"China is exploring limiting the export of rare earth minerals that are crucial for the manufacture of American F-35 fighter jets and other sophisticated weaponry, according to people involved in a government consultation. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last month proposed draft controls on the production and export of 17 rare earth minerals in China, which controls about 80 per cent of global supply." https://www.ft.com/content/d3ed83f4-19bc-4d16-b510-415749c032c1
"What are “Critical Rare Earths”? According to Dr. Alex King, U.S. Department of Energy, Ames Lab Director, critical refers to “the stuff you need the most but can’t get enough of.” In 2011, the US Department of Energy completed a study entitled, Critical Material Strategy. The study reviewed rare earths based on their role in clean energy as well as supply risk. They identified Neodymium (Nd), Europium (Eu), Terbium (Tb), Dysprosium (Dy) and Yttrium (Y) as critical rare earths (CREE) for both the short and long term. Rare Element includes Praseodymium (Pr) in this list because of its ability to be substituted for Neodymium in high-intensity permanent magnets." http://www.rareelementresources.com/rare-earth-elements/critical-rare-earths#.YCwjpmhKiUk
There was a 60 Minutes episode about this. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rare-e...ocean-floor-60-minutes-60-minutes-2019-11-17/
I'm watching it now. The difference today is that China just announced export restrictions. China has been trying to corner the Rare Earths market for awhile.
Read an article in the late 90's that they were buying much of the strategic minerals in Africa. They even contracted for future not yet dug/excavated 10+ years into the future. In my opinion a very smart move on their part. Wish the U.S. had done that.
its an investment in nations which are full of untapped resources, it's a type of colonialism all on its own. Debt-trap diplomacy, just another way to exploit Africans like the colonial powers which abused these resources many years ago.
It may be colonialism in a bad way as we see it. China is just looking after "Number One" , China. Right or wrong, I wish that the U.S. had that fore sight. I would rather pay X dollars for a product than 3X.
I wish that rare earth's were easier to purchase. Most you can buy are more playthings for those to be able to claim they own the element, but I am not interested in a few grams. I wish troy or higher were more easily purchasable.
Might just change them. They'll end up shooting themselves in the foot in the long run. Immediately yes they hold leverage, but if you make something unavailable or two expensive eventually it gets figured out how to do it without that material and their valuable resource is now something not needed. Quite frankly they need the money anyways and these things are almost always just a way to get something they want or to try and flex
Financial Times article linked above - “China targets rare earth export curbs to hobble US defence industry” defenCe industry? really? I could make a comment that would allow for this spelling, but I won’t, lol.
There are people who collect elements. My background is ceramics/material science and I've picked up a few element samples over the years (Yttrium, Ytterbium, Molybdenum and a few others). I toyed around with the idea of building a collection, but it never took off. I've also used rare earths during my career but they are usually purchased as compounds such as Oxides or Carbonates, not in their elemental forms Here are some sites that sell elements to collectors. In some cases, quantities greater than a few grams or milligrams can be prohibitively expensive due to their rarity or hazardous properties, but many elements are available in larger quantities (100 grams of Yttrium for $25 or 100 grams of Gadolinium for $23) https://luciteria.com/elements-for-sale https://www.novaelements.com/ NOTE: I have no first hand knowledge of these companies. Just posting for information
Actually, things will balance out, but unfairly . . . The communist Chinese leaders are exploiting China's natural resources at a feverish clip, and lining their pockets, leaving behind a poisonous wasteland to future generations.
Sounds like quite a number of (some former) communist countries. Soviet Union polluted the lakes to hell. We all know about the Chinese air quality. Very unfortunate
What about Africa? With a large push to develop Africa recently, what kind of shift do you think we can expect to see in rare earth metals?