Posted on 02/05/2011 5:32:01 PM PST by george76
According to the new report on the world linear and torque motor market by IMS Research, the biggest threat to the market is the continuity of supply of rare-earth magnets, as the latest reports show that the Chinese Government intends to cut export quotas of rare earth material by 35% for the first half of 2011.
It is widely accepted that China produces 97% of the world's rare-earth material and so controls the world market for it...
It poses several questions; how are direct-drive motor manufacturers going to ensure continuity of supply of rare-earth magnetic components, and what is the motivation behind the Chinese Government's manipulation of rare-earth supply? Is it simply driving up the price of a commodity under its control, or is it looking to increase local value-added production and level of technology?
(Excerpt) Read more at eetimes.de ...
Of course, the United States has ample supplies of these minerals. But it isn’t economic to extract them given our business-destroying environmental laws.
Of course, the United States has ample supplies of these minerals. But it isn’t economic to extract them given our business-destroying environmental laws.
It appears the next non-Chinese miner scheduled to go into production is LYSDY.PK
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!
>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.
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
Not sure why that will increase "costs" unless you think what amounts to dust abatement and air filters in a very dirty sort of post mining extraction operation is a "cost"?
It's very easy to look this stuff up on the net.
Not that it's a good idea to let the Chinese have a monopoly on anything ~ but they don't have a monopoly on the possession of mineable rare earth deposits. We have them. They have them. Europeans have them. South Americans have them.
They are the residue of degraded thorium ores. We also have a nascent atomic energy industry that will use thorium. The Chinese are already planning to build plants to use thorium. The best part is the residue from a thorium reactor are rare earth minerals!
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.
Bwahahahaha!
Not sure why that will increase “costs”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2669259/posts?page=7#7
You might be refering to what bill1952 said
If you studied history it is full of what goes around comes around. In the 1800’s China was ruled by a backward imperial system. The established Confucian scholar ruler class feared modernity. After losing two Opium Wars which culminated in the burning of the Chinese Southern Palace by British/French troops (which contained most of the Chinese historical archives, arts and treasures going far back as the Tang Dynasty), some in the Chinese elites got it. Attempts by the reformers were stifled despite the external threat to China’s existence is real because the established classes had cultural hangups and self interests. How did the West and the US (and later Japan) treated the backward China? Well let us say it was not with respect or equality. Gunboats, Marines, concession territories (areas where Americans, Westerners and Japanese can live and no Chinese allowed in Chinese cities). The US, West and Japan established China’s tariffs, thus any Chinese fledging attempts to establish modern industries were quashed by the more efficient and established western ones. Most factories and mines in China were foreign controlled and run. If China does not give the foreign mine company what they want, they simply pull all the technicians out or call in the Marines. China was viewed as a prostrate cow to be butchered.
Now China is flushed with money and the US, EU and Japan are deep in debt. Like old China, the US and EU have cultural and political hangups that prevent them from being financially sound and resources self reliant. Segments within Western society know what needs to be done but are prevented by an established opposition based on environmentalism, political correctness, cradle to grave socialism or simple greed under the cover of free trade. As China grows and we wane, how do you think China will treat us based on our behavior towards them in the past????
Well, just darned, now all those Leftwingtards will be able to afford a new bug car.
History is more than the Boxer Rebellion.
Now, how are the Chicoms going to treat other people with full thermonuclear warhead capacity mounted on ICBMs?
I'd think they'd start treating them respectfully right off the bat ~ any more traditional Chinese arrogance and things will not go well.
The Chinese did learn that dope is bad for your society. They found the limit of how many people you can have zonked out on opium before every other sector of the nation falls to pieces ~ it's about 15% ~ but they went higher and made sure everything was destroyed.
Amazingly Westerners think they can handle dope and get away with it. I guess that's why their teeth are falling out from unrestricted hard narcotic use.
Why did you think the US protected the Dowager Empress??? It was not done for charity purposes. The US realize that if the Empress died, the reform movement which controlled southern China and kept the Boxers out can move north and take Bejing. How is the US, Japan and the West going to take advantage of a weak China head by more competent modern leaders? Old Asian strategy, never kill an incompetent general or leader, he might be replaced with a good one. For the US keeping the Dowager Empress alive served that purpose plus it was also good PR.
By the way, the southern reform movement mentioned eventually overthrew the Manchus and established an American style republic in 1911. The leader of the movement became its first President, the person was Sun Yat Sen. Ask yourself a dumb question, back in 1900 the US felt that China needs to be modern and civilized like modernized Japan, why did we protect a monarchy in lieu of supporting the southern reform movement in China modeled after Western republican ideas???? Despite our democratic and modern ideals, money and greed still talks. It happen back in 1900 and it still happens today.
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