This isn’t our first time at this rodeo
Rare Minerals are Surprisingly Abundant.
Kevin Murphy, Rifftrax: “What It Means to Be An American” video commentary
We’ve recently heard that due to the tariffs in play between the United States and China that the latter is threatening to limit access to their rare-earth metal resources. Rare-earth metals are a group of seventeen substances that are mined for their unique properties in technology (electronics, communications, manufacturing, others). Such a limit could severely impact the production of consumer electronics, military equipment and other key product fields.
However, it’s important to note that this is not a new situation. Without the tariffs, a similar situation evolved in 2010 between China, the U.S. and other countries and it was also driven by economics. In that situation the U.S. elected to reopen a domestic rare-earth mine, Molycorp Mountain Pass Mine to alleviate the shortage. While this did help matters, unfortunately the situation flipped again and only a few years later Molycorp had to file for bankruptcy. You can read the details of that time here.
The bottom line may be an old adage but it still holds. Hopefully this time around we remain aware of this cycle and are able to mitigate it somehow.
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
George Santayana
(As always, the opinions expressed in this article are mine alone and do not constitute legal advice.)
A View From the Geek Seats 