Solving America's Rare Earth Problem (TEAC5)

You Tube ^ | 08/02/2013 | Jim Kennety

[Kolath]

Jim Kennedy of http://threeconsulting.com/ (ThREE Consulting) on America's shedding of high-tech manufacturing jobs. We focus on projecting power instead of industrial policy. Neglecting both a domestic supply of heavy rare earths, and molten salt reactor (MSR) technology, we guarantee China's future dominance.

Jim proposes "Thorium Bank" cooperative as a means of allowing both a domestic supply chain of heavy rare earths (large enough to service global demand), and inexpensive electricity & process heat. This will create American jobs, and stop the hemorrhaging of Intellectual Property into China.

[bigheadfred]

KILL the EPA

[CrazyIvan]

Never liked their music anyway.

[DManA]

Good first step. Then tort reform. We have to do something about limiting the courts ability to tie up projects for decades.

[Procyon]

Jim has a good argument. Important take away is that China is the source of 95% of rare earths needed in high tech products. EPA has discouraged Americans from mining the stuff here. China won’t export it. They say if your product needs rare earths then you have to manufacture the product in China. There go the jobs and intellectual property. This is madness.

[AdmSmith]

Nothing has been done.

What follows is an incomplete list of U.S. Weapon
Systems that require Rare Earths.

The reality on the ground today is that every one of
these systems is 100% dependent upon China for raw
materials, metals, magnets or components.

http://thoriumenergyalliance.com/downloads/TEAC6/USWeaponsChinese.pdf

[Kolath]

If memory serves me right, there is only one rare earth material that the US gov’t has designated as “mission critical” and will cut through all EPA/DoD/DoE regs to acquire....Beryllium.

There is a facility in Ohio that processes Beryllium and it’s the only one in the country.

[AdmSmith]

Yes, Materion Brush Beryllium & Composites is producing Be in Ohio http://materion.com/Businesses/BrushBerylliumandComposites/About.aspx , but Be is not a rare earth material. Here http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/DOE_CMS_2011_Summary.pdf is the latest Critical Materials report.