Rare earth elements aren’t the secret weapon China thinks they are

[patero]

The US need more than a year (or rather five years) just to reopen an existing mine and to start real operation, and you guys don't have the technology and the facilities to refine the ore. Heck, until now, the US have sent their few thousand tonnes of ore to China to get them refined.

Mountain Pass was reopened last January by it's current owner MP Materials. It's current rate of production and extraction is 4,700 tons per year, and is fully self sufficient.

https://mpmaterials.com/

 

[Han Patriot]

US was producing its own rare earths until early 2000s when China stepped in . The extarctuon process was very damaging to the environment and us was only too happy to let china dirty its hands. 20 years later obviously the supply chain is dominated by CN and any disruption will cause temporary pain. Obviously the tech and process efficiency lies in China. But in a few years the world will catch up but markets wobt forgive China if they did this.

and yet the most polluted country is INDIA? ahhaha. I bet you haven't been to the latest Chinese ore facility right?

 

[JSCh]

The Californian Rare Earths Mine Caught Between Trump and China - Bloomberg

The Californian Rare Earths Mine Caught Between Trump and China
Bloomberg News
September 27, 2018, 8:43 AM GMT+8

• Mountain Pass venture to be hit with initial 10% Chinese levy
• Discussions been held with U.S. officials, JHL Capital Says

The only operating rare earths mine in the U.S. - and once the world’s biggest -- is caught up in the crossfire of the Trump administration’s trade war with China.

Rare earths, an esoteric group of materials used in everything from Tesla Inc. automobiles to high-tech military equipment, were dropped this week from the U.S.’s final $200 billion catalog of tariffs on Chinese goods, but China didn’t reciprocate on its own hit list.

For MP Mine Operations LLC, the U.S. consortium that owns the Mountain Pass mine in California, that’s a problem because it ships semi-processed output for refining in China, which plans a 10-percent tariff on these imports, rising to 25 percent next year.

“The ten-percent tariffs provide a real challenge, and the prospect of 25 percent is daunting,” James Litinsky, chief executive officer of JHL Capital Group LLC, the majority owner of the Mountain Pass consortium, said by email. “We believe that we can compete without tariffs, and we don’t understand why there would be tariffs on us, when there are no tariffs on Chinese producers.”

...​

 

[zectech]

Rare earths, an esoteric group of materials used in everything from Tesla Inc. automobiles to high-tech military equipment, were dropped this week from the U.S.’s final $200 billion catalog of tariffs on Chinese goods

If Washington was going to tariff raw materials needed by Amerika, you are dealing with crazy jnn. Really crazy individuals.

 

[Placemat]

and yet the most polluted country is INDIA? ahhaha. I bet you haven't been to the latest Chinese ore facility right?

Off topic mate... don't behave like akid

 

[Han Patriot]

Off topic mate... don't behave like akid

just like you generalize about this industry, but you don't see the latest advancement in processing technology and plants in China. There are certain processes US don't even know how to do anymore, it will takes years to build up the industry.

 

[Placemat]

and yet the most polluted country is INDIA? ahhaha. I bet you haven't been to the latest Chinese ore facility right?

Off topic mate... don't behave like akid

just like you generalize about this industry, but you don't see the latest advancement in processing technology and plants in China. There are certain processes US don't even know how to do anymore, it will takes years to build up the industry.

I think i covered that in my post when i say that obviously the latest tech will be with cn which will be an advantage for now. I am just giving an honest opinion in apublic forum without any prejudice and you talk trash about what i said . Anyways good luck

 

[kankan326]

USA does have rare earth. But compared with China's rare earth, their rare earth is actually "light rare earth". Light rare earth doesn't have some important metals. In another word, US rare earth is not real rare earth.

Rare earth is rare or not is not the point. Semiconductors are made of silicon. China controls the rare earth resource and refining technologies. The situation can not be changed in 5 years, or even never.

 

[zectech]

When duties are imposed on rare earth elements, slap duties on anyone exporting rare earth elements to Amerika. And arrest anyone hiding the sale of normal cost rare earth elements to Amerika. Do the same as Huawei. Treat rare earths as something criminal to sell to Amerika, at low cost. Everyone must sell rare earths with 10.000% duties to Amerika, or else that nation will get 10.000% duties on Chinese rare earths exported.

Zionists run the banking system to destroy China and Iran. Chinese run the rare earths to destroy Amerika.

 

[Kyle Sun]

I won't go so far as to say it's the secret weapon but more than enough to make the entire world suffering for a very long time.

 

[Placemat]

I have met one Indian lady too...apparently it whitens their skin. =)

Good.. but u missed the point

 

[Han Patriot]

Good.. but u missed the point

You missed mine too. =)

 

[Menthol]

At least it help to increase the price of rare Earth and help maintaining China reserve for longer.

 

[Neptune_]

Rare earth materials aren't actually that rare.

 

[qwerrty]

Such a clever boy!

It's not the money, 1.5 or 15 billion is peanuts to a 13 trillion economy. It's the fact that within the next five years, nobody will be able to substitute Chinese rare earth exports. Will US high tech companies be able to wait even one or two years in order to start or resume production?

that assuming no tree-huggers to distrupt them, which is very unlikely. also, not all rare earth are equal. some elements of rare earth only china has the largest deposit of em, elsewhere too little for large-scale use. that means even if they found rare earth elsewhere, they still need china.