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Rare metals and rare earths
Rare earths of a lanthanum subset, or lanthanides, are applied in production of permanent magnets, in iron and steel industry and non-ferrous metallurgy, in nuclear, electronic, chemical and other industries. |
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Non-metals
Non-metals are chemical elements that form simple elements with no
metal-specific qualities. Non-metals typically include 22 elements: gases - hydrogen,
nitrogen,
oxygen, fluor, chlorine and inert gases; liquids - bromine; solids - boron, carbon,
silicon, phosphorus,
arsenic, sulphur,
selenium, tellurium, iodine, astatine. |
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back
The Romans invaded Britain and extracted the large deposits of copper and tin ore in Cornwall and Wales to satisfy their increasing domestic need for the production of bronze and alloys in AD43. International trade in metals could be said to have commenced in Britain then. The origins of the London Metal Exchange can be traced back as far as the opening of the Royal Exchange in London in 1571 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
It was there that traders in metal and a number of other commodities began to meet on a regular basis. At first metals were traded only on the domestic market, but when Britain soon became a major exporter of metals, European merchants joined in these activities.
In the early 19th century there were so many commodity traders, ship charterers and financiers using the Royal Exchange that it became impossible to do business there, and individual groups of traders set up shop in the nearby city coffee houses. The Jerusalem Coffee House off Cornhill became a favourite of the metal trading community. There the tradition of the Ring was born. A merchant with metal to sell would draw a circle in the sawdust on the floor and call out “Change” at which point all those wishing to trade would assemble around the circle and make their bids.
With the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century Great Britain became the most technologically advanced country and a major metal importer in the world. The metal traders were faced with a real problem because, having bought ores and concentrates from as far away as Chile and Malaysia, they had no way of knowing what the price would be at the time of the ships arrival. The import of large tonnages from overseas at irregular intervals put merchants and consumers seriously at risk. The invention of the telegraph and the opening of the Suez Canal came to their aid, making the cargo delivery dates more predictable. The delivery time of tin from Malaysia or copper from Chile matched now three months, and this gave rise to LME's unique system of daily trading dates for up to three months forward which still exists to this day.
As a number of deals grew, the traders formed the London Metal Exchange Company in 1877 and moved into their first premises over a hat shop in Lombard Court. Later a special building was built to this purpose in Whittington Avenue, where the company remained for 98 years. Then, after a period of 14 years at Plantation House in Fenchurch Street, the Exchange moved in 1994 to its current, prestigious home in Leadenhall Street. back |
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