We have names to refer to absolutely everything, but there is a term that may sound somewhat vague: “rare earths.” It is something very broad, whose name doesn’t really say much and which, to make matters worse, is a confusing name because rare earths are neither earths… nor rare. However, it is the name we use to define one of the most important elements today, both for its value in the global supply chain and for its geopolitical component.
To try to shed a little light on the matter and be clear about what we are talking about on all the occasions in which we use this term in the different WorldOfSoftware articles, we are going to see what rare earths are, why they are so important, how China uses them. is being used as a throwing weapon and what the West can do to minimize Chinese control of these elements.
What are rare earths?
First things first and we emphasize again that rare earths, despite their name, are not earth. It is a set of 17 chemical elements that include the 15 elements of the lanthanide group, as well as yttrium and scandium. They are the following:
- Lanthanum (The)
- Cerio (What)
- Praseodimio (Pr)
- Neodymium (Nd)
- Promise (Pm)
- Samario (Sm)
- Europio (I)
- Gadolinio (Gd)
- Terbio (Tb)
- Disprosio (Dy)
- Holmio (Ho)
- Erbio (Er)
- Tulio (Tm)
- Iterbio (Yb)
- Lutecius (Lu)
- Scandium (Sc)
- Yttrium (Y)
They are not rare either, as they are found in enormous quantities all over the planet. The problem, and hence the name “rare earths”, is that they are not present by themselves in nature, but attached to minerals. In order to use these elements, it is necessary to process the minerals that contain them, which is an expensive and highly polluting process.
The extraction and refining process of these materials generates large quantities of toxic waste that must be properly managed. If not, they can cause great damage due to contamination of water, air and soil.
What do we use rare earths for?
The simple answer is “for everything.” Currently, these elements (some more than others, of course) are used in different industries for the manufacture of high-performance technological products. We can talk about three large groups:
- electronic devices: Neodymium and dysprosium are essential for the manufacture of magnets that are used in all types of devices that we use daily, such as headphones, laptops, smartphones or consoles. In addition, they are also essential for the batteries of all the devices we use every day.
- Electric vehicles: Likewise, they are also necessary in electric vehicles. Not only do we have a lot of electronic systems inside an electric car, but also the batteries and motors themselves. Dysprosium and praseodymium are, for example, essential to increase resistance to high temperatures, something vital in an electric car. Not to mention neodymium.
- Renewable energies: and in the step we are taking towards renewable energies, talking about rare earths and magnets is talking about wind turbines. These systems require powerful rare earth magnets to operate.
Although at the consumer level these fields are the ones that may interest us the most, we must not leave aside other industries. Rare earth elements are essential for the aerospace and military industries because they are used for the manufacture of guidance systems and radars, as well as for satellites. If we add the importance of electronic devices and batteries, we also find military unmanned vehicles.
Rare earths are used for the construction of large telescopes and space exploration tools, but also for the medical industry. An example is gadolinium used in MRI systems.
China, geopolitics and the dominance of rare earths
Given what rare earths are and what they are used for, we must delve fully into geopolitics and say again that China dominates the rare earths market. This has to do with two key factors: quantity and capacity.
China is a huge territory and has large mineral deposits that contain these rare earths. The Inner Mongolia region is a real mine – literally – and from time to time we hear news that the country has discovered another large deposit of rare earths. The existence of these deposits within its borders facilitates the transportation of minerals by lowering costs and reducing time. However, it is not the only reason.
As we said, rare earths are found all over the planet, but historically, China has had more lax environmental regulations than other territories, which has allowed them to take the lead in the processing and refining of these elements. During the separation process of these elements, acids and other chemicals are used that release toxic substances in the leaching process. If not treated properly, it can contaminate the soil and, therefore, groundwater reservoirs.
Additionally, there are some minerals that release radioactive waste during the process, making waste management much more complicated. In the end, rare earth production has a downside: a huge amount of solid waste and sludge – for example, the steel industry also has this problem – that must be managed with caution.
And we don’t just have to talk about the more lax regulation, something that has been tightened in recent years as they seek to reduce their pollution levels. We must talk about state aid. A few months ago it adopted a series of measures to convert rare earths and its industry into state property, allowing the Government to launch itself with warnings such as “no organization or person may invade or destroy rare earth resources”, since which would be taken as an attack on China itself.
This set of factors has given China an enormous large-scale production capacity for rare earths, which helps them satisfy both their demand and exports. Of course, with production under control, measures have been taken to pressure the West, especially in light of the trade war against the United States (which has expanded to Europe with examples such as tariffs on electric cars). They have not only done it with rare earths, but also with gallium and germanium, production that China dominates by 94% and 83% respectively.
In any case, it is estimated that China currently produces around 60% of these elements in the world and is the origin of around 90% of the refined rare earths on the market. It is, practically, total control.
The future of rare earths
How does the future look? To see the importance of rare earths in the transition of automobiles, we only have to take a look at the press departments of car brands. Many include a section in some area of their websites in which they talk about rare earths, and Porsche, for example, states that, by 2040, there will be a demand for rare earths 20 times greater than in 2018.
China still dominates, but the rest of the world is catching up. Never better said. We are not only looking for new deposits (we have found important deposits in Greenland, Chile, Norway or Japan), but we are looking at how to refine these elements to stop depending on Chinese production, but it will be a slow process.
An example is rare earths from Sweden. The mining company LKAB, which is administered by the country itself, stated a few months ago that it was inspecting a land in which there would be one billion tons of rare earths and would initiate the necessary bureaucratic procedures to exploit the deposit. The problem is that usually between 10 and 15 years elapse between the moment in which the first steps are taken and the period in which the material begins to be extracted.
And, furthermore, bureaucracy will be slow because the environmental impact of both the exploitation of the deposit and the refining of the elements must be evaluated. Now, what the West would have a chance with is the recycling of rare earths. Not so long ago, this task was considered arduous, but recent research points to a future in which we could use cyanobacteria to recycle part of the rare earth metals used in a product.
This would boost the circular economy around rare earths, but would also allow us to stop depending so much on China while solutions are found for the production of these elements outside of the Asian giant’s plants.
Images | TNFSA, Pixabay
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