Prices for precious rare earth elements (REEs) and demand for skilled miners are soaring as political and military tensions between the United States and China intensify, Nikkei Asia reported.
China dominates the global rare earth industry and is the only country with a complete supply chain from mining, refining, processing to rare earths.
As of last year, it controlled 55 percent of global capacity and 85 percent of rare earth refining, according to commodities researcher Roskill.
That dominance may actually grow, as Beijing has declared its willingness to “friendly cooperation” with Afghanistan’s new Taliban regime, which is sitting on $1 trillion worth of untapped minerals, according to rare earth experts.
Whenever China threatens to halt or cut exports, the world panic sends rare earth metals prices soaring.
Rare earth elements are vital in cutting-edge technologies—everything from missiles, jet fighters like the F-35, to wind turbines, medical equipment, power tools, cell phones, and motors for hybrid and electric vehicles.
A report by the Congressional Research Service said each F-35 requires 417 kilograms of rare earth materials to make critical components such as power systems and magnets.
According to Nikkei Asia, Max Hsiao, a senior manager at an audio component manufacturer in Dongguan, China, believes the extrusion comes from a magnetic alloy called neodymium praseodymium.
The price of the metal Hsiao’s company uses to assemble speakers for Amazon and laptop maker Lenovo has doubled since June last year to around 760,000 yuan ($117,300) a tonne in August.
“The rising cost of this key magnetic material has brought down our gross margin by at least 20 percentage points…that’s really been a huge impact,” Xiao told Nikkei Asia.
They are vital to a range of technical gear – everything from speakers and electric car motors to medical equipment and precision ammunition.
Rare earths such as neodymium oxide, a key input in electric motors and wind turbines, have also risen 21.1% since the start of the year, while holmium, which is used in magnets and magnetostrictive alloys for sensors and actuators, is up nearly 50%.
With supply shortages looming, experts say a surge in rare earth prices could eventually push up the cost of consumer electronics across the board.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the high desert region of Nevada is beginning to feel a surge in demand for rare earth elements.
In Nevada, approximately 15,000 people are employed in the state’s mining industry.Nevada Mining Association (NVMA) President Tyre Gray said that has cost the industry “about 500 fewer jobs” — which it has done for years.
As the U.S. looks to secure domestic supply chains for rare earth elements and other vital minerals like lithium, the need for more miners will only grow, according to a report in Northern Nevada Business Week.
Lithium batteries were first proposed in the 1970s and commercialized by Sony in 1991, and are now used in cell phones, airplanes, and cars.
They also have a lower discharge rate than other batteries, losing about 5% in a month compared to 20% for NiCd batteries.
“It will be necessary to fill the jobs we are currently vacant, and there will be a need to fill the jobs that will be created as a result of increased demand from the mining industry,” Gray said.
To that end, Gray pointed to the proposed lithium project at Thacker Pass in Humboldt County, near Orowada.
“They’re going to need construction workers to develop their mines, but then they’re going to need about 400 full-time employees to run the mines,” Gray told NNBW.
Labor issues are not unique to Nevada.According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), mining and geological engineering employment is projected to grow by just 4% from 2019 to 2029.
As demand for critical minerals continues to rise, fewer skilled workers are filling job vacancies.
A representative of Nevada Gold Mines said: “We are fortunate to experience unprecedented growth in our business. However, this also adds to the challenges from a workforce perspective.
“We believe that the immediate reason behind this is the pandemic and the resulting cultural change in the United States.
“After the pandemic wreaked havoc on every aspect of people’s lives, like every other company in America, we’re seeing some of our employees re-examining their life choices.”
In Nevada, the median annual salary for underground miner operators and mining workers is $52,400; according to the BLS, salaries for mining and geological engineers have doubled or more ($93,800 to $156,000).
Aside from the challenges of attracting new talent into the industry, Nevada’s mines are located in remote parts of the state — not everyone’s cup of tea.
Some people think of miners covered in mud and soot working in hazardous conditions, spewing black smoke from outdated machinery.A stark Dickens image.
“Unfortunately, a lot of times people still see the industry as an industry in the 1860s, or even a 1960s industry,” Gray told NNBW.
“When we’re really at the forefront of technological advancement. We’re using the most advanced and available technology in order to mine the material in the safest way possible.”
At the same time, the U.S. is working to reduce its reliance on China against the backdrop of deteriorating U.S.-China relations and the war on emerging technologies:
Jeff Green, president of lobbying firm JA Green & Co, said: “The government is investing in building new capabilities, trying to build every element of the supply chain. The question is whether we can do that economically.”
This is because the US has very strict regulations on human health and the environment, which tend to make production more expensive.
Ironically, China’s demand for rare earth elements is so high that it has exceeded domestic supply for the past five years, prompting a surge in Chinese imports.
“China’s own rare earth security is not guaranteed,” said David Zhang, an analyst at consultancy Sublime China Information.
“It could go away when U.S.-China relations deteriorate or when the Myanmar general decides to close the border.”
Sources: Nikkei Asia, CNBC, Northern Nevada Business Week, Power Technology, BigThink.com, Nevada Mining Association, Marketplace.org, Financial Times
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Post time: Mar-03-2022