Rare Earth Magnet pricing skyrocking

[Alessander]

I wasn't sure where to post this, I figured since 40K is the game system most associated with rare earth magnet conversions, i'd post here.

My business just got a letter from a vendor that they were drastically bumping up the price of their magnet-based products, and was having general problems getting some magnet-based products in stock.

Apparently Neodymium, the main metal used in rare-earth magnets which is primarily mined in China, had skyrocketed in price over the past year - from April 2010 to April 2011 it's more than tripled, and is climbing at a rate of nearly 10% a day. The pricing is not expected to go down any time in the new future.
(you can view the pricing history of Neodymium here (http://www.metal-pages.com/metalprices/neodymium/))

What this means for tabletop wargamers is that using magnets for quick weapon swaps just got a heck of a lot pricier, and will continue to go up for a while. Expect to see a shortage of rare earth magnets, coupled with some price gouging for the magnets available.

We've heard that some game companies have been dabbling with including magnets with their model kits (PP did a test run with their Bethayne-Belphegore box, and my FLGS owner heard that GW was experimenting with the idea) but this recent increase in magnet pricing may put a this tech on hold.

[James,]

It's a sad day when even magnets are going up that much. I say, how do they work eh?

James.

[eldargal]

It would be ironic if magnetising became more expensive than buying a whole new kit as demand forces prices up.:rolleyes: Assuming it is demand for neodymium which is forcing the price up and not restriction of supply.

[Capn Stoogey]

Sounds to me like GW has bought up all the worlds supply of Neodymium, massively inflating the cost of magnets, and forcing us to buy more of their kits... :eek:

[Skragger]

Allow me to present a quick solution my friends use to buying the magnets:

LEGO.

We use the really thin blocks (the ones you needed to stick 2 together to match the thickness of a normal block.

Its plastic, so it glues easy, paints easy, and holds together well. And lets face it, if you don't have LEGO lying about, you never had a childhood :D

[Lemt]

Allow me to present a quick solution my friends use to buying the magnets:

LEGO.

We use the really thin blocks (the ones you needed to stick 2 together to match the thickness of a normal block.

Its plastic, so it glues easy, paints easy, and holds together well. And lets face it, if you don't have LEGO lying about, you never had a childhood :D

You.
Are.
A.
GOD.

I have to go stockpile on Legos now, BRB.

EDIT: And when I was a kid, I played with Meccano instead of Legos. =P

[Iceman]

Do you have some example photos? I am having trouble figuring out how you would use Lego to do arm swaps or other smal swaps since Lego is fairly large comparatively.

[Skragger]

Do you have some example photos? I am having trouble figuring out how you would use Lego to do arm swaps or other smal swaps since Lego is fairly large comparatively.

Thats very true. I'll try to get a good picture (my camera = very blurry). What we do is use the single pip round pieces. Depending on what you're trying to attach to it there's varying ways you can make it work. With walkers, you know how Dreds come with a 'insert rod A into slot B (heh) setup for the arms? Just put one of the lego bits into the slot so its flush with the arm, and then cut the rod A off and replace it with another lego piece. It sticks out a bit funny, and if you want to be flush you just cut a small hole into the arm of the dred and insert the piece so they're flush.

For tank sponsons we just used the lego pieces to hold the guns rather than the plastic bitz. Its really hard to describe, so I'll try to grab some pics when I get home tonight =D

[Morgan Darkstar]

Allow me to present a quick solution my friends use to buying the magnets:

LEGO.

We use the really thin blocks (the ones you needed to stick 2 together to match the thickness of a normal block.

Its plastic, so it glues easy, paints easy, and holds together well. And lets face it, if you don't have LEGO lying about, you never had a childhood :D

my parents gave away my lego..... I WILL NEVER FORGIVE THEM!

[Skragger]

my parents gave away my lego..... I WILL NEVER FORGIVE THEM!

Make them pay by making them buy you magnets!

[Lerra]

My parents sold my legos =/ So sad.

This sounds like a great idea for attaching large weaponry or sponsons. You could use a 2x1 small piece to ensure that the weapon doesn't droop.

[Skragger]

Arr.. for all of you with unloving parents who threw out your lego (boo! hiss! it makes for great terrain too!), it's become incredibly cheap these days. You can buy little packs of bricks for about $3-5 CDN that will have everything you need to lego up your ladz. =D Much cheaper than the rare earth magnets!

[Quaade]

You're close, but it's far more sinister.
For years now the chinese government has welcomed foreign mining companies with open arms. Now that those companies are established and have so much equipment in China it would be disastrous to just abbandon it, the government jacked up the taxes on rare earths to the nth degree.

[Lane]

Been expecting this for a while.

Last year I heard that China was restricting it's exports of Rare Earth elements because they were needed for the expanding Chinese companies. Since 95% of all Rare Earth metals are mined in China it was expected to greatly increase prices. Now China does not have the majority of Rare Earth ore, just what is being mined. The US could restart mining operations here but would take 5-10 years to get to the level to counteract China.

[Crevab]

It would be ironic if magnetising became more expensive than buying a whole new kit as demand forces prices up.

Don't worry, GW will never let that happen. It's about that time for a price increase. :p

[DarkLink]

Allow me to present a quick solution my friends use to buying the magnets:

LEGO.

We use the really thin blocks (the ones you needed to stick 2 together to match the thickness of a normal block.

Its plastic, so it glues easy, paints easy, and holds together well. And lets face it, if you don't have LEGO lying about, you never had a childhood :D

I am set for life!

[plawolf]

Someone always tries to blame the Chinese on everything that goes wrong. :P But it's pretty rational and smart on their part. As already pointed out, they don't have the worlds biggest deposits of the stuff, but rather is just their stocks are exploited the most. Would you want to mine dry all your own deposits and sell it for peanuts now only to be forced to buy the same stuff from others a few years down the line at massively inflated prices? Rare earths are becoming increasingly important in future technologies and may prove as critical for future economies as oil is today.

But the main reason taxes and costs have gone up so much because rare earths are highly toxic to process and mining and refining it produces some pretty nasty left overs. It's not secret the Chinese have ignored the environmental import of growth in the past, but they are starting to pay more attention and trying to clean up their act. The reason Chinese rare earths were so cheap before was because companies were only paying to get the stuff out of the ground with little attention paid to the proper disposal of the highly toxic by products. All the Chinese have done now is slap a big clean up tax to pay for the clean up costs and ordered the worst mines to stop production until they have put in place measures to safely deal with the by products. It's the least any one of us would demand if the stuff was being mined and refined anywhere near where we lived.

But back on topic, I have just checked my usual magnets supplier in the uk and their prices are not much higher than I remembered. Certainly not 2-3 times higher.

I think I use magnets pretty liberally, but I only got about 70% through my last purchase, from over a year ago.

I put in an order anyways as I would expect prices to go up a little, but the main concern is that supply might run dry as the Chinese cut production just as all the big car makers start mass producing electric cars that uses up a lot of rare earths, so they might panic buy to make sure their production isn't disrupted.

[Xas]

TBH I think the reason for warhammer related magnet sizes price-incerases is all within the growing demand and limited number of sites who sell them so some companies may smell a quick buck.

the site I buy from hasnt increased their prices by any margin I would realize since my last bulk-purchase 6months ago.

basically its the same as with GW beeing able to sell super-glue for 5times as much as normal stores (like whatever your local all-purpose store is called...)

[Uncle Nutsy]

not to mention GW's brand of superglue is utter crap.