High technology metals: Facts, Fiction and Recycling

摘要

In recent years, several expressions have been used to describe a group of commodities that are considered essential ingredients for technology development and economic prosperity. In some publications, these are referred to as "high technology metals" - a term that appears to have only a very broad and non-tangible definition - a definition that, in fact, would possibly fit the vast majority of chemical elements in the periodic table. The term "critical raw materials" (CRM) is much more widely used. The definition of CRM appears to be more stringent at first sight, as these are widely agreed to be of high economic importance / vulnerability and have a high supply risk.