China joins global hunt to diversify mineral supplies: IEA

TOKYO -- China's dominant position in refining and processing raw materials is making the nation a strong competitor in the global fight for mining assets, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday, as governments and companies rush to diversify supply chains for critical minerals and stably meet demand for key clean technologies including renewables and electric vehicle batteries.

"As the world's largest metal refining hub, China heavily relies on imports for large volumes of raw materials, often from a small number of sources," the IEA's Critical Minerals Market Review 2023 report said.

The world's second-largest economy is the top producer of processed copper, cobalt, lithium, graphite and rare earths and the second-largest processor of nickel, after Indonesia, but its sources for raw materials are highly concentrated, according to the report. It relies almost entirely on the Democratic Republic of Congo for importing unprocessed cobalt, on the Philippines and Myanmar for around 80% of its nickel and tin, respectively, and on Australia for 60% of its lithium.

"China is therefore seeking ways to diversify its raw material supply portfolio," the report said. "The country has been actively investing in mining assets in Africa and Latin America, and started investing in overseas refining and downstream facilities, with an aim to secure strategic access to raw materials."

Regarding lithium, for example, between 2018 and the first half of 2021, Chinese companies invested $4.3 billion in mining assets, twice the amount of American, Australian and Canadian businesses combined, the report said.

The IEA expects China to further increase investment in overseas mining assets and trigger "greater competition" for various sources as the energy sector drives demand.

Mine the sea. Just about every mineral that is the least bit soluble is dissolved in sea water, and by the use of electrolysis, the various elements can be separated from the compounds in which they are included. Different mineral salts have differing points of crystallization as sea water is dried down, one of the first being sodium chloride. The remaining brine is a concentrated mixture of primarily potassium chloride, a valuable fertilizer, then in smaller and smaller amounts all the alkali and alkaline minerals are further crystallized out, including lithium. Then the heavy metal salts, including gold, silver, lead, mercury, and even uranium, are in the recoverable residue. To effect this to the greatest degree possible, requires a great deal of heat, way more than from mere sunshine. A nuclear atomic pile puts out an enormous amount of heat, most of which is now simply vented off to the atmosphere. Only a small part of all that heat put to use to drive steam turbines to generate electricity, the primary purpose of nuclear reactors to begin with. The excess heat could be used to dry down the ever more concentrated brine, and the evaporated water recaptured and condensed into a very pure distilled water, suitable for potable use or irrigating crops on desert land.

The salt residue could be then refined into its component elements, or dumped back into the ocean in regions where the salinity is lower than elsewhere in the various currents and expanses of the sea. The recovered salts of the other minerals are then processed for the lithium, mercury and rare earth elements so necessary for the electronic components of sophisticated and rather complicated equipment that supports the modern economy of the world.

Most of the technology already exists. What is lacking is the will to put it to use.

--- "We've put ourselves in a blackmail position with this climate cr**."

Remember those nice Democrats -- Obama, Clinton, Holder, et al -- who signed the Uranium One deal to a Canadian group connected to a Moscow group?

Source for some info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium_One

For the last decades, US politicians have encouraged the leasing of US assets to non-US entities. Money makes the political world go 'round.

--- "I know so little about this...it's hard to evaluate the entire scope."

A friend and neighbor in Germany (when we lived there) holds two doctorates and is professor of computer technology at a technical university there. Far more intelligent than am I. He observed the real revolution of late has been the internet itself, for one can research broadly now in ways one could earlier in time. For this, while none of us is well versed in everything, we can nose around, be skeptical and read much, even contradictory information, to make some sense of things.

There are no authorities in all things, but competing voices as science, technology and more advance.

It is explanatory therefore why such things as often-bogus fact checking and all has erupted of late, alongside censorship sponsored by political activists. How dare we attempt to broaden our "scope" to see past the postures and assertions and all? The gatekeepers hate when we go around them.

Remain skeptical. The internet, filled with BS, is also filled with gemstones to mine.

Best wishes.

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