As Deng Tsiao-Ping observed before his death, rare earth metals — which are crucial to producing all manner of “clean” high-technology — are China’s oil.
Despite the name, rare earth metals aren’t that “rare” — they are just found scattered throughout ores that make them hard — and expensive — to secure.
While other nations have been looking with feverish intensity in the last couple of years at least for these “precious” [Lord of the Rings pun intended] metals, including a so-far stalled attempt by Molycorp to re-open a mine in California’s high desert, near Nevada, that had been closed a decade or so ago because it was too expensive — China has been the source of a constantly quoted figure of some 93% of the global supply, which is used in high-definition televisions, cell phones, computers, guided missiles, hybrid cars, satellites, wind turbines, batteries, magnets, and clean energy applications, like generators for large wind turbines and lightweight electric motors for cars — all product areas in which China has systematically set about making itself THE world leader.
[more]
By David Caploe, Ph.D.
Source: Economy Watch