The Importance Of Rare Elements
It is easy to underestimate how some critical technologies are entirely reliant on ultra-rare elements barely known by most investors or even metallurgists. So, in addition to more well-known metals like platinum, titanium, or tungsten, there are rare ones like gallium, antimony, or rhodium (follow the links for a dedicated investment report for each).
Another ultra-rare metal is rhenium. It is produced in barely a few dozen tons per year but is absolutely indispensable for jet turbines, gas power generation, rocket engines, and the production of high-octane fuel.
This makes rhenium an important metal for several key industries, such as energy and air travel, and a strategic metal for the defense sector. It is likely to become increasingly important over time.
Rhenium Factsheet
Rhenium is the 77th least abundant element in the periodic table, nowhere mined for itself, but only found in small quantities (part per million) in other metallic ores. Most commonly, rhenium is found in molybdenum sulphide concentrates, which are byproducts of copper mining. Some molybdenum ores contain 0.001% to 0.2% rhenium.
So, as a by-product of a by-product of the mining industry, it is produced in very small quantities, around 60-70 tons per year. By far, Chile is the largest producer of rhenium, accounting for almost 60% of global production.
Source: Statista
Rhenium is considered non-toxic overall, with most tests done revealing very low toxicity levels and most risks associated with elements other than rhenium present in the ore or alloys. In pure form, it appears to be a greyish metal.
Source: SJM
Rhenium Market
Due to its small production volume, rhenium is a relatively small market. It was evaluated at $530M in 2022 and is expected to grow at a 4.84% CAGR until 2032.
Source: Market Research Future
Rhenium prices have been on a strong run-up in the last few years, since a low point in 2021, although they are still far from their previous spike in 2010-2012.
Source: Strategic Metal Invest
This trend might be accelerating, with rhenium prices having increased 120% between May and November 2024.
Rhenium Applications
Rhenium’s main application today is to be alloyed with nickel to create so-called superalloys, with a remarkable creep strength. This means that the superalloys do not accumulate slowly invisible damage over time, that can “creep” onto the material and lead to unpredictable sudden failure.
Usually, such alloys contain 3-6% of rhenium.
This is the application consuming today most of the world’s rhenium production, mostly in turbine blades needing to handle extreme heat and mechanical stress.
Source: ResearchGate
Jet Engines & Aeronautics
The main case of rhenium use is its presence in the blades of both commercial and military jet engines.
Source: Felix Berger
Because military aircraft jet engines tend to reach temperatures much higher than civilian aircraft, around 1,600°C (2,900°F), such engines require better blades and consume much more rhenium. As a result, Roskill (a Wood Mackenzie-owned company and leader in metals and materials supply chain intelligence) estimates the share of rhenium used for military aircraft at 37%. In comparison, the military aviation market represents only 11% of the total aviation market.
Rhenium’s high density, mechanical stability, and corrosion resistance also make it an important material for high-precision equipment like gyroscopes.
Rocketry
For the same reason as with jet engine blades, rhenium’s resistance to stress made it a key component of booster rockets for space launch rockets.
Notably, NASA has been using iridium-coated rhenium rocket chamber materials handling high temperatures of 2,200°C (4,000°F).
NASA is also investigating a “super metal” called GRX-810, “made of nickel, chromium, and cobalt, with a dash of tungsten, rhenium, and yttrium oxide”. GRX-810 can be 3D-printed and already offered by companies like 3D Systems.
Source: 3D Systems
As reusable rockets become more common due to SpaceX’s innovations, rocket engines are likely to become a major consumer of rhenium in the near future. The small amounts used are worth the price if they allow for more frequent or safer launches with less maintenance and risks.
Power Generation
Large gas-powered turbines are not very different from jet engines in that they require high temperature and stress tolerance, as well as the endurance to tolerate many tens of thousands of hours in operation.
Source: Chad Everett Harris
As coal power plants are being phased out in favor of less polluting gas-power generation, this might also be a growth sector for a little while, at least until more carbon-neutral alternatives like renewables or nuclear start taking over gas-power generation.
High-Octane Fuels
Rhenium can act as a catalyst in a process called catalytic reforming when mixed in a rhenium-platinum alloy. This process converts petroleum refinery naphthas with low-octane ratings into high-octane liquid products.
This was the first large-scale industrial application for rhenium and a major source of rhenium demand in the 1970s, when stricter pollution laws started to mandate the usage of higher octane fuels.
Other Catalysis
The catalytic potential of rhenium could extend beyond the production of fuel, with researchers studying its possible applications in green energy:
Other Industrial Applications
Rhenium is occasionally used for a variety of other applications, although this represents a small quantity of the total demand:
- Rhenium cathodes are used for their stability and precision in spectral analysis.
- Rhenium is used as a gasket material for high-pressure experiments in diamond anvil cells.
- Rhenium was investigated for the SP-100 (Small reactor Prototype), NASA’s concept of nuclear fission power systems for spacecraft.
Medical Applications
Rhenium isotopes 186Re and 188Re are radioactive and are used to treat liver cancer. They are also being investigated for the treatment of pancreatic cancer and other types of cancer.
Rhenium is also used in the manufacturing of X-ray tubes and radiation detectors.
Investing In Rhenium
Rhenium is rarely discussed, despite its importance in energy generation, air travel, defense, and fuel production.
It is also a sector with very concentrated production (see below for the largest producer), as few companies produce molybdenum and even fewer purify the resource further to extract rhenium.
Contrary to other strategic metals, it is one whose production is not under total dominance by China. Its importance for military aircraft and space exploration nevertheless makes it a metal likely to benefit from increased demand and stockpiling resulting from heightened international tensions.
It is actually possible to buy rhenium directly for investment in physical metal form, such as a 1 oz bar.
You can invest in rhenium-related companies through many brokers, and you can find here, on securities.io, our recommendations for the best brokers in the USA, Canada, Australia, and the UK, as well as many other countries.
If you are not interested in picking specific rhenium-related companies, you can also look into ETFs like VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF (REMX) which will provide a more diversified exposure to capitalize on the mining industry.
Or you can read our dedicated articles about “Investing In Platinum – The Universal Catalyst”, “Tungsten – The Secret High-Tech Metal“, “Investing In Titanium: Stronger than Steel and Denser than Aluminum”, and “Chinese Restrictions on Antimony Exports Highlight The Strategic Importance of this Metalloid”, which present similar opportunities and conditions with often ignored important strategic industrial metals.
Rhodium-Producing Company
Molymet (MOLYMET.SN)
Molymet is a Chilean company with the largest molybdenum and rhenium processing capacity in the world.
Molymet produces an approximate share in world processing capacity of 35% for molybdenum, and 70% for rhenium. However, it should be noted that molybdenum makes up the bulk of the company’s revenues, so investors will need to pay attention to this market as well.
Source: Molymet
Molybdenum is mostly used for the forging of specialty steels, especially engineering and stainless steels.
The company is profitable and has recently worked on reducing its debt-related risk, by reducing net debt from $481M in Q2 2023 to $226M in Q2 2024.
Most of the company’s foundries and offices are in Chile, with a few in Mexico, especially since the closing of its Belgian branch at the end of 2024.
Source: Molymet
Chinese buyers have been buying a lot of rhenium lately, with Chile’s exports to China rocketing by 190% between 2022 & 2023.
This is likely linked to the general rise of aeronautic production in China, from the launch of commercial airliners by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) to a massive military build-up, including the newly revealed 6th generation fight jet.
If China starts to stockpile rhenium the way it has accumulated other rare metals and rare earth elements, this could prove a boost to the metal’s price, and increase the income Molymet derives from it, being essentially the only supplier with the scale to answer to growing Chinese demand.
Overall, as more than half of the world’s steel in produced in China, Molymet’s profits are likely to be very correlated to the Chinese economy, something to take into account before investing in the company.
