Industrial manufacturers that rely on rare earth elements wish to become more sustainable, but current production methods involve toxic chemicals and waste disposal issues. Furthermore, some ores may contain radioactive thorium which requires special handling procedures.
Thus, numerous companies that have tried to enter this field have experienced difficulty. But with recent technological innovations, production of rare earths could become simpler while being more environmentally-friendly.
Rare earths are now being utilized in an ever-expanding number of high-tech products ranging from televisions and cell phones to chemical catalysts, permanent magnets and green energy batteries - driving up demand further. Furthermore, rare earth elements have various uses within manufacturing such as polishing or alloy making processes.
Demand for rare earth elements has necessitated the construction of new mines and processing facilities worldwide to meet this increased supply, with most mining activities and refinement taking place in China at present. While Western economies remain dependent on China for rare earth refinement purposes, that dependency should diminish as more processing facilities come online outside China.
Early 2000s investors, fearing price spikes and shortages, sought unconventional means of acquiring rare earth metals they needed. Venture capitalists proposed extracting them from Greenland or digging them up from ocean floors--even harvesting them directly off of the moon--but none of these schemes proved practical.
One of the greatest challenges to obtaining rare earth elements lies in their being mixed together with low-level radioactive elements like thorium - linked to lung and pancreatic cancer - making separation of them from mineral deposits very difficult. Furthermore, due to high costs associated with refining them only select companies can afford investing in them.
Despite these obstacles, both private and public companies have invested in new technology that makes production of rare earth elements more cost-efficient. Lynas Corporation, an Australian mining company operating a rare-earth separation plant in Malaysia is able to produce the element neodymium for half what it would cost in China because less power is used and recycled materials recycled more effectively.
The United States boasts significant untapped rare-earth reserves and multiple projects underway to develop domestic production of these minerals. Many initiatives receiving significant federal support and funding rely on technology for mitigating environmental impacts; others such as Molycorp's Mountain Pass Mine Reopening are using cutting edge techniques for reduced environmental impact of their operations. Furthermore, both President Obama and Vice President Biden's administrations are working to expand access to rare-earth minerals by supporting sustainable mining practices that ensure ethical extraction processes.
https://moneymorning.com/2012/05/09/asteroid-mining-the-new-space-race-could-be-worth-trillions/
China currently dominates rare earth production and processing. China produces 60% of global REEs and accounts for 85% of processing capacity necessary to isolate individual elements for use in high-tech applications, prompting concerns that countries such as Australia or the US might experience supply disruptions if they cannot develop their own rare earth resources or build processing facilities capable of competing with those found in China.
China's rare earth monopoly can be traced to their reentry into global trade following 1978 and government policy to transform their nation into a manufacturing powerhouse. China's Communist Party government saw industrial development and global trading capabilities as means to bring prosperity to their nation while mitigating some of the catastrophes suffered during 20th century history.
China has taken measures to maintain their position as a rare-earths powerhouse by restricting exports of these minerals in order to maintain pricing power and avoid supply shortages, leading to steadily rising REE prices since 2010.
Koray Gholz, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Initiatives, writes in his new book that China's 2010 rare-earths embargo did not exact a greater toll on global markets as China increased sales to both domestic consumers as well as non-Chinese customers as demand grew for these elements. Thus reliance on rare earths from China poses less of a national security risk than many have believed.
As part of an overall strategy to increase production of critical materials and decrease dependency on imported supplies, the United States and its allies must find ways to entice private sector investments in processing and separation technologies. They should also prioritize domestic content in products requiring these materials; an Oil Depletion Allowance-inspired tax credit could serve as a useful way of stimulating investment in rare-earth mineral extraction/production as well as building domestic supply chains.
Africa's abundant resources of key minerals and its increasing industrialization present an ideal opportunity to diversify energy production through rare earth mining and other green technologies, but much of Africa's mining potential may remain unrealized due to smaller exploration budgets compared with those seen elsewhere such as North America, Asia or Australia.
http://www.imreallyhot.com/node/75
Research scientists have been using atomic physics in the 20th century to isolate rare earth elements from ore, yet separating the 15 lanthanide metals proved challenging and made determining just how many were present difficult. Finally in 1913 British physicist Henry Moseley identified them by using X-ray spectroscopy to examine rare earth minerals' atomic structures.
Advances in manufacturing and the surge in green energy has increased demand for essential raw materials such as permanent magnets, chemical catalysts, fiber optic cables and cell phones for telecom, defense industry equipment silicon chips as well as rechargeable car batteries.
The US is making strides toward increasing its mining capacities for rare earth minerals, but is heavily reliant on China for refining and processing them. China recently raised their quotas, which could increase prices of these key raw materials.
Lack of rare earths could wreak havoc with manufacturing processes for climate economy products like electric vehicles and wind turbines, and potentially stop production at MP Materials which operates the only active rare earths mine in the US.
Congress has invested nearly $800 million in research for more efficient ways to produce and utilize essential minerals, to ensure supply chains remain robust while the United States can continue producing crucial products it requires.
American Rare Earths of Wyoming is leading this charge, exploring for rare earth deposits and creating mining technology to minimize environmental impact. Their goal is to establish a processing plant which would extract metals more efficiently while simultaneously decreasing pollution levels.
Manufacturers are striving to develop products which require less rare earth elements or can be substituted with them, such as electric car batteries. Although rare earth magnets provide power to these batteries, neodymium and titanium could potentially replace them in future EV battery designs; experts also think it may even be possible to make EV batteries without using rare earth magnets at all!
As technology evolves, new applications for rare earth elements continue to appear. Today they can be found everywhere from high-tech consumer electronics such as televisions and tablet computers to automobile catalytic converters, rechargeable batteries and LED lights and displays. Renewable energy technologies, including wind turbines and electric vehicles, as well as national defense systems such as jet engines, missile guidance systems, satellites and GPS equipment all depend on them for power. Rare earth elements (REEs), consisting of 17 metals, are an ideal fit for certain applications due to their fluorescent, magnetic or conductive properties. Unfortunately, however, they aren't readily available in nature - with demand quickly rising worldwide as demand for these high-tech components.
At one time, the United States held the leading market share in rare earth production and manufacturing due to its advanced technological capabilities. Bell Labs employed erbium-doped fiber amplifiers from Bell Labs as one example to boost signals sent over long-distance fiber-optic cables that now carry Internet data worldwide; later smartphones and tablets utilized neodymium magnets to boost sounds from tiny speakers while using energy-efficient screens containing yttrium-doped phosphors for bright colors and lanthanum lenses used with lenses in glass lenses to reduce distortion.
Emerging technologies are driving an unprecedented surge in rare earth demand, which is now vital to many industries' economic competitiveness and holds crucial supply chain significance globally. China accounts for most of this material.
Good news is that several companies are investing in innovative technologies to replace or substitute rare earths in high-tech products, which could help address the surging demand. Such initiatives might enable manufacturers to increase production capacity, extend battery lifespan or even eliminate their reliance on rare earths altogether.
At present, governments and mining companies must work collaboratively to increase global rare earths production capacity as well as create innovative separation and processing technologies. Trade wars or retaliatory tariffs could force undiversified companies into bidding aggressively for limited amounts of material resulting in higher prices - similar to what happened during China's REE export restrictions in 2010.
How Rare Earth Elements are Changing the Investment Landscape