Steel is arguably the most important structural material ever invented.

By discovering how to efficiently use oxygen to de-carburize iron, Henry Bessemer is often seen as the father of modern steelmaking. But the history of steelmaking has many important contributors and critical developments.

Stretching back 4000 years and including some of the wealthiest individuals ever, the history is itself a story of mankind's efforts to better understand metals and how to make them work for our own ambitions.

To read a brief history of steel, click here. Read More...

China recently released its first batch of rare earth element (REE) export quotas for 2012. Expected to total just over 30,000 metric tons this year (including provisional and second batch quotas), the amount of export quotas available has been relatively stable since large cuts drove up REE prices in 2009 and 2010.

Despite concerns about access to the metals, due to Chinese restrictions on their production and export, only a fraction of China's rare earth export quotas were used in 2011. China currently accounts for about 95% of global REE production. Rare earth metals are used to make high strength magnets and are critical to many alternative energy applications.

To read more about REE applications, as well as the history, production and properties of the metals, click here. Read More...

One of the highlights of 2011 for metals investors was the IPO for Glencore International AG, one of the world's largest metal trading companies.

A major player in the trading of copper and zinc for decades, Glencore is also invested in the production of aluminum, cobalt, lead and iron ore, as well as other major commodities, including crude oil, coal, grains and oilseeds. It is not surprising, then, that some refer to Glencore as the 'Goldman Sachs of the commodities world'.

Glencore's IPO was the London Stock Exchange's largest ever and the company was the first in 25 years to enter the FTSE 100 Index upon admission.

Some of Glencore's more valuable assets include a 34.4% stake in Xtrata Plc, a major copper, nickel, zinc and ferrochrome producer, 8.75% ownership of United Company Rusal, the world's largest aluminum producer and 75% ownership of Katanga Mining, a major cobalt producer in Africa.

To learn more about Glencore International AG, read the company profile here.

Spiegeleisen was an early form of ferro-manganese, an ingredient critical to the production of steel.

The first spiegeleisen, which literally translates from German as 'mirror-iron', was brought from Prussia to Britain in the mid-19th century and became of great interest to metallurgists who had been studying the affects of manganese in iron and steel production for years.

In 1856, the use of spiegeleisen in steel production was patented by Robert Forester Mushet, bringing attention to the use of ferro-manganese in steel making to the many competing metallurgists of the era.  However, early patents of the alloy contained roughly 8% manganese, 4% carbon, and 2% silicon and other elements, with the remainder consisting of iron; proportions not ideal for de-oxidizing steel.

Recognizing the deficiencies of Mushet's spiegeleisen, Henry Bessamer began development of a higher manganese content ferro-manganese produced from hematite and manganese oxide shortly thereafter.

Today, ferromanganese contains around 80% manganese content and about 4 million metric tonnes is consumed each year in the production of steel.

To learn more about manganese read the metal profile here. Read More...