The New Map of Critical Minerals.

Good Times Bad Times Vlog ^ | May 15, 2025 | Hubert Walas

[rmlew]

There is a high probability that the small battery in your smartphone contains lithium from Chilean deposits, Indonesian nickel, as well as cobalt mined in Congolese mines controlled by the Chinese and employing local children. Critical minerals and rare earth metals have today become the central point of geopolitical rivalry between powers, because whoever controls critical minerals controls the future. "You can't produce clean energy without dirty extractive industry." These words from the director of advanced magnet lab perfectly capture the paradox of our times. On one hand we talk about decarbonization and green transformation' on the other we need unprecedented exploitation of natural resources to achieve this. one electric car requires six times more minerals than a combustion engine vehicle and a wind farm requires 9 times more than a gas power plant

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: china; gallium; mining; rareearths; strategicresources

[rmlew]

Whereas hydrocarbons were the most important resources of the 20th century, the metals used to create electronics and low-carbon energy sources are the most important resources of the 21st century.

In addition to nickel and cobalt, we also need Gallium, which is necessary for electronics including computers, chargers, and modern radars. Unfortunately, this video does not cover another strategically valuable metal, gallium, so I will. Gallium is normally found with deposits of bauxite aluminum and in certain zinc deposits. China dominates because they have a large amount of bauxite, refine it, and understand its strategic importance. Gallium arsenide (GaAs) and gallium nitride (GaN) are key materials for various electronic devices like transistors, integrated circuits, and microwave circuits. Gallium is also a vital component of blue and green LEDs. Every modern high-end radar, electric capacitor, and microprocessor contains gallium. It would behoove us to work with Australia, Greece, Türkiye, and Iceland to produce more. We should also develop deposits in Guyana, the Solomon Islands, Sierra Leone, and Vietnam. We should also invest in Filipino and Indian aluminum smelting to get Gallium and other tare Earth Minerals. The Philippines, Vietnam, and India are key to containing China. Helping their economies while also getting the minerals we need is a win-win. The US and UK should also help ensure the security of Guyana and help them develop hydrocarbons and bauxite. We are not going to get anywhere by threatening countries. We should strategically collaborate with them.

[ComputerGuy]

Interesting.

[SuperLuminal]

For about 90 years, the United States had a federal agency half of whose mission was the assurance of critical-mineral supplies...

The Clintons did away with it...

[spacejunkie2001]

I like that we’re starting to mine in the US with the expedited permitting for the likes of the Coliseum mine in CA. This mine is owned by Dateline (symbol DTREF in the US).

[Tell It Right]

On one hand we talk about decarbonization and green transformation'

That part is complete rubbish. So called "green" energy is about as harmful to the environment as an abortionist's suction tube is to a baby.

But I'm 100% for mining more precious metals for whatever reason we want them (in some cases we need them, not just for EV's).

[Carry_Okie]

Critical minerals and rare earth metals have today become the central point of geopolitical rivalry between powers,

Um... "today"?

Our aim is to gain control of the two great treasure houses on which the West depends: The energy treasure house of the Persian Gulf and the minerals treasure house of Central and Southern Africa. - Leonid Brezhnev

[Carry_Okie]

Don’t forget the tantalum for capacitors.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

"a wind farm requires 9 times more minerals than a gas power plant"

The looming environmental catastrophe of wind energy is hardly ever discussed. At the end or their economic lives (20-30 years), wind turbines are going to leave behind a staggering amount of non recyclable waste. The steel tower, the generator, the gearbox, and the nacelle structure can be recycled, but the concrete in the ground will lie there forever and the blades will become mountains of waste. The wind turbine blades are primarily made of composite materials, typically a combination of:

• Fiberglass (glass fiber reinforced polymer): Provides strength and flexibility.
• Carbon fiber: Used in some modern blades for higher strength-to-weight ratio, though more expensive.
• Epoxy or polyester resin: Binds the fibers together, forming a solid structure.
• Core materials like balsa wood, PVC foam, or honeycomb structures: Used in the blade's interior for lightweight structural support.
• Coatings: Gel coats or polyurethane for weather resistance and UV protection.

Studies suggest that the global cumulative blade waste by 2050 will reach approximately 43 million tons, with annual waste around 2–2.9 million tons. In the U.S., cumulative blade waste is estimated at 2.2 million tons by 2050, assuming a 20-year turbine lifespan.

Add another 25 years to take us out to 2075: it's estimated that a cumulative 3.23 MILLION BLADES will have been disposed of by 2075.

Meanwhile, a conventional boiler, steam turbine, condenser, generator, gas turbine and heat recovery steam generator are all made mostly of steel and can be easily recycled. Here’s a rough estimate of the fraction recycled at end-of-life of fossil plants:

• Building Steel: 90–95% (highly recyclable, widely practiced).
• Boilers, Steam Turbines, Gas Turbines, Condensers, Generators, Fans, Ductwork/Flues, Pulverizers: 80–90% (mostly steel with some copper/aluminum).
• Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSGs): 80–85% (steel dominates, but insulation and alloys reduce the rate).
• Overall Average Across Components: 75–85%, weighted by the dominance of steel-heavy components.

The extreme greens completely ignore the huge recycling benefit that conventional plants have over wind turbines just as they intentionally ignore the looming environmental disaster. Our solons at the state and federal levels are just too damn stupid to even ask about the problem, yet they are all-in on more solid waste regulations. Hypocrisy abounds, as usual.

[fella]

There was a Federal Depository in Fort Worth that had stack of critical metals in ingots that disappeared about that time.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

I was on a geophysics crew that did quite a bit of work around the Colosseum Mine back around 1990, while Bond Gold was mining there.

[SuperLuminal]

Makes you understand how congressional politicians can quickly go from rags to riches while only getting a salary of about $175 per year...

[rmlew]

They Clinton crime syndicate sold our minerals to China and shut down mining in the US.

[rmlew]

The need for minerals is hardly new. The value of specific minerals has changed.

[spacejunkie2001]

Are there REE there?

[HartleyMBaldwin]

I believe they are recovering some REE now, though when I was there it was a gold & silver mine with minor base metals. It’s only a few miles from Mountain Pass.

[spacejunkie2001]

Got it. Someone posted earlier this week that they didn’t think Mountain Pass had gold but just Ree. Not sure if that’s true and I’m very new into this interest in mining in the US

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Mountain Pass started as a gold mine in 1930, but I don’t know if they still recover any gold there. I’m certainly no expert on mineral processing, but I’d suspect that the process of extracting REEs from the ore might be incompatible with gold recovery, so they went with the REEs.