Rare earth metals mine is key to US control over hi-tech future

Rare earth metals mine is key to US control over hi-tech future

www.guardian.co.uk

It's a deep pit in the Mojave desert. But it could hold the key to America challenging China's technological domination of the 21st century.

At the bottom of the vast site, beneath 6 metres (20ft) of bright emerald-green water, runs a rich seam of ores that are hardly household names but are rapidly emerging as the building blocks of the hi-tech future.

The mine is the largest known deposit of rare earth elements outside China. Eight years ago, it was shut down in a tacit admission that the US was ceding the market to China. Now, the owners have secured final approval to restart operat

(visit the link for the full news article)

China controls 97% of global rare earth metals production

Not only do they have almost a monopoly, they also put an embargo on some of the metals.

This caused an increase in price around the world but also China keeps it's currency value lower than it's actual value which strenghtens it's monopoly even more.

In some way's it's karma as America is somewhat China's Iran, I mean the U.S. is to China as Iran is to the U.S..... Kinda

Article is very much worth a full read!!!!!!

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

reply to post by ModernAcademia


hahahah we are going to do the same thing they did to us and sell it dirt cheap which will tank their economy before they know it. I know people are going to say yeah but they have so much money lol but so did we 14 years ago. All of their focus is on that so when the bottom drops out so will they because they will be forced to sell cheap like us. I bet they will threaten us and we will start funneling jobs back to America that had been in china walmart and costco will dry up around America and the Japanese will buy only from us which will make china mad so the Japanese will ship their jobs back home as well or to us. China losing that many jobs will crush their economy to. It seems we are playing war with money as well.

So can we assume the `next war´ will be fought in the Mojave desert then ?.

I was wondering when American politicians would wake up to what China has been doing over the past decade. It is absolutely obvious that China has been engaging in economic warfare gainst the west. They have gobbled up nearly all of the Earth's precious resources. They have wiped the floor out from under American manufacturing. They have illegally subsidized their own industries to rive prices down. They have been dumping cheap product all over the world. They have been manipulating their currency. All of these things point to one thing - all out economic warfare. And what has America and her allies in Europe done? NOTHING! Instead we have taken their cheap products, welcomed them on our shores, stocked our stores with them and consume them in great numbers. Where are the tariffs? Where are the brokered trade agreements? Makes one think that western democracies are complicit in the scheme. Follow the money folks. A very small number of people are becoming extremely wealthy at our expense.

I am hopeful that this marks the turning point in western manufacturing and a strengthening of our economic resolve. We shall see...

It is a pretty good read
I wanted to note that it says other mines are suppose to be opening in Wyoming, Quebec, South Afarica, and Australia.

The Mountain Pass Mine still has a few problems one being that its in the very anti mining State of Kalifornia.

there is another rare earth mine in permitting stage in Alaska a pro mining state. this is the Bokan Mountain REE project.

And the Thor Rare Earth Property in Nevada another pro mining state.

Buy US REE mining company stocks as they will go up as China cuts supplies.

reply to post by ANNED


what are you talking about anti mining i live near a mine in Califorina and its not to far from LA about 30 mins or so

reply to post by ANNED


I grew up by the mountain pass mine. My Grandfathers mine was over the hill (Morning Star Mine) and was shut down due to environmental polution and California adopting the area as a wildlife preserve. I still know a few people who work at Molycorp. There was another mine out there called Kokoweef which is looking for a mythical underground riverthat is rich in gold.

China's dominance of global rare earths output will continue in 2011
"They have the ability to dictate the market if they want to,"

"With rare earths growth in the next five years about 225,000 tons, that's about 9% (year-on-year) growth number," Malan said. "Currently, supply is about 125,000 tons, out of which China produces about 120,000 tons."

"There's an abundance of rare earths around the world. It's not so much the mining, it's the fact we don't have the manufacturing capacity and we don't have the skill sets or the equipment. That's my biggest concern."

community.nasdaq.com...

So as you can see, their dominance is mainly because WE SUCK!!!!

The problem is that we have allowed China to become the world's exporter of these elements. In fact, I do believe I read that some American companies involved in mining the elements were sold to China.

Now I'm not a doom and gloomer about this because the most powerful agency in the world needs rare earth elements: The US Department of Defense. Previously known as the US Department of War prior to 1949. And what that department needs, I am 100 percent confident it will get.

The mineable deposits of rare earths in North America are owned by:
Molycorp Minerals (private company in Mountain Pass, California)
Avalon Rare Metals Inc. (TSX:AVL;OTCQX:AVARF) (NW Territories, Canada)
Rare Element Resources Ltd. (TSX.V:RES) (Wyoming)
U.S. Rare Earths (a private company in Idaho)
Quest Rare Minerals Ltd. (TSX.V:QRM) (Quebec, Canada)
Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. (TSX.V:GWG) (Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia)
Ucore Uranium (TSX.V:UCU) (Alaska)

All of the above are North American resources. There are also significant, undeveloped resources of REEs in Australia, South Africa and Greenland. In order for the U.S. to be self-sufficient and become a net exporter of REEs, some of the above-listed companies must be developed now. Other countries, domestically, and China and Japan, globally, are racing to acquire and develop REE resources outside of North America. It is a global competition, and the other entrants are already well under way.

TGR: Do you see demand for these REEs expanding dramatically in the future?

JL: Demand for rare earths, and particularly for the big-four magnet metals, is growing at a rate that is unsustainable unless new heavy REE production is brought online in the next five years at the most. Due to the nature of REE deposits, this requires that the production of light REEs increase significantly also. Therefore, I believe there is now a window of opportunity for one or two light REE producers and several heavy REE producers to enter the market over the next five years. Anyone whose timeline is beyond that will not likely be successful in this run up of rare earth demand.

Link


And from the Department of Energy head Diana Bauer:

Bauer said the Energy Department is expected to release its strategy in December for boosting global production and diversifying supplies of rare earth metals. Diversifying is important to the Obama administration because of the White House's efforts to promote clean energy technology. Bauer said the department's plan will look at short-term ways to increase rare earth metal production over the next five years and longer. She said the department received about 1,000 pages of comments from 35 companies on how to boost rare earth metals production.

Pity that the majority of the tech they develop with it will be used to further oppress the u.s public and continue their illegal / immoral wars around the world ...

reply to post by pcrobotwolf


The japanese people want the u.s out of japan.. Its the politicians letting the u.s stay.. Thats why the last japanese pm resigned he failed to live up to his word to the japanese people to get the u.s out of japan - thus to save face he resigned.

I ad always wondered why people never searched the mojave desert for material until now. the place is an empty desert apart from several towns and fort irwin. I imagine that the desert would have several mines that have been left unaffected by human hands

The Aurora was flying to the moon alongside the Apollo Missions. Since it's been photographed in Space in '69, I'm sure they can use it to obtain minerals we need.

www.hq.nasa.gov...

www.hq.nasa.gov...

www.hq.nasa.gov...

Oddly enough, last spring the survey of Afghanistans resources, includes rare earth metals as well as a mountain of the purest iron ore on earth.....,There is an estimated trillion dollars or more in resources there....
(And you wonder why we tackled the Taliban......)

I wonder what environmentalists would do without their precious catalysts that help engines increase CO2.

Well, this news clearly explains America's intent for invading Afghanistan and privatizing their rare mineral mines that the Soviets discovered in the 80s. Just as I heard explained before, Afghanistan is all about securing such resources against China (China already owns the Afghan copper market).

Before we "jump for joy" at this news, we must remember that the US is in debt to China. From my understanding, the US put up land and national forests for loans from China under the present administration. Since these lands are being uses as collateral, American companies will be breaking loan agreements if this mine is in with the package Hillary Clinton and Obama sold China at the start of 2009.

If China wanted to and this land is part of the agreement, they could lawfully stop us from mining on our land.

Feds grant eminent domain as collateral to China for US debts.

Obama Sells U.S. to China Inc.

This may turn really nasty before it's all over.

No Breaking News here, already posted:

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and here:

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