Tag - metals

 
 

METALS

Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2023
Advances in solar panel technology set to squeeze silver supply
The precious metal, in paste form, provides a conductive layer on the front and the back of silicon solar cells, and newer cells may need up to twice as much per watt of power generated.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Jun 23, 2023
Smaller aerospace suppliers scramble for titanium and workers in shadow of travel boom
Labor shortages and delays are expected to remain a key concern for planemakers and large suppliers for more than a year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2023
Lithium producers warn supplies may not meet global EV demand
Staffing shortages, inflation and delays in issuing mine permission may hinder efforts to source enough of the battery metal to meet aggressive electrification timelines.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 5, 2023
Copper mine flashes warning of ‘huge crisis’ for world supply
Insiders say that the sheer length of time involved in bringing on new mines can rarely be shortened, even when exploration money is spent and a deposit found.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Mar 28, 2023
Recycling offers hope to safeguard net zero goals despite soaring metal demand
Concerns are currently growing about the environmental impacts of mining and producing metals required for clean technologies, from damage to biodiversity to rising emissions.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 22, 2023
Scientists newly confirm 1,350 km metallic structure at heart of Earth's inner core
The research studied waves from 200 earthquakes with magnitudes above 6.0 ricocheting like ping pong balls up to five times within the planet.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 14, 2023
We’re not even close to running out of green minerals
A U.S. Geological Survey suggests concerns over the securing of materials needed to shift to cleaner energy such as lithium, cobalt, copper and others may be overblown.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2023
Germany's Olaf Scholz visits South America in race with China for lithium
Nations like Germany are competing fiercely for increasingly scarce resources, and access to metals and rare earths is crucial for the transition to cleaner and more advanced economies.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 23, 2023
How Europe needs freight trains to cross Russia from China
Russia is at the center of a rail cargo route from China supplying Western arms manufacturers with a steady supply of rare metals used in modern weaponry.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 19, 2023
Thieves in Japan target Toyota Prius hybrids for platinum and palladium
There were 173 thefts of mufflers or catalytic converters in Chiba Prefecture last year, 16 times more than in 2021, according to local police.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 6, 2022
U.S. and EU weigh climate-based tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum
The move would mark a novel approach, usually employed in trade disputes, to further their climate agenda.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 16, 2022
Top-performing Japan stock fund Arcus bets on metals and chemicals
The Arcus Japan Fund has beaten all of its peers this year, generating double digit returns even as they have averaged a loss of 7%.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2022
Greening global economy brings dependence on critical minerals
Control over most of the essential elements for low-carbon technologies is concentrated in a handful of countries, none more than China.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 16, 2022
Bain Capital gains Chinese watchdog's nod on Hitachi Metals deal
Hitachi Metals announced last year that a consortium led by global private equity firm Bain Capital would buy all the shares of the Hitachi subsidiary for u00a5817 billion ($5.7 billion).
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 30, 2022
Secret data, tiny islands and a quest for treasure on the ocean floor
Mining firm The Metals Co. has worked hard to gain access to mineral-rich sea beds it says will help power the EV revolution, but its proposed operations worry environmentalists.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2022
Commodities will be the next market to succumb
The bulls may soon regret their enthusiasm as both demand and supply forces look as if they will soon start to depress prices.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2022
Dental fees to jump in Japan as palladium prices surge on Ukraine war
The change is expected to translate into a rise of several hundred yen in the cost for patients younger than 70 for each tooth treated with 'silver' fillings.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 6, 2022
Metals industry still buying needed supplies from Russia, for now
Firms are weighing the stigma of war against their own commercial interests and the fact that vital metals like aluminum and copper were in short supply even before the invasion of Ukraine.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 8, 2022
Ukraine invasion sets back Elon Musk's dream for cheaper EVs, for now
Rising prices of nickel, lithium and other materials threaten to slow and even temporarily reverse the long-term trend of falling costs of batteries.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 23, 2021
China cements rare earths dominance with merger to create new global giant
The country controls most of the world's mined output of rare earths, a broad group of 17 elements that are used in everything from smartphones to fighter jets.

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces