Almost all of the world’s mined phosphate rock lies in five countries—China, Morocco, the United States, Jordan, and South Africa. At projected rates of consumption, there might be enough to last a century, or perhaps only for two more decades.posted by stbalbach at 10:58 AM on January 8, 2010
The term "rare earth" arises from the rare earth minerals from which they were first isolated, which were uncommon oxide-type minerals found in Gadolinite extracted from one mine in the village of Ytterby, Sweden. However, with the exception of the highly-unstable promethium, rare earth elements are found in relatively high concentrations in the earth's crust, with cerium being the 25th most abundant element in the earth's crust at 68 parts per million.They're not really rare they're just called that for historical reasons. They can be mined anywhere. The fact that China currently produces 95% doesn't mean they are the only place that can mine them.
All of the world's heavy rare earths (such as dysprosium) are sourced from Chinese rare earth sources such as the polymetallic Bayan Obo deposit.[10] Illegal rare earth mines are common in rural China and are often known to release toxic wastes into the general water supply.[11] A rare earth element mine in California is set to reopen by 2012. A site at Thor Lake in the Northwest Territories is also under development. Locations in Vietnam have also been considered.[9]And here's a bit from the "Geologic distribtion" section for some reason:
Chinese export quotas have also resulted in a dramatic shift in the world's rare earth knowledge base. For example, the division of General Motors which deals with miniaturized magnet research shut down its US office and moved all of its staff to China in 2006.[12]
On Sept. 1, 2009, China announced plans to reduce its quota to 35,000 tons per year in 2010-2015, supposedly to conserve scarce resources and protect the environment.[13] Other sources of rare earth has been searched to avoid shortages and China's monopoly, mainly in South Africa, Brazil and the United States.[14]
A few sites are under development outside of China, the most significant of which are the Nolans Project in Central Australia, the remote Hoidas Lake project in northern Canada and the Mt. Weld project in Australia.[15] The Hoidas Lake project has the potential to supply about 10% of the $1 billion of REE consumption that occurs in North America every year.[16]posted by delmoi at 11:15 AM on January 8, 2010 [8 favorites]
Two million of China's soldiers serve in the ground forces, where their primary responsibilities are to ensure domestic order and protect borders—not to project power. Then, too, the Pentagon estimates that only about 20 percent of those ground forces are even equipped to move about within China. A still smaller number possess the trucks, repair facilities, construction and engineering units, and other mobile assets needed to project power abroad.posted by electroboy at 11:18 AM on January 8, 2010 [4 favorites]
That’s not to say that China has all the deposits. In fact, most of the 17 elements in this group aren’t rare at all. They got their name because the ores in which they’re found are notoriously difficult to extract from Earth’s crust. It’s expensive to mine them in the United States, Europe, and other places with relatively strict environmental laws. China, with fewer such scruples, has been able to flood the market. In 1992, the price of ore containing these elements plummeted, and Molycorp Minerals, in Greenwood, Colo., the owner of the largest U.S. repository of rare earth metals, stopped digging.So if China stops exporting, then mining in the U.S. and Europe will probably resume, and the price of manufactured goods will increase slightly. Either that, or the whole manufacturing process will move into China, provided we keep the same trade policies and China keeps the same lax environmental and labor regulations.
China can field a standing army larger than our entire population, has most of what used to be our manufacturing base, and, oddly enough, has a stranglehold on the raw materials needed to fight a tech-centric war.So what? Despite the neo-cons wet dreams we're not going to fight them.
A conventional war with China would be ugly, and I don't know enough about the issue to predict a winner, but I don't think it would be a landslide.How can you have a conventional war between two nuclear powers? It just won't happen. The U.S could nuke China into glass in an hour and they could take out all our major cities. And then the earth would be plunged into nuclear winter. Sounds like fun. There's nothing the U.S. and china could fight over that would be worth the destruction for either side.
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posted by Babblesort at 10:44 AM on January 8, 2010 [6 favorites]