Posted on 05/26/2019 7:39:09 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
A simple visit to an obscure factory by Chinese President Xi on Monday is all it took to raise the specter that China could be contemplating cutting off supply of critical materials to the U.S. and potentially crippling large swathes of its industries. Also, fueled by political innuendo in Xi’s recent call for a new “Long March” in reference to a key founding tenet of the Chinese Communist Party, speculators are growing increasingly wary of Chinese export restrictions to the U.S., including rare earth minerals.
As the world’s largest producer, the Middle Kingdom has a vice-like grip on rare earths supply.
Rare earth minerals, also known as the “vitamins of chemistry”, are a group of elements used in the manufacture of a wide range of equipment in small doses to produce powerful salutary effects. These minerals are extensively used in smartphones, batteries, turbines, lasers, electromagnetic guns, missiles, advanced weapon sensors, stealth technology and jamming technology. For instance, lanthanum is used in lighting equipment and camera lenses; neodymium in hybrid vehicles; praseodymium in aircraft engines; europium in nuclear reactors and gadolinium in MRIs and X-rays. Oil refiners also use rare earth catalysts to process crude oil into gasoline and jet fuel.
China produced more than 90 percent of the world’s supply of these critical elements over the past decade, though its share was lower at 71.42 percent last year.
In 2018, the U.S. Geological Survey identified 35 minerals critical to the country’s economy and national security. America is heavily dependent on imports of these minerals, producing less than a tenth of the world’s supplies and importing half of what it consumes. It clearly highlights the U.S.’ soft underbelly.
Not surprisingly, rare earth minerals are some of the few products that escaped Trump’s latest tariffs.
(Excerpt) Read more at oilprice.com ...
I think something a lot less dramatic than a Manhattan Project would get the US rare earth mining industry spun back up PDQ. It just takes an increment of national will.
Sounds like a perfect time for a national emergency, put the EPA in time out for a little while.
Global trove of rare earth metals found in Japan’s deep-sea mud
By Roni DenglerApr. 13, 2018 , 5:30 PM
A “semi-infinite” supply of rare earth metals used in batteries, electric vehicles, and other green energy technologies has been found in deep-sea mud about 1850 kilometers southeast of Tokyo, The Wall Street Journal reports. Japanese researchers estimate the roughly 2499-square-kilometer region of seabed holds more than 16 million tons of rare earth oxides, including 780 years’ worth of the global supply of yttrium, 620 years’ worth of europium, 420 years’ worth of terbium, and 730 years’ worth of dysprosium, they write this week in Scientific Reports. The find could challenge China’s dominance on the rare earths’ world market, but extracting such metals from seabed sludge is expensive and difficult; scientists say it could take up to 5 years to figure out the best method.
“Panama Nv. Rare earths right at the edge of town... Maybe not so rare...”
There is no such place in Nevada. Maybe Pahrump or Panaca?
They bought Varyag as a training carrier to get experience with carrier ops, repair and construction. It was never going to be an operationally-deployed carrier.
Their *real* carrier is the Type 001A. They currently have one being worked up and to be commissioned later this year with several more in the pipeline.
The Chinese military should not be dismissed so cavalierly.
For starters, their navy doesn’t run around blundering into merchant ships. Ours does.
Their navy realized that the littoral warfare ship was stupid and they built frigates and destroyers instead. Ours only figured this out recently.
Their navy wasn’t stupid enough to take the CIWS systems off their ships. Ours was and is now hastily digging them out of warehouses and pulling them out of museums to put them back on ships.
On top of that, independent buyers of Chinese export weapons systems have found that many (not even most, to be fair) do actually perform as advertised.
You may want to read this: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/5-deadly-chinese-weapons-war-america-wishes-it-had-27567
and they bribe to get what they need.
Envelopes with cash to Gore at the Buddhist temple in Rowland Heights CA 1996.
Breakfasts with Clintons at the WH
Receiving missile guidance tech and cray super computers. 1997 (see china gate)They can buy what they don’t develop; when the president of the country is greedy and traitor.
Missouri also has rare earth minerals. China is by no means the only source.
Was it not the sister ship to the Admiral Kuznetsov? I know that POS is still looking for a new dry dock to fix damage done to it by a crane. Both these floating follies were built in the late 1980’s so they are antiques. We should not underestimate the Chinese though, they are as perserverant a race as can be found. Why we do anything that helps them build their military amazes me.
Yep. See my tagline...
Just look at their UAV offerings. In 2010, they were garbage only fit for consumer toys. Today their military UAV offerings often match or outperform their US equivalents - in part due to bribery, espionage and outright buying companies with critical technology.
I wonder what things will be like in 20 years
We have plenty, it is just cheaper to buy from China.
Click bait.
Varyag was/is a Kuznetsov class ‘heavy aviation cruiser,’ yes. The Chinese knew it was an antique when they bought it and didn’t even try to make it an combat capable ship. It was rebuilt as a training carrier only - China removed the launchers for the P-700 Granit (NATO: SS-N-19 Shipwreck) missiles as well as the missiles themselves. As rebuilt/completed by the PLAN, the Liaoning (ex-Varyag, ex-Riga) has even lighter AA than usual for carriers and zero surface warfare capability. It has three CIWS emplacements and three 18-cell HQ-10 SAM launchers - about what you’d expect for a training ship to be able to train crews and maybe fend off a surprise attack by itself and that’s about it.
To give you an idea of what an operational combat carrier of similar size is armed with for self defense, the French carrier Charles de Gaulle mounts four 8-cell medium to long range SAM launchers, two 6-cell short range SAM launchers and 8 20mm cannons for CIWS equivalents.
The ex-Varyag is a training ship, not intended for combat. Looked at that way, it’s not exactly a POS - no more than any dedicated training craft are in any other military.
Correct, but it will take the better part of a decade to get *any* new mine up and running or old mine reactivated thanks to regulations (non-safety), litigation and permitting laws.
Exactly. This is all hype.
Futures markets would be off the charts if there was any truth to it all.
Well, if they tick off the United States enough they could find themselves subjected to a coal embargo.
Let’s see who gets hurt worse.
Nothing good if our Congress doesn’t get their heads out of their arses. The two years wasted by Turtle Mitch and Lyin’ Ryan were priceless and they just threw it away.
Of course, too many of our congresscritters are bought and paid for by China these days.
Trump wasted 26 months not declaring an emergency Trump has dated 26 months letting the leaders of the coup against him walk free.
I think China is in a bad spot on a whole host of issues right now and rare earth minerals is not all that high on the list. We have them, we just don’t mine them because we can get them more cheaply and not worry about environmental regulations from China. If they cut us off, it will immediately be profitable and worthwhile to mine our own here in the US and China loses market share.
The one wildcard few are talking about just so happens to be hosting the big man right now.
Japan is increasing their defense spending and is seriously considering becoming a nuclear power - something Trump would NOT oppose. The public reason for this is that China cannot control their little puppet with a bad hair cut. However, this movement towards militarization is also an acknowledgement of China’s long-term goals in the region.
Out of all the problems for China - this might be at the top of the list and it does the most damage to their long-term plans because Japan is a powerful nation in their own right and their history with China is well known. Think Trump does not know this? Our media don’t, but consider where he is visiting right now.......
I call deep state hoaxing B.S. against Trump.
We have been in Afghanistan for years.
1 Trillion dollars worth of rare earth minerals in Afghanistan.
https://www.livescience.com/47682-rare-earth-minerals-found-under-afghanistan.html
Just as Trump wondered why Bush didn’t get the oil in Iraq; why didn’t Bush get these minerals in Afghanistan?
Because the Deep State doesn’t want Trump to get at their poppy fields in Afghanistan?
Here, Forbes downplays the worth of rare earth minerals in Afghanistan. I call DEEP STATE B.S.
(Is EVERYTHING A HOAX? Seems like it!)
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