World faces hi-tech crunch as China eyes ban on rare metal exports

World faces hi-tech crunch as China eyes ban on rare metal exports

www.telegraph.co.uk

Beijing is drawing up plans to prohibit or restrict exports of rare earth metals that are produced only in China and play a vital role in cutting edge technology, from hybrid cars and catalytic converters, to superconductors, and precision-guided weapons.

...

The Japanese government has drawn up a “Strategy for Ensuring Stable Supplies of Rare Metals”. It calls for `stockpiling’ and plans for “securing overseas resources’. The West has yet to stir.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Wow... the article goes on to say that these elements are used in almost anything cutting edge, from removing bacteria from drinking water, to iphones and blackberries.

So while folks are calling for stockpiling food here on ATS, Japan is calling for stockpiling of rare earth elements...

Looks like China has even more cards to play than I suspected.

www.telegraph.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

i`ve read a blog which interestingly says we are actually entering WW3 otherwise known as the resource war

just my opinion - but i think the truth of this is that the chinese have now realised that , thanks to thier IMHO flawed stragegy during the 90s of state subsedies and explotive labour markets enabling them to undercut every other supplier they were in effect ` selling the family siver ` or more correctly sellying thier reserves of strategic minerals far too cheaply to any one who bid on them

now they are realising that they need them too for industrial growth - and if they exhaust thier reserves - then they will become demendant on foreign supply

as the article partially states - and a bit of google confirms - almost all the listed metals are availiable in know / suspect untapped deposits or mothballed mines in the US , australia , south africa and south american states

the only thing this will do is correctly balance the markets - and make everyone realise the true value of these metals

Originally posted by ignorant_ape
just my opinion - but i think the truth of this is that the chinese have now realised that , thanks to thier IMHO flawed stragegy during the 90s of state subsedies and explotive labour markets enabling them to undercut every other supplier they were in effect ` selling the family siver ` or more correctly sellying thier reserves of strategic minerals far too cheaply to any one who bid on them

now they are realising that they need them too for industrial growth - and if they exhaust thier reserves - then they will become demendant on foreign supply

as the article partially states - and a bit of google confirms - almost all the listed metals are availiable in know / suspect untapped deposits or mothballed mines in the US , australia , south africa and south american states

the only thing this will do is correctly balance the markets - and make everyone realise the true value of these metals

I think you summed it up pretty well, so now I think this actually opens up a new job industry. maybe I should look into mining rare metals now haha . which is good because, what is the US unemployment rate right now, like 10%?

reply to post by tempesillest


yep...



new industries could result from this development.

reply to post by HunkaHunka


With the advancements in nanotechnology....

The Chinese can horde all the rare materials they want. This does not mean a strangle hold on advancements. It just means that those who choose to use those types of minerals will have to pay through the nose to China for those particular minerals.

reply to post by SLAYER69


Well that's gonna be a change... to go from paying pennies for mfg stuff to paying through the nose for rare metals...

I think yer right though... Folks will just adapt and find other sources...

Carbon Nano Tubes (CNT) technology will soon replace all metal conductors, so this is no big deal.

Good tip, horde as much of these metals as you can yourself, once (if) this ban/restrictions comes into place, you can sell them at a huge profit .
With copper at around £4000 per ton now, imagine what that will rocket to after China take action lol (not to mention they have been buying up any and all copper, along with Japan, which is why it is so expensive at the moment and supplies will be very low across the globe).

As for this wet dream talk of carbon nano tubes, the technology is years even decades off of mass production capabilities. Why would this technology replace current metals in technology? Not to mention it is currently way more expensive than the rare metals metioned. But given time the manufacturing process will be streamlined and costs will come down eventually.

reply to post by HunkaHunka


Yes nanotechnology is the next wave, as they continue use older technology, the real work happens in nanotechnology.



This is about global currency more than technology.

reply to post by antar


But are the elements required for nanotech similar to the elements China is now going to horde?

Some info I found

Every year, each person in the U.S requires more than 25,000 pounds of new nonfuel minerals to make the items we use every day.

minerals.usgs.gov...

It's possible to substitute other materials if there is indeed a shortage of these rare earth materials. Prabhakar Patil, CEO of battery-maker Compact Power suggests the car makers could switch to induction motors and other electronics choices that are not dependent on the rare earth materials. Worldwide demand for at least 15 rare earth materials is expected to exceed supply by 40,000 tons per year, according to a recent Reuters report.

www.examiner.com... ty

Afghanistan has abundant mineral resources, including known deposits of copper, iron, barite, sulfur, talc, chromium, magnesium, salt, mica, marble, rubies, emeralds, lapis lazuli, asbestos, nickel, mercury, gold and silver, lead, zinc, fluorspar, bauxite, beryllium, and lithium (fig. 1). Between 2005 and 2007, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funded a cooperative study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Afghanistan Geological Survey (AGS) to assess the non-fuel mineral resources of Afghanistan as part of the effort to aid in the reconstruction of that country.

pubs.usgs.gov...

Pretty nice of US to help Afghanistan survey its land for minerals.

reply to post by jam321


Hey jamo nice reply...

As we consume less and produce more at home we will go towards a green economy. The US is headed for a green economy...

[get over that]

reply to post by jam321


As Slayer said... awesome reply.


It's interesting too Slayer that you mention that.

Saudi Arabia senses it too with the recent admonition "Don't even think about energy independence".

This will be a strain on relations as we move that direction, but the direction itself is being motivated by some rather strong forces such as these changes in trade and the level of scarcity embargoes like this one of Chinas will cause on the price.

I have to laugh, because ultimately it will be the capitalistic underpinnings of our global economy which will drive us toward more greener technologies.



[edit on 9-9-2009 by HunkaHunka]

I don't see this as a bad thing. I'll go with the crowd that nanotechnology is the next big thing. I would also say that people really need to break away from China anyhow. It's only about time that we stop being so dependent on them for imports when we don't export anything ourselves... this is what people have been warning us all along about relying too much on imports from China and what it could mean to us.

reply to post by SLAYER69

The US is headed for a green economy...

Yes, it is.

Just about to reply to your thread you made along those lines.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Nano technology also means "huge" miniaturization. Even "carbon tax" may be at least partly about this technology.

Miniaturization down to nano levels is certainly the next future technology leap. If it is anything like present computer tech acceleration, it will be here very soon.

reply to post by HunkaHunka


Oh no! Who would've guessed?

"China Buying Up Key Resources"
www.abovetopsecret.com...

If people don't pay attention, they get what they deserve!

Deny ignorance.

jw

Everything in the world is for sale.

Even those things in China.

You want something, you can pay for it, you can get it.

One other little matter that no one has brought up, but where advances are being accelerated and breakthroughs imminent, is transmutations.

Start with one element, alter the electron/neutron/proton mix, and you have another element.

As I look at the globe, China is only a portion of the planet. Everywhere else, everything is for sale.