Can China’s Dominance of Rare Earths Segment Be Broken?
In just a couple of decades, China has grown from a struggling communist country to a global economic superpower with a stranglehold on several crucial industries. Along with being one of the largest exporters and importers on the entire globe, China has been steadily monopolizing the rare earths segment.
Rare earths or metals are a set of 17 metals, including neodymium, terbium and scandium, that play a crucial role in the development of electronic goods. Although these metals technically aren’t “rare” in terms of deposits, they are incredibly hard to mine and extract because their deposits are usually mixed with radioactive elements such as thorium and uranium.
Rare earth metal production requires an additional stage where the rare metals are separated from radioactive elements and each other. Due to the complexity and costs involved with this additional stage, few countries have been able to set a foothold within the rare earth segment.
China, however, has managed to push out other major players and effectively monopolize the sector in only a few decades. The country was responsible for 38% of global rare metal production in 1993, followed by the United States at 33% and Australia at 12%. By December 2022, China accounted for 63% of global rare earth mining, 85% of rare earth processing and 92% of rare earth magnet production.
These rare metals are crucial in the development of goods as well as firearms, radar and sonar systems, guidance systems, stealth aircraft and missiles. They will also play a major role in the development of green-energy technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicle drivetrains.
China’s dominance in the rare earth segment gives it unprecedented power over most of the globe as it is the chief producer of rare metals.
For years, the United States and other countries have been keen on reducing their reliance on Beijing for these critical metals by bolstering local production or partnering up with other rare earth producers. The Biden administration has recently earmarked billions of dollars for boosting America’s power and transportation industries and rebuilding its semiconductor industry. Last March, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a $30 million investment into the research and development of a local supply chain for rare earth metals
Sweden also recently discovered immense deposits of rare earth deposits along its arctic region that could allow it to challenge China’s dominance of the sector and reduce the EU’s reliance on the Asian nation.
Senior fellow at the Center for Strategic International Studies’ Energy Security and Climate Change Program Jane Nakano notes that while it is “technically possible to build a rare earth metal supply chain in the U.S., the environmental and political factors involved make it challenging.”
CEO and founder of Boston-based nonprofit Product Stewardship, Scott Cassel is of the same opinion, stating that the environmental concerns involved with rare earth mining make it unappealing to many nations.
Extraction firms such as Ucore Rare Earth Metals Inc. (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF) have their work cut out to produce enough rare earth metals to satisfy the existing demand without overdependence on Chinese supplies.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/UURAF
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the MiningNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by MNW, wherever published or re-published: https://www.MiningNewsWire.com/Disclaimer
In just a couple of decades, China has grown from a struggling communist country to a global economic superpower with a stranglehold on several crucial industries. Along with being one of the largest exporters and importers on the entire globe, China has been steadily monopolizing the rare earths segment.
Rare earths or metals are a set of 17 metals, including neodymium, terbium and scandium, that play a crucial role in the development of electronic goods. Although these metals technically aren’t “rare” in terms of deposits, they are incredibly hard to mine and extract because their deposits are usually mixed with radioactive elements such as thorium and uranium.
Rare earth metal production requires an additional stage where the rare metals are separated from radioactive elements and each other. Due to the complexity and costs involved with this additional stage, few countries have been able to set a foothold within the rare earth segment.
China, however, has managed to push out other major players and effectively monopolize the sector in only a few decades. The country was responsible for 38% of global rare metal production in 1993, followed by the United States at 33% and Australia at 12%. By December 2022, China accounted for 63% of global rare earth mining, 85% of rare earth processing and 92% of rare earth magnet production.
These rare metals are crucial in the development of goods as well as firearms, radar and sonar systems, guidance systems, stealth aircraft and missiles. They will also play a major role in the development of green-energy technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicle drivetrains.
China’s dominance in the rare earth segment gives it unprecedented power over most of the globe as it is the chief producer of rare metals.
For years, the United States and other countries have been keen on reducing their reliance on Beijing for these critical metals by bolstering local production or partnering up with other rare earth producers. The Biden administration has recently earmarked billions of dollars for boosting America’s power and transportation industries and rebuilding its semiconductor industry. Last March, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a $30 million investment into the research and development of a local supply chain for rare earth metals
Sweden also recently discovered immense deposits of rare earth deposits along its arctic region that could allow it to challenge China’s dominance of the sector and reduce the EU’s reliance on the Asian nation.
Senior fellow at the Center for Strategic International Studies’ Energy Security and Climate Change Program Jane Nakano notes that while it is “technically possible to build a rare earth metal supply chain in the U.S., the environmental and political factors involved make it challenging.”
CEO and founder of Boston-based nonprofit Product Stewardship, Scott Cassel is of the same opinion, stating that the environmental concerns involved with rare earth mining make it unappealing to many nations.
Extraction firms such as Ucore Rare Earth Metals Inc. (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF) have their work cut out to produce enough rare earth metals to satisfy the existing demand without overdependence on Chinese supplies.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/UURAF
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the MiningNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by MNW, wherever published or re-published: https://www.MiningNewsWire.com/Disclaimer
