US-China trade war sparks worries about rare minerals

China recently raised tariffs to 25% on rare earth exports to the U.S. and has threatened to halt exports altogether after the Trump administration raised tariffs on Chinese products and blacklisted telecommunications giant Huawei.

There is a U.S. rare minerals mine in California. And Australia, Myanmar, Russia and India are also top producers of the somewhat obscure minerals. Vietnam and Brazil both have huge rare earth reserves. Although the U.S. is among the world's top 10 countries for rare earths production, it's also a major importer of the minerals, looking to China for 80% of what it buys from other countries, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. China last year produced some 120,000 metric tons of rare earths, while the United States produced 15,000 metric tons.

The mine's top products are neodymium and praseodymium, or NdPr, two elements which are used together to make the lightweight magnets that help power electric cars and wind turbines and are found in electronics such as laptop hard drives. Since then, Mountain Pass has focused on achieving greater autonomy with a $1.7 billion separation system set to go online late next year that would allow it skip sending rare earths ore to China for that step.David Merriman, a rare earths analyst for Roskill commodity research in London, said that during a similar trade flap with China in 2011, Japan began looking to other countries including Australia for the minerals needed to manufacture electronics.

Source: Car News Wire (carnewswire.net)

'Remember the Hindenburg'.

When we have those same 'rare earth minerals' right here in the U.S. as well as other countries, who is worrying about this? Corporations who still want to get cheap labor from China.

China must have its own high-tech enterprises, technology, equipment! So the rare earth will first meet China's own needs!

Hey ABC... Do some research... We can mine REM here... Now it may cost more because I'm sure the Chinese don't give a damn about the pollution it will cause... and China doesn't have a lock on the stuff... But hey you just pay more for those electric cars.... 🤐🤐🤐

Joe American can’t afford robotics, drones, or electric cars. I think we’ll be ok. Put the screws to them, Donnie.

Who exactly is worried? In anticipation, countries have stockpiled rare earth (REM). Last year the large REM mine in the US reopened in California and can be ramped up in a matter of months. Processing of REM leaves toxic waste so the US choose to buy from China. REM is not rare!

Is it just me? I get so annoyed when I hear elements that are right on the periodic table called 'obscure' and 'exotic sounding'. A one minute Wikipedia check also confirmed my suspicious that the elements you named are not in fact minerals. I never even took Geology.

We get those earth minerals from Afghanistan.

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