality nanocrystalline rhenium powders by recycling industrial waste.

The project is based on the complex processing of technogenic raw materials, which are subjected to air-plasma oxidation.

The products of the project will be high-quality nanocrystalline rhenium powders. Another type of product will be nano- and ultrafine powders of associated metals (tungsten, molybdenum, cobalt and nickel). The products of the project are strategically necessary for the development of the Russian aircraft industry, the space industry, the catalyst and radio-electronic industries, which are currently heavily dependent on foreign supplies of rhenium.

Project participants

• State Corporation "Rosnanotech"
• OOO Global Invest (applicant)
• Adron LLC (co-investor)

The development of initial data and design of processing processes, support of development work, organization and support of equipment installation and commissioning will be carried out by specialists of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise NPO Radium Institute named after N.N. V.G. Khlopin.

Specialists of the Russian Chemical-Technological University. Mendeleev will be involved in the development of initial data and the design of processing processes.

The unit for air-plasma oxidation of feedstock will be designed by specialists from St. Petersburg State Polytechnical University.

Project financing

The total project budget is 194 million rubles, of them:

RUSNANO Group of Companies RUB 79 mln LLC Global Invest Contributes to the authorized capital exclusive rights to the results of intellectual activity, including know-how LLC Adron RUB 111 mln

Implementation stages

• The launch of the first phase of production is planned for 2012.
• It is planned to reach the nominal production capacity of the project company (960 kg of rhenium per year) by the end of 2013.

Project progress

September 2009 RUSNANO's Supervisory Board approved the corporation's participation in the project...

Reference

Rhenium

Rhenium- an extremely rare element, extracted during the extraction of copper and molybdenum. Primary production of rhenium in 2008, according to U.S. Geological Survey amounted to 62.6 tons, or about 86% of world consumption. In addition to primary production, a regular source of rhenium is the processing of spent catalysts from the oil industry. In 2008, the world production of rhenium through the processing of catalysts amounted to 6 tons. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, in 2008, 78% of rhenium was used in the manufacture of heat-resistant alloys (including for military and space technology), 15% - for the production of platinum-rhenium catalysts for oil cracking and reforming, about 5% of rhenium is used in electronics and electrical engineering.

Application of rhenium

Rhenium-based alloys and alloys alloyed with rhenium are used as structural materials for aircraft engines and spacecraft, in the nuclear industry. One of the main applications of rhenium is its use in the structural material of the blades of gas turbine engines and power plants. Molybdenum-rhenium alloys are used in the construction of high-temperature nuclear power plants. Nozzles of rocket engines and structural elements of aircraft engines, which are subject to high requirements for heat resistance, are also made of rhenium alloys. Taking into account the increasing requirements for aircraft engines in terms of efficiency, it is obvious that the creation of promising aircraft engines without the use of rhenium-containing alloys is impossible. For example, their use in the design of Boeing aircraft made it possible to reduce the number of engines from 4 to two. At the same time, despite a noticeable reduction in the mass of the aircraft, its power was preserved.

Rhenium - an element of the periodic system, is a gray metal

Rhenium - an element of the periodic system, is a gray metal. Rhenium is one of the rarest elements in the earth's crust. It is most often found as an admixture of other metals, usually molybdenum and tungsten. Currently, it is economically profitable to extract rhenium from only 1 deposit, it is located in the east of our country. Rhenium, the price of which began to rise only after this element was used in industry, looks like steel. In terms of physical properties, rhenium most of all resembles tungsten, in terms of melting point rhenium is second only to it, and in terms of density it is the 4th of all metals. Rhenium, which costs about $10,000 per kilogram, is considered an expensive metal. Even more is the cost of high-purity rhenium. The extraction of rhenium per year does not exceed 40 tons worldwide.

At low temperatures, rhenium is plastic, but after processing, its rigidity increases greatly. If it is necessary to restore plasticity, rhenium is annealed in vacuum or hydrogen. This metal does not lose strength even after repeated heating. The strength of this metal at 1200 C is higher than that of molybdenum and tungsten.

Most often, rhenium is used in the manufacture of catalysts needed for the synthesis of high-octane gasoline. Thanks to rhenium, it was possible to eliminate the presence of lead compounds in gasoline, which previously had a negative impact on the environment. Thermocouples using rhenium and tungsten are capable of measuring temperatures up to 2200 C. Rhenium is used as an additive to other metals and alloys, it simultaneously increases the strength and ductility of alloys. Due to the properties of this metal, contacts are made from rhenium that can be cleaned independently. The rhenium oxide resulting from the closing of the circuit evaporates without impairing the characteristics of the contacts.

Wolframoff manufactures pure rhenium. We accept orders. Quality control ensures that products comply with all necessary GOST and TU standards. The proportion of impurities in our rhenium does not exceed acceptable values, and the prices are fully competitive.

Rough bars	Rough bars	Reinforced plates
Sheets are jagged	Crucibles jealous	Pipes are jagged
Pancakes are jealous	The boat is jealous	Corrugated plate
Jealous ring	Reinforced plate	The detail is jealous
Rhythmic electrode	Hoop jealous	Wire electrode inserts
Wheels are jealous	Massive plate	Tugli jealous
bolts	The wire is jealous	Reticle mesh

Brief description of the global rhenium market

On September 5, 1925, at a meeting of German chemists in Nuremberg, the discovery of rhenium was announced. The following year, a team of scientists isolated the first 2 mg of rhenium from the mineral molybdenite (MoS2). The first gram of comparatively pure rhenium was obtained in 1928.
In order to get 1 gram of rhenium, more than 600 kg of Norwegian molybdenite had to be processed.

The first industrial production of rhenium was organized in Germany in the 30s. Modest in scale - the plant's capacity was only 120 kg per year, it fully satisfied the world's demand for this metal.
After the outbreak of the Second World War, the United States began to extract rhenium from molybdenum concentrates and in 1943 received 4.5 kg of its own rhenium.
Since then, the number of rhenium-producing countries has increased significantly. In addition to the United States, this metal is extracted from minerals in Chile, Kazakhstan, Peru, Norway, Germany, Belgium and Sweden.

Rhenium occurs as an isomorphic admixture in more than 50 minerals-carriers of molybdenite, chalcopyrite, etc., in the form of its own mineral dzhezkazganite, and also in coals. Its elevated concentrations are observed in copper sulfides and molybdenites (MoS2), where rhenium replaces molybdenum isomorphically. In porphyritic molybdenite-chalcopyrite ores, its concentration can reach 400-800 g/t.

The world's only rhenium deposit was discovered in 1992 on the Kudryavy volcano, Iturup Island, South Kuril Islands. The field is represented by a fumarole field with permanent sources of high-temperature deep fluids - fumaroles. Rhenium is in the form of the mineral rheniite (kurilite) ReS2, with a structure similar to molybdenite.

In practical terms, the most important raw materials for obtaining primary rhenium on an industrial scale are molybdenum and copper sulfide ores. In the overall balance of production, the production of primary rhenium on an industrial scale in the world accounts for about 80%. The rest falls on secondary raw materials.

The world practice of rhenium production is based on its associated extraction from molybdenum or copper concentrates. During the flotation enrichment of molybdenum, copper-molybdenum and copper ores, from 40 to 80% of the rhenium in the ore passes into flotation concentrates.
The largest losses of rhenium occur during the roasting of concentrates and during the smelting process. According to existing technologies, molybdenum concentrates are necessarily subjected to oxidative roasting at 550...6500C.
Rhenium is also oxidized to Re2O7 oxide. And this oxide is volatile (boiling point is only 362.40C). As a result, a lot of rhenium goes into the flue gas pipe. The degree of sublimation of rhenium depends on the firing conditions and the design of the furnace: in multi-hearth furnaces it is 50-60%, in fluidized bed furnaces - up to 96%. To capture rhenium from gases, plants install complex systems of cyclones, scrubbers, and electrostatic precipitators.

Rhenium can also be extracted from another semi-product of molybdenum production - from solutions obtained by leaching molybdenum cinder.
Rhenium is also extracted from copper concentrates during electric smelting (or any other smelting) and matte conversion in the form of oxide sublimations and is concentrated in electrostatic precipitator dusts and wet gas cleaning solutions of sulfuric acid production.

With all the variety of technological schemes used for the processing of rhenium-containing intermediates at metallurgical plants, two main stages in the production of rhenium can be distinguished: the transfer of its compounds into solutions and the isolation of metal from them.
Depending on the composition, these intermediates (most often pulverized) are leached with solutions of alkalis, acids or salts, and sometimes simply with hot water. From the solutions obtained in this way, rhenium is extracted by adsorption, ion exchange, extraction, electrolysis, or poorly soluble rhenium compounds, such as ammonium perrhenate (NH4ReO4), are precipitated.
To obtain rhenium powder, ammonium perrhenate is reduced with hydrogen in tube furnaces at 8000C. This powder is then converted into a compact metal - mainly by powder metallurgy methods, less often by zone melting and melting in electron beam furnaces. In recent decades, new methods have been developed for the hydrometallurgical processing of rhenium-containing concentrates. These methods are more promising, primarily because there are no those huge losses of rhenium that are inevitable in pyrometallurgy.

The proportion of rhenium obtained by processing secondary rhenium-containing raw materials (spent oil reforming catalysts and heat-resistant alloys) is constantly increasing.
Currently, the world production of rhenium is growing steadily, in 2008 it amounted to 57 tons.

Canadian company MetalCORP Ltd. announced an increase in the resources of its rhenium-molybdenum project Player (Playter)

Canadian company MetalCORP Ltd. announced an increase in resources for its Playter rhenium-molybdenum project, located in northern Ontario, Canada, within the company's copper-zinc-gold Big Lake prospect.

By the end of May, MetalCORP had completed ten wells, bringing the total to sixteen; the drilling program for the 2008 calendar year involves the drilling of 60-100 wells with a total length of 20 thousand tons. The company announced on May 28 that the new data allowed it to increase its estimate of the size of the ore body by 50% to 7.5 million tons.

Initially this project was molybdenum, but studies have shown unusually high rhenium levels in addition to significant silver contents. According to the company's report, the average thickness of the mineralization zone for sixteen wells is 5.8 m, the average content of molybdenum is 0.13%, rhenium - 1.05 g/t, silver - 3.78 g/t.

Earlier, a representative of MetalCORP reported that by the end of this year, the company hopes to begin work on the preparation of a feasibility study for the project. Once funding is secured, construction of the mine can be quickly completed as the deposit is relatively shallow, extending from the surface to a depth of about 550 m -- Mineral

Ivanhoe to increase Mount Dore reserves by at least 58,000 tons of molybdenum and 97 tons of rhenium

Ivanhoe will increase its Mount Dore reserves by at least 58,000 tons of molybdenum and 97 tons of rhenium.
Canadian miner Ivanhoe Mines has published the results of exploration drilling at the Merlin molybdenum and rhenium deposit in Australia (part of the Mount Dore polymetallic deposit), the company said.

With a cut-off molybdenum grade of 0.3%, Merlin's estimated reserves will amount to 5.2 million tons of ore with an average grade of 1 percent molybdenum and 16 g/t rhenium - a total of 52 thousand tons of molybdenum and 83 tons of rhenium.
The resources of the deposit are estimated at 3.5 million tons of ore with a molybdenum content of 0.8 percent, rhenium - 14 g / t, in total - 28 thousand tons of molybdenum and 49 tons of rhenium.
With a cut-off molybdenum content of 0.1%, it is expected that the deposit reserves will amount to 10 thousand tons of ore with an average molybdenum content of 0.6%, rhenium - 10 g/t, in total - 58 thousand tons of molybdenum, 97 tons of rhenium.
Resources are expected at the level of 5.8 million tons of ore, the content of molybdenum in the ore will be 0.5 percent, rhenium - 10 g / t, in total - 29 thousand tons of molybdenum and 58 tons of rhenium.

In addition to rhenium and molybdenum, the Mount Dore deposit contains copper, zinc, silver, gold, lead and cobalt.
As PRIME-TASS previously reported, Ivanhoe and its strategic partner Rio Tinto are also developing the Oyu Tolgoi gold and copper deposit in Mongolia. Industrial production is scheduled to start in 2013.
Ivanhoe Mines develops deposits of non-ferrous and precious metals in Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Australia. -- Prime-TASS

From 2012, Kennecott Molybdenum, USA will independently produce rhenium

Kennecott Molybdenum Co (a division of Rio Tinto) expects that when a plant using the so-called Molybdenum Autoclave Process (MAP) becomes operational in 2012 at its Bingham Canyon mine in Utah, the company will receive 3-5 tons of rhenium per year. The cost of this project is 275 million dollars.

The MAP project will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2011 and reach full capacity in 2012, as Kennecott Molybdenum spokesman at The International Minor Metals Conference organized by the Minor Metals Trade Association in Istanbul said. the extraction of rhenium from processed ores will be about 90%, which will make it possible to produce 3-5 tons of metal annually. Rhenium for Kennecott is currently recovered on a tolling basis at plants with equipment that achieves recoveries of 60%. The use of highly efficient MAP technology will provide an additional 1.5-2 tons of rhenium. The company believes that, driven by demand from aerospace and petrochemical catalyst manufacturers, the rhenium market will return to a deficit in the medium term; under these conditions, additional material will be required.

Kennecott Molybdenum plans to produce high quality ammonium perrhenate for use in both catalyst and rhenium metal production.
The MAP technology will also allow Kennecott to process low-quality concentrates with up to 20% molybdenum and up to 5% copper, which will provide more flexible mine planning and significantly improve the sustainability of operations. It is expected that by the third quarter of 2012 the processing capacity of the plant for processing low-quality concentrates will reach 13.6 thousand tons (30 million pounds) of molybdenum per year, in the next 10 years it will increase to 27.2 thousand tons (60 million pounds) .