Interesting move.
The trouble is, China likely has control over a majority of minerals needed to make batteries. Not just in their own country, but now in Afghanistan and much of Africa. It’s going to be hard to pull it off without them.
Which raises a whole bunch of other questions about the politicians who have been pushing EV mandates knowing China holds the handle on the spigot. Maybe this is Younkin trying to bring the subject to light.
And the Lithium Triangle in South America, in the last month a 700 million dollar deal, no one on our side has said a word
The U.S. actually has a lot of rare earth materials. Regulations and lawsuits make it less profitable to get them.
Sweden has recently discovered plenty:
China is one of the few sources, it doesn’t have to remain that way.
One more thing Monkeyshine.
We have plenty of Lithium. In North Carolina, Arkansas, California and Nevada. The Arkansas and CA stores are the Brine and an up and coming tech DLE could make it cost effective.
Alaska is full of rare earths. We don't need the Nickel or Cobalt in the batteries other chemistry's are here, not as energy dense but the work and are fire-runaway proof. Better ones (Lithium Sulfur Iron) are being discussed.
It just takes the balls to extract this stuff, we are so gelded, time to stop globalizing with the freaking ChiComs.
The Lithium, Rare Earth and Uranium Supply chains, guess who had Senate Committees looking into solutions?
U-huh, PDJT. He knew....
And, what China doesn’t control, Russia does.
70% of Chinese Lithium batteries are made in Uighur Muslim concentration camps. And, the Cobalt comes from child slave miners in Africa.
No one is mining anything in Afghanistan and will not be for years. Given the terrain it will take a Multi-Billion Dollar Infrastructure Investment before any mining could even start and you’re talking about a minimum of 10 years to do it, probably more.
Lithium is everywhere. The oceans are full of it. We can now evaporate it from seawater and it is virtually endless. Lithium is easier mined than oil and is much cleaner. There are virtually zero “rare earths” (which aren’t rare) in EV batteries and most of them are totally recyclable.
None of this has anything to do with Algore or Brandon. The firms made this progress all on their own.
When I cruised thru Silver Peak, NV in ‘63, on a 50cc Honda bike, there was NO ONE living there and the old swimming pool was full of tumbleweeds.
When I cruised thru Silver Peak, NV in ‘63, on a 50cc Honda bike, there was NO ONE living there and the old swimming pool was full of tumbleweeds.
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia18553-lithium-mining-nevada