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In a June 27 piece from Business Insider, Jim Powell, a technology and strategic metals analyst with Laurentian Bank Securities, attempts to clear up the confusion over the future supply and demand of critical metals. His interview with The Critical Metals Report highlights the struggle between China and the rest of the world over Rare Earth Elements (REEs). Powell explains briefly that the major demand for these elements is for use in “technology-type applications” such as “batteries for cars” like “GM’s Volt.”

The U.S. Administration has been advocating for greener technologies in the automotive industry over the past few years, encouraging American consumers to do their part by purchasing plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles.  During his State of the Union speech in January, President Obama announced that he wants 1 million of these alternative cars on our roads by 2015.

What does the U.S. auto industry have to do with Rare Earth Elements? The current grip-hold China has on the REE market could easily impact the cost of the products the President is urging American manufacturers to make more of and asking consumers to purchase. Rare Earth elements essentially make all of these emerging technologies work.

Rare Earths are used in a number of automotive applications such as catalytic converters and other auto parts. The batteries that power plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles (such as the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf) require some REEs in combination with Neodymium permanent magnets, which is a light Rare Earth element. However, manganese (not a REE but 100 percent imported by the U.S. due to lack of our own deposits) is most commonly found in newer lithium-ion batteries.

Right now, China provides 97 percent of global Rare Earths production.  The U.S. provides a fraction of one percent.  But shift to known reserves – the potential to provide future supply – and the numbers tell a different story:  China has 36 percent of known reserves, with the U.S. accounting for 13 to 15 percent.

With China keeping more and more of its Rare Earth elements off of the world market, how does the Administration expect the automotive industry to reach its goal in four years without exploring the resources available to us in America?

We’re thrilled to announce that Fred McMahon and Jean-Francois Minardi from the Canada-based Fraser Institute have joined the ARPN expert panel. McMahon is Vice-President of Research, International, at the Fraser Institute, and, among other things, co-author of the Fraser Institute’s annual Survey of Mining Companies.  Minardi is Associate Director of the institute’s Global Natural Resource (…) more

A new piece in the New Scientist underlines the importance of strategic metals to our new economy — from tech toys like the iPad and smart phones to green-tech applications ranging from solar panels to wind turbines. The Tellurium in the title is an element critical to new solar panel applications. As New Scientist puts (…) more

In a passionate delivery on the House of Representatives floor, California Congressman Jeff Denham delivered a message about natural resources and American jobs. In his closing, Denham said, “We won’t solve CA’s energy problems or the nation’s job issue without addressing our natural resources.” Watch the short video below to hear his full plea to (…) more

In less than two minutes, this short, but informative, video clip on the BBC’s website does a great job of getting to the heart of the rare earths crunch that puts the U.S. at the mercy of China. Ending our dangerously high degree of resource dependency is possible, but it all boils down to the question (…) more

Statistics show that rare earths reserves in China are down to 27 million tons and, at current production rates, may be exhausted as early as 2025. This data underscores the urgency of the rare earths crunch we have been discussing on this blog in recent weeks.  Having produced rare earths at rates exceeding 100,000 tons (…) more

American Resources expert Gareth Hatch has an excellent piece up on his site (techmetalsresearch.com) that outlines Quebec’s “Plan Nord” – the Canadian province’s plan to develop its northern reaches in both strategic and sustainable ways. Says Hatch: “Plan Nord could have a significantly positive effect on the development of rare-earth and other rare-metal projects in (…) more

For those who remember Rare Earth as a rock band, life has come full circle: Smarthouse Lifestyle Technology Guide reports today that audio speaker costs are “set to rocket” due to rapidly rising prices for Neodymium-based magnets. Whether rockers- and other music listeners- will pay more to hear their favorite music, or companies will compromise (…) more

A high-ranking U.S. Department of Energy official is making the link between American technological progress and green energy to resource development. Assistant Secretary of Energy for Policy and International Affairs David Sandalow told a U.S. Senate subcommittee last week that the U.S. must find ways to mitigate supply risk associated foreign dependence on rare earths (…) more