China Consolidates Grip on Rare Earths

Yahoo News ^ | September 15, 2011 | KEITH BRADSHER

[bobsunshine]

BEIJING — In the name of fighting pollution, China has sent the price of compact fluorescent light bulbs soaring in the United States.

By closing or nationalizing dozens of the producers of rare earth metals — which are used in energy-efficient bulbs and many other green-energy products — China is temporarily shutting down most of the industry and crimping the global supply of the vital resources.

[bobsunshine]

Stock up now on regular incandescent light bulbs

[the invisib1e hand]

seems “green” is a most ironic term.

[PMAS]

the US closed it’s rare earth mines in CA and NV because of the environazis, we have plenty here, just like oil, nat gas, etc. We just don’t drill ir mine.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

There is an answer, but as in all questions having to do with prosperity, the enviros will be against it.

Rare earth elements plentiful in ocean sediments

[JosephMama]

Check out Molycorp.

The only RE producer inside the US!

[Truth29]

China pulling on the Western leash a little?

[molson209]

trying to get us by the bulbs

[marsh2]

Apparently, there are substantial new Heavy Rare Earth Element (HREE) claims in Idaho, Montana and Colorado held by US Rare Earths Inc. http://www.usrareearths.com/eco/index.php Sounds like a good investment if the US and the states will allow development.

[bobsunshine]

Here are a few paragraphs from the article:

China produces nearly 95 percent of the world’s rare earth materials, and it is taking the steps to improve pollution controls in a notoriously toxic mining and processing industry. But the moves also have potential international trade implications and have started yet another round of price increases for rare earths, which are vital for green-energy products including giant wind turbines, hybrid gasoline-electric cars and compact fluorescent bulbs.

General Electric, facing complaints in the United States about rising prices for its compact fluorescent bulbs, recently noted in a statement that if the rate of inflation over the last 12 months on the rare earth element europium oxide had been applied to a $2 cup of coffee, that coffee would now cost $24.55.

An 11-watt G.E. compact fluorescent bulb — the lighting equivalent of a 40-watt incandescent bulb — was priced on Thursday at $15.88 on Wal-Mart’s Web site for pickup in a Nashville, Ark., store.

Wal-Mart, which has made a big push for compact fluorescent bulbs, acknowledged that it needed to raise prices on some brands lately. “Obviously we don’t want to pass along price increases to our customers, but occasionally market conditions require it,” Tara Raddohl, a spokeswoman, said. The Chinese actions on rare earths were a prime topic of conversation at a conference here on Thursday that was organized by Metal-Pages, an industry data firm based in London.

Soaring prices are rippling through a long list of industries. ..................

[bkopto]

Why anyone anywhere thinks the the US government, excluding the military, can do anything right, is way beyond me.

Our government is government by the idiots and the corrupt, for the naive sheeple.

The US government, and their interference with free markets (with the attendant unanticipated consequences), is the cause of this.

[PMAS]

I know Molycorp, but I remember reading about the mines that were closed, when this story first came up last December.

[Carry_Okie]

A logical person would have to wonder why anybody would loan an insolvent US government huge amounts of money at very low interest rates when it is obvious that real inflation of US currency is statistically understated. The reason why they do is equally obvious, there are hidden sweeteners at the expense of the American people that our "leaders" just don't cop to. This is simply one such line item.

Getting Congress to undo such a regulatory mess in a cash flow bind like this when our lenders know that we've made a raw deal we'd better keep is a challenge even to the most fervent conservative representative. Until the American people learn to recognize the cost of their entitlements, none of this will change, especially since the legal tools that made this possible were placed in the Constitution at its construction. I've been blaring this for a decade and even patented a free-market alternative which I am now in the process of prototyping. Is anybody listening?

[DBrow]

Teh incan light bulb ban starts in 2012, what great timing!

[bobsunshine]

Agree - Some people think that the Government is the super duper smartest entity in the world. But it is made up of average people, not super geniuses.

Every time someone says the government knows better I always say, “Think of the DMV” office. Nuff said

[org.whodat]

Rare earth is the name, they are not really rare, and the most important ones are used in magnets not light bulbs. All of those little bitty computer fans motors contain rare earth magnets.

[BenKenobi]

LEDs are down to 19.89 now for a 6 watt + 40 watt replacement.

If CFLs are up to 11 bucks, they are gonna start getting killed by LEDs.

[wideminded]

In the name of fighting pollution, China has sent the price of compact fluorescent light bulbs soaring in the United States.

I was surprised the other day when I went to buy some incandescent flood bulbs that the ones containing a compact fluorescent bulb inside were a lot cheaper.

[org.whodat]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/04/us-rareearth-japan-idUSTRE76300320110704

[DeltaZulu]

Green is the new Red.

[BenKenobi]

CFLs at 11 bucks means that LEDs, which last 6x as long and are cheaper to operate plus no mercury cost only 2x as much to buy at the store.

At 20 bucks, 6x the life would be the equivalent cost to around 3.33 dollars per CFL.

30x the life for the regular incandescents which cost 50c a piece, which means that the LEDs would need to be 15 bucks or so to be competitive with them.

So still not as cheap as the incandescents, but a way better alternative to the CFLs!