[muawiyah]

This sounds like old news. It's a highly complex situation where there are numerous rare earth mines throughout the planet but for the last couple of years the Chinese simply failed to shut all of theirs down while everybody else pretty much succeeded in the task.

The issue appears to be low levels of radioactivity that occur naturally but otherwise in the presence of rare earth elements, etc.

Best mining practices require dealing with that sort of problem FIRST. One large mine in the US is reopening this year after having been retrofitted to eliminate the radiation problem.

One of the reasons the Chinese achieved world dominance so quickly was that they have a number of mine owners who don't care ~ doesn't matter to them if there's radioactivity ~ so they opened up new mines. The Chinese government (envision bunch of guys with AKs and brown suits walking around firing on miners) has been closing such places too ~ although there's no saying that their preferred mines are any safer.

And don't get the idea that "rare earths" are "rare" ~ they aren't!

[bill1952]

>Best mining practices require dealing with that sort of problem FIRST.

Right. And then dealing with the problem of virtually none of these critically needed materials being on the market for many years.
- Yes, that makes sense. /s

>one large mine in the US is reopening this year

Its a step, albeit one that will increase domestic costs.

[george76]

for the USA to be self-sufficient in critical rare-earth metals, it will be necessary for the Alaskan Bokan Mountain deposits of Ucore Rare Metals to be developed as quickly as possible, along with either Molycorp’s Mountain Pass mine and/or Rare Element Resources’ Bear Lodge property in Wyoming.

Only in this way can the USA become self-sufficient in the critical rare earths in the near term.

Canada is now turning to the idea of becoming a supplier to the world of rare-earth metals

[ProtectOurFreedom]

The US shuts down its rare earth mines which forces auto makers to buys rate earths from China to build the Obamatopia greenie-mobiles.

The sad fact, as you point out, is China which has almost no environmental laws and seriously abuses its laborers. Sweet irony. But it is all worthwhile because our liberal friends can drive around proclaiming “zero emissions” and feeling virtuous, holy, and smug about themselves.