Rare Earth Elements – China and the ‘Green’ Revolution

The UK Independent has a long tradition as a campaigning newspaper. When it adopts a position on any issue, it tends to overstate the risks; like a typical redtop, but less crude and with more panache, style and analysis to back up its assertions.

Like all newspapers, it’s best to approach the Independent with a healthy dollop of skepticism. Its bias is unashamed, but look beyond that and the subject matter of so many issues it investigates and reports are invariably interesting.

Take this one , for example : http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/concern-as-china-clamps-down-on-rare-earth-exports-1855387.html.

On one level it’s a China-bashing story, probably relating to China’s alleged role in sabotaging the Copenhagen conference and the blame game that’s been doing the rounds ever since.

The gist of the story is that China has a near monopoly on rare earth elements, essential in the production of electric cars, iPhones and efficient wind turbines, among many things. China used to export 75% of its mining output of REEs, but has cut that back to 25% and now, even that is under threat, because it will need all of its current production for its own ‘green’ revolution. It’s being watched closely by western countries to see if there’s any infringement of WTO rules going on. It has already been chased out of Northern Australia – or at least one Chinese company has – for trying to buy an REE mine there.

A further underlying theme of this article is that China’s action puts the rest of the world’s hopes for a ‘green technology’ revolution at risk

To me, insofar as there is substance to this article, it merely underlines how access to natural resources defines power, for good or ill. It would also be of interest to get a scientists and/or engineer’s perspective on this story, just how important REEs are for the development of green technologies and what the implications are for depletion of scarce natural resources and the environmental cost.