Many countries have staged a battle for rare earth resources

Many countries have staged a battle for rare earth resources

November 11, 2022 09:20 | Source: Science and Technology Daily

Original title: Many countries staged a battle for rare earth resources

After decades of tensions over oil, the transition to clean energy is sparking a global race for another natural resource: rare earth elements.

Rare earth elements are a collective term for 17 special elements, neodymium, praseodymium, europium, terbium and other once-little-known rare earth metals that are now commonplace in the manufacture of mobile phone touch screens, wind turbines and other modern technologies. The BBC reported that the mining and application of these deposits is of strategic value and importance, and may reshape the international market.

A number of foreign media reported that with the expansion of market demand for electric vehicles, electronic products, etc., and the tight global supply, many countries are actively looking for ways to mine rare earths to get rid of dependence on imports.

Japan plans to mine seabed rare earth sludge

According to Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun, the Japanese government is considering mining rare earth sludge from the seabed at a depth of 6,000 meters to wean itself off the dependence on imported rare earths and use them in everything from smartphones to weapons and equipment.

In 2012, rare earth mud was discovered on the seabed of the exclusive economic zone near Minamitorishima Island in the Ogawa Islands of Tokyo. It is estimated that the rare earth reserves around the island are equivalent to hundreds of years of domestic consumption in Japan.

Rare earth mud will be mined using a technology that has been successfully tested offshore: Chikyu, a deep-sea drill ship built by Japan's Marine Geosciences and Research Agency, will pump about 70 tons of mud per day by extending a riser to a depth of 2,470 meters into the seabed, and the government will also strengthen pumps and extension risers to accommodate deeper ocean mining, with a target of 350 tons per day.

For Japan, the extent to which the cost of extracting rare earth sludge from the deep sea can be reduced will be a challenge. According to the source, the Japanese government intends to develop a method of extracting rare earth elements near the Ogawa Islands from April 2023, and plans to start exploration within five years, hoping that from fiscal 2028, private companies will be able to enter the market in this field.

Australia strengthens investment in minerals

In the red land of central Australia, mining company Arafura is planning to build a rare earth processing facility for rare earth elements, called the Nolan project, according to the BBC. This project is located in one of the hottest and driest regions of the country. Despite the extreme conditions, Arafura believes the investment is worth it, with the planned facility meeting up to 5% of global demand for neodymium and praseodymium. These two metals can be used in high-power magnets and are critical to the electronics industry.

Geoscience Australia said REEs have a wide range of industrial, medical, domestic and strategic applications "because of their unique catalytic, nuclear, electrical, magnetic and luminescent properties".

"I believe this will be a game-changer for Australia, which is relatively rich in rare earth elements. Gavin Lockyer, managing director of Arafura, said, "This will really put Australia at the forefront of the renewable energy sector." ”

In addition, the country's Linas Rare Earths has signed a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense to build a rare earth processing facility in the United States. Linas is one of the few major rare earths producers in the world and operates the Wild Rare Earth Mine in Western Australia.

The U.S. heavily funds rare earth projects

The United States is also heavily dependent on rare earth imports. The U.S. has listed dozens of critical minerals: lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese for electric vehicle batteries, copper and aluminum for power grids, dysprosium and terbium for missiles and jet engines, and neodymium, plutonium, dysprosium and terbium for magnets and semiconductors, including rare earth elements that are critical to economic security.

On October 12, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a letter of intent to fund a $32 million project for engineering research to produce rare earth elements and other critical minerals from coal resources.

The DOE said it had invested $25 million in 21 projects across the U.S. to encourage the production of rare earth elements and critical minerals, according to the DOE's announcement through October. In September, the U.S. government spent $156 million to build its first critical minerals refinery for the extraction and separation of rare earth elements and critical minerals from non-traditional sources such as mining waste. In April, the Department of Energy allocated $19 million for projects in 13 traditional fossil fuel-producing communities across the country to support the production of rare earth elements and critical minerals.

The Biden administration's recently released National Security Strategy has identified the rare earth supply chain as a major concern. Newsweek reported that the competition around the supply chain of the future – from extraction to refining – could be as fierce as the energy race of the past.