U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the U.S. Department of Defense to promote the production of large quantities of rare earth magnets for consumer electronics, military hardware and medical research, concerns that China would restrict exports.

Trump cited the 69-year-old Defense Production Act, once used to protect American steel-making capacity, to remedy what he called a "shortage" and to produce super-strong magnets made from rare earth minerals neodymium and samarium.

Trump issued a directive Monday that the ability of the United States to make magnets is "critical to national defense". Trump said that without action, U.S. industry "could not reasonably expect to provide production capacity for its products".

The Defense Production Act allows the President to prioritize contracts for materials, equipment and services in order to maintain or build domestic manufacturing capacity. It is used to force the purchase of semiconductor manufacturing equipment so that companies can produce military radiation-enhanced microelectronics - a niche market in which businesses may not invest themselves. It is also used to finance research and procurement projects in lithium-ion batteries, light ammunition and other technologies.

Trump’s June executive report said the United States needed a stable supply of key minerals to ensure its economic prosperity and defense. At that time, the Trump administration promised to take “unprecedented action” to ensure that the United States would not be disrupted by the supply of rare earths, a group of 17 minor but vital elements led by China.

Washington - The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) has completed negotiations on three cooperation agreement awards for the production of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) without the use of highly enriched uranium (HEU). After selecting potential winners in February, the awards were negotiated and agreed with suppliers.

"Mo-99 is an important medical isotope that enables us to fight heart disease and cancer," said Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty, director of the Department of Energy for Nuclear Security and NNSA. "These agreements will promote domestic production without the need for highly enriched uranium, greatly reducing the possibility of nuclear material proliferation."

Congress allocated $40 million to these incentives in fiscal year 2018 and $20 million in fiscal year 2019, and instructed the Department to issue a funding opportunity announcement to award cooperation agreements competitively. NNSA will fund each agreement at $15 million and require $15 million of matching funds for each awardee.

NNSA is supporting the establishment of surplus, reliable supply of Mo-99 produced in the US without the use of HEU. Mo-99 is used in more than 40,000 medical procedures in the United States every day, including the diagnosis of heart disease and cancer.

The American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2012 directed the National Nuclear Security Administration to cooperate with non-Federal entities to implement technology neutrality programs. The technology neutrality plan is open to all methods of producing Mo-99 and does not use highly enriched uranium.

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine explained that harvesting rare earth metals from the lunar surface is an example of how companies can profit from space exploration. "There may be a lot of platinum group metals and rare earth metals on the moon, which are very valuable on Earth," Bridenstine told "Squawk Alley" CNBC on Thursday. Bridenstine said that because of "ongoing investments in space," it would be realistic to extract these metals from the moon in the coming decades.

On the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, NASA leaders made predictions about the future of the space industry and how it could be profitable.

Bridenstine said that because of "ongoing investments in space," it would be realistic to extract these metals from the moon in the coming decades. "Billionaires are actually investing in space and exploration, and NASA can benefit from it," Bridenstine said.

Under the guidance of the White House, the agency aims to send astronauts to the moon in 2024 under its Artemis program. NASA signed an Artemis contract with Boeing and Lockheed Martin to build its giant "space launch system" rocket and Orion capsule. In addition, SpaceX and Blue Origin are developing spacecraft that can send goods and humans to the moon. Using these private technologies, Bridenstine believes NASA will be able to achieve its current goal of "less than $20 billion" on the moon.

He emphasized that NASA wanted to be a "customer of many companies", which he often commented on. NASA is increasingly reliant on private companies, and Bridenstine believes this will help the agency put humans on the moon faster than previously expected.

“The transformation that came from Apollo is unquestioned, and it’s good for the human condition,” Bridenstine added.

Scientists at the University of Kansas say adding a layer of two-dimensional semiconductor molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) can greatly improve the performance of organic solar cells. The research can also provide information for the design of interface between layers in hybrid organic batteries.

A team of scientists at the University of Kansas has found that combining organic semiconductor zinc phthalocyanine with a single layer of molybdenum disulfide atoms can greatly improve the performance of materials used as solar cells.

Using photoelectron spectroscopy equipment, the team was able to observe the behavior of electrons in the material. This has led to several discoveries about the interface between the two materials, which researchers say will enable them to identify new directions for the study of organic solar cells and two-dimensional semiconductors.

"As long as electrons can be transferred from one material to another in a relatively short time - less than a trillionth of a second, free electrons can be generated from the interface," Wai-Lun Chan said, associate professor of physics and astronomy, University of Kansas. "However, my graduate students and I have found that ultrafast electron transfer itself is not sufficient to ensure that light absorption produces free electrons. This is because "holes" prevent electrons from moving away from the interface. Whether electrons can break away from this binding force depends on the local energy landscape near the interface. "

Researchers say their findings will help further research to develop design principles for hybrid organic photovoltaic cells. "These detailed measurements enable us to reconstruct the trajectory of electrons and determine the conditions under which free electrons can be produced effectively," said Zhao Hui, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Kansas and co-author of the paper.

The number of rare earth patents between China and US is very different as of the end of October 2018. Some industry insiders pointed out that China may use its technology to form a greater competitive advantage in China-US confrontation in the future. The US government has been accused of lacking industry investment in the past.

Analysis of latest tungsten market from Chinatungsten Online

Chinese tungsten prices edge higher with the support of high production costs of raw materials, but trading volumes are still at a relatively low level. The market now is difficult to sell products at high prices and to buy cheaper products. 

The China rare earth market showed a weak but stable trend as a whole. Some product prices fell to some extent and actual transactions remained at a relatively low level. Most businesses now take a watchful stance for the outlook. 

The China molybdenum prices remained strong on active market trading and boosted market confidence. Firstly, due to the impact of heavy rains and overhaul of factories, the mining becomes difficulty, resulting in limited production of raw material molybdenum concentrate. 

Russian scientists have found that nanocrystal tungsten trioxide can replace barium for X-ray examination and also in cancer treatment. The results of the study are published in the Journal of Nanomaterials.

Because of the physicochemical properties of tungsten, especially the effective absorption of X-rays, its compounds are considered to be the possible basis for the production of new contrast agents. This method can be applied to compute tomography. Computer tomography (CT) is a method of visualizing internal organs. The method is based on one-dimensional or two-dimensional projections obtained by X-ray passing through tissues when the X-ray source and its relative detector rotate around the object at the same time.

In order to obtain high quality images, it is necessary to have significant visual differences in X-ray attenuation between organs. In order to better distinguish organs, normal and pathological structures, various contrast enhancement techniques are used. Usually this is done with the use of radiopaque agents that are injected in the form of solution. The maximum effect of radiation attenuation is achieved by using chemical elements with large mass atoms. When choosing these agents, it is necessary to consider five criteria for their clinical application in CT: effective radiation impermeability, selective distribution, lack of pharmacological and/or toxicological effects, stability in vitro and in vivo, cost and availability.

Today, only iodine and barium are used in radiography. However, in order to obtain comparative X-ray images of organs, a relatively large amount of pharmaceutical solution is required, which can cause discomfort and side effects.

Scientists from Kurnakov Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry and the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics RAS have found that tungsten can replace iodine and barium. They demonstrated the bio-safety of tungsten nanoparticles in human cells even at high concentrations, and developed a scheme for synthesizing highly crystalline tungsten trioxide nanoparticles, which could form the basis for new transmittance agents.

“Previously, we synthesized and investigated photochromic tungsten oxide nanoparticles, which have pronounced bactericidal activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, as well as selective photocatalytic activity against cancer cells, which can be used in perspective for photodynamic therapy of cancer. Our team works in two directions: development of a radiopaque agent and creation of a new class of photosensitizers for photodynamic cancer therapy.” - Anton Popov, one of the authors of the study, commented.

A Chinese company specializing in tungsten products and rare earths reported a sharp drop in overall profits last Monday, but profits in its rare earth business soared as metals necessary for high-tech products became hot commodities amid trade tensions.

According to media reports, Chinese regulators have begun to restrict imports of rare earths from Myanmar in recent weeks as part of an effort to tackle the problem of oversupply in domestic industries.

The news was hailed by domestic rare earth companies, whose share prices soared. In the competition for trade and technology with the United States, companies also benefit from government support for strategic industries.

Following calls by top leaders to upgrade China's rare earth industry, central and local government officials quickly took measures to promote innovation and research and development in the industry.

This is also because the officials said that they might restrict China's rare earth exports to the United States in retaliation for the latter's malicious attempt to curb China's economic and technological development.

China is the largest rare earth producer in the world, accounting for more than 85 percent of the world’s total output. High-technology companies in the US rely on Chinese rare earths to make products such as semiconductors and fighter jets.