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China Hoarding Essential Metals Western Countries Face Shortages of Mineral Resources
Suite101.com ^ | November 6, 2009 | Martye

Posted on 11/06/2009 8:31:28 AM PST by usalady

Future-oriented industries, such as those manufacturing solar panels, are being held back by shortages because of China's control of essential metals.

(Excerpt) Read more at global-economy.suite101.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Politics; Science
KEYWORDS: china; chinametals; chinaminerals; worldminerals
While smelting companies in the West are reluctant to make substantial investments needed to obtain important minerals, which use processes that are labor and energy intensive, China, with a cheap labor force and lax environmental laws, can extract the materials at a cost that Western nations cannot meet.
1 posted on 11/06/2009 8:31:30 AM PST by usalady
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To: usalady

Great article. For proper exposure, some major daily or Fox needs to pick up this story and spread it around big time.

This is a big deal.

Good post.


2 posted on 11/06/2009 8:33:31 AM PST by gaijin
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To: usalady

Yeah. And we no longer mine our own tungsten. Thanks, clinton, for that and sooooooo much else...


3 posted on 11/06/2009 8:33:48 AM PST by null and void (We are now in day 289 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
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To: usalady

I’ve read this story about couple months ago, but the race is now on to find non-Chinese sources of these minerals and also substitutes, too.


4 posted on 11/06/2009 8:36:30 AM PST by RayChuang88 (FairTax: America's economic cure)
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To: usalady
Excellent post.

What happens if China decides to block access to those metals? There are signs that this may already taking place as China is no longer willing to sell is rare commodities at rock-bottom prices. Already, their government planners have begun to impose restrictions on this type of export. It could include not only some rare earth metals, but also important industrial metals such as Lithium, Cobalt, Indium, Gallium, Tantalum.

Lithium and cobalt are used in batteries, indium and gallium is used in thin-firm solar modules and tantalum is contained in the microchips used in mobile phones.

5 posted on 11/06/2009 8:39:34 AM PST by La Lydia
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To: usalady
This is the supply-side flea that carries the economic Black Death of the "green" business dreams in general, and Western society in general.

Without these rare earth materials, we are right back to the mid 19th century, at best.


Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

6 posted on 11/06/2009 8:41:05 AM PST by The Comedian (Evil can only succeed if good men don't point at it and laugh.)
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