Rare earth

When you get up in
morning and you are trying to find your cell phone, you probably aren’t thinking
about neodymium, but maybe you should.

Neodymium is a rare-earth element that plays an essential role in making certain that your cell phone
works. Without neodymium and other rare-earth elements, cell phones wouldn’t be as
small or as powerful as they are, televisions wouldn’t be as big and as thin as
they are, and many other of the creature comforts that we now rely on wouldn’t be
around.

According to Wikipedia:
“Rare-earth magnets are strong permanent magnets made from alloys of rare earth elements. Developed in the 1970s and 80s, rare-earth magnets are the strongest type of permanent magnets made, substantially
stronger than ferrite or alnico magnets. The magnetic field typically produced by rare-earth magnets
can be in excess of 1.4 teslas, whereas ferrite or ceramic magnets typically
exhibit fields of 0.5 to 1 tesla. There are two types: neodymium magnets and samarium-cobalt magnets. Rare earth magnets are
extremely brittle and also vulnerable to corrosion, so they are usually plated or coated to protect them from breaking and chipping.
The term ‘rare earth’ can be misleading as these metals are not particularly
rare or precious; they are about as abundant as tin or lead. Interest in rare earth
compounds as permanent magnets began in 1966, when K. J. Strnat and G. Hoffer of
the U.S. Air Force Materials Laboratory discovered that YCo5 had by far the largest
magnetic anisotropy constant of any material
then known.”

The good news about rare earths is that they help make our lives easier, and in many ways, they hold
the key to a greener, more environmentally efficient world. For example, many of
the new “green technologies” rely on rare earths to work.

The bad news is that
mining for rare earths can be a messy process, which is why most of it is produced
now in China. In fact, about 95 percent of rare-earth production is done in China, and as one investment magazine put it: “With
China using nearly two-thirds of what it produces, it’s naturally keen to protect
its own interests. The country is stockpiling its supplies and continuing to reduce
annual exports of ‘rare earths.’ The real concern is that within a few years China
may decide to keep everything it produces.”

China has already started
flexing its muscles when it comes to rare earths. It stopped the export of the minerals
to Japan over the summer over an unrelated boundary dispute, causing the Japanese
to quickly buckle. It has also slowed down shipments to the United States over the
last several months, causing policymakers to take notice.

In fact, as The New
York Times reports today, the Energy Department just released a report on the unfolding rare-earth crisis. Here is what the Times had to say about the report: “The United
States is too reliant on China for minerals crucial to
new clean energy technologies, making the American economy vulnerable to shortages
of materials needed for a range of green products — from compact fluorescent light
bulbs to electric cars to giant wind turbines. So warns a detailed report
to be released on Wednesday morning by the United States Energy Department. The report, which predicts
that it could take 15 years to break American dependence on Chinese supplies, calls
for the nation to increase research and expand diplomatic contacts to find alternative
sources, and to develop ways to recycle the minerals or replace them with other
materials.”

As the Congress tangles
over issues like tax cuts, unemployment benefits and pork barrel spending, and
as the news media focuses on what Sarah Palin is wearing today, the Chinese are
busy cornering the market on rare earths.

My prediction is that
in 50 years, there will be a colony on the moon that is there to mine rare minerals
that are essential to the creation of the 10G iPhone. I don’t know who is going to own the mine, but
if U.S. politicians don’t get their act together, it will probably be owned by the
Chinese.

In the meantime, our
nation ought to come up with a plan to stop the Chinese monopoly on rare earths
back here on Earth. We should have a plan on making certain that the Middle
Kingdom doesn’t become the Rare-Earth Empire, able to dictate the terms
of use to the rest of the world.

Visit www.thefeeherytheory.com.