3mo ago

Bad News for China: Rare Earth Elements Aren’t That Rare

www.wired.com

8 comments

The issue isn’t so much access to raw ore as mineral processing. It’s about (1) who has the industrial capacity and (2) what are the processing costs. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/mineral-production-by-country
- Which countries are willing to destroy ecosystems to get to the ore. Even under conservatives, American regulations make mining and processing prohibitively expensive.
  
  As we speak Trump is tearing out regulations and opening up previously restricted federal lands.
  
  Which countries are willing to destroy ecosystems ? ~~to get to the ore. Even under conservatives,~~ America! ~~n regulations make mining and processing prohibitively expensive.~~
  FTFY
Ultimate cope. Much like the US saying they will renew manufacturing, the reality of making that happen would take at least a decade and billions of investments. Mines, processing facilities, factories and employees with the skills required to operate them don't just appear overnight. Especially when the system is bloated with grifters funneling the investment capital into offshore accounts and pushing back deadlines.
I'm not sure China really cares all that much.
Do you want to make a lot of EVs and wind turbines, and other electric motors?
If not, then refining volumes will be fairly small to just serve a tiny market.
China will still have scale/cost advantage, and a market to sell output nearby, and so it's stupid to try and compete with them.
If the answer to step 1 is no, then STFU, or make a giant government subsidy program like CHIPS act to make refining costs have no capital costs. Not starting a war with whole world, might let you get stuff from Europe which answers yes to step 1, but either can treat China like friends not food, if they can't compete.
- Some of these things are important for national security reasons and so it will make sense to secure a percentage of the market, even if not economically sound, because there's reasons other than profit that a country may want businesses in a certain sector to grow & survive.

8 comments