Trump can make America
manufacture again — with rare Earth elements, by Printus LeBlanc, 5/4/17,
NetRightDaily
The
most important mine nobody knows about closed in August of 2015. Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine in
Mountain Pass, Calif., previously owned by Molycorp, was the only rare Earth
element mine left in the U.S. If President Trump wants manufacturing jobs to
come back to the U.S., he might consider what can be done with rare Earth
elements.
Every
day, you touch hundreds of items with rare Earth elements. If you are reading
this on a cellphone, computer, or tablet you are touching rare Earth elements.
The vehicle you drove to work in, has rare Earth elements. If it’s a Prius, it
has over 30 pounds of rare Earth elements in it. A world without rare Earth
elements would resemble a scene from the television show “The Walking Dead”.
On
the periodic table rare Earth elements represent the 15 elements between atomic
numbers 57 and 71. Scandium (21) and Yttrium (39) are often included in the
rare Earth element count, because they share similar properties and often occur
with the other 15. Rare Earth elements have unusual physical and chemical
properties. Because of those properties, they have a multitude of applications.
Lanthanum makes up almost 50 percent of digital camera lenses, this includes cell phone cameras.
Many
states want to include “green” in their energy consumption. New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) just announced his support for a project to put the nation’s
largest wind farm off the coast of Long Island. According to the Bulletin of Atomic Sciences and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology each wind turbine has over 700 pounds of
rare Earth elements.
Many
reporters have recently reported that the Chinese domination in the rare Earth
element market is coming to an end. Reason columnist Ronald Bailey gloated about
the falling prices in rare Earth elements in 2016 and predicted a collapse of
China’s dominance in that market. Shortly after the article, the aforementioned
U.S. mine closed. Although other countries are now entering this market, China
still dominates. In 2016, Chinese rare Earth element mine
production was
up to 105,000 metric tons, over 80 percent of world market share, according to
data compiled by Rare Earth investing news. Australia was second with only
14,000 metric tons.
The
laws of economics do not work when one side is willing to take a small loss.
The global market for Rare Earth elements is only valued at about $5 billion according to Roskill, an international
metals and research firm. That $5 billion market is responsible for the $428 billion smart phone market. The $5 billion
market plays a large part in the $445 billion computer market. The estimated global
market value of products dependent on rare Earth elements is valued at over $7 trillion. Much of that being manufactured in
China, and employing hundreds of thousands of workers. China will have no
problem losing $5 billion a year to keep and expand its manufacturing base by
incentivizing companies to build their rare Earth products in China.
When
U.S. military forces go into battle, it with the most advanced weapons systems
on the planet. If the systems do not work properly, it puts lives at greater
danger than they already are. The technologies, like the personnel, must endure
austere conditions to accomplish the mission. Rare Earth elements ensure the
mission can be accomplished.
The
most common use for Rare Earth elements is in magnets. Two magnets used
extensively in military technologies are samarium cobalt (SmCo), and neodymium
iron boron (NdFeB). These are extremely strong magnets. The NdFeB magnet is
considered the world’s strongest permanent magnet. This allows a small magnet to be used
instead of a larger device and aides in the miniaturization of
technology. SmCo magnets are used for high temperature applications where stability over a wide range of temperatures
is important. Think airplanes.
The
59 Tomahawk cruise missiles President Trump fired into Syria last month, each
had Rare Earth elements. The drones used to assess the damage done by the
Tomahawks used rare Earth elements. When the President tweeted about the attack
and congratulated the U.S. military, you guessed it, he used a phone with rare
Earth elements.
Care
to guess how China could get advanced schematics of the F-35 fighter jet? There
are hundreds of pounds of parts with rare Earth elements in
them. Would it be easier to launch a sophisticated computer hacking operation,
or simply walk over to the factory that is producing parts for the jet and have
a look? The most sophisticated and expensive weapons system ever produced is
literally “Made in China”.
Smart
bombs have accounted for 99.5 percent of the strikes against the Islamic State.
The strikes are occurring in populated areas and precision weapons must be used
to avoid civilian casualties. The munitions are expensive and highly advanced.
The munitions also use rare Earth elements. Recently the military has indicated
a shortage of these munitions. Is the U.S. military supposed to ask
China for permission to carry out an action?
At
least someone in Congress is looking at the problem. Rep. Duncan Hunter
(R-Calif.), introduced H.R. 1407, the Materials Essential To American
Leadership and Security Act, or METALS Act. The bill would establish the
Strategic Materials Investment Fund, from which new mines can open, and old
mines can reopen. Due to the time it takes to start a mine up, the loans are
interest free for five years. The legislation also does not allow companies
owned by Russia or China to open mines here in the U.S. and use the fund. Those
opposed to the bill will say it is not free market enough, and they may be
right, but China is not playing by the rules either. This is an economic and
national security matter. Something must be done.
Fixing
the rare Earth element shortage problem would be the quickest way for President
Trump to bring back manufacturing jobs to the U.S. As stated above, right now $7
trillion in goods cannot be manufactured in the U.S.
China
uses its monopoly as a weapon to force manufacturers to relocate or to stay in
China. While there, China steals the intellectual property
of the companies it forced to relocate.
This is a problem few know about, but everyone is connected to.
President
Trump can press for Hunter’s bill and help ease the Environmental Protection
Agency requirements to start a project. And if he wants to get America
manufacturing again, he should start immediately.
Printus
LeBlanc is a contributing reporter at Americans for Limited Government.
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