New demand for these elements is higher than the supply of them. The world may soon face a shortage of the rare earths. In several years from 2009, worldwide demand for rare earth elements is expected to be more than the supply by 40,000 tonnes each year unless new sources are developed.
These concerns have gotten larger because of the actions of China. China has said it will put regulations on exports and work to stop smuggling. On September 1, 2009, China said it is going to lower its exports to 35,000 tons per year in 2010–2015. China said that this was done to conserve rare resources and protect the environment. On October 19, 2010 "China Daily" reported that China will "further reduce quotas for rare earth exports by 30 percent at most next year to protect the precious metals from over-exploitation". At the end of 2010 China said that the first round of exports in 2011 for rare earths would be 14,446 tons. This was a 35% decrease from the first round of exports in 2010. In September 2011 China said it was stopping production at three of its eight rare earth mines. These mines produced almost 40% of China's total rare earth production. In August 2012, China said there would be another 20% reduction in production.
Because of the increased demand and the restrictions on exports of the metals from China, some countries are stockpiling rare earth resources. Searches for new sources in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, Tanzania, Greenland, and the United States are taking place. Mines in these countries were closed when China undercut world prices in the 1990s. It will take a few years to restart production.
The European Union has urged the Denmark protectorate Greenland to restrict Chinese development of rare-earth projects there, as China accounts for 95 percent of the world’s current supply. As of early 2013, the government of Greenland has said that it has no plans to impose such restrictions.
Nuclear reprocessing is another possible source of rare earth or any other elements. Nuclear fission of uranium or plutonium creates a many elements as well as all their isotopes. However, it is not likely that creating them can be done safely and economically because of the radioactivity of many of these isotopes.
Another source of rare earths is electronic waste and other wastes that have a large amount of rare earth components. New advances in recycling technology have made getting the rare earths from these materials easier to do. Recycling plants are currently operating in Japan, where there is about 300,000 tons of rare earths in unused electronics. In France, the Rhodia group is setting up two factories in La Rochelle and Saint-Fons. These factories will produce 200 tons a year of rare earths from used fluorescent lamps, magnets and batteries.
China has said that resource depletion and environmental concerns are the reasons for increased nationwide control of its rare earth mineral production. Non-environmental reasons have also been suggested to explain China's rare earth policy. According to "The Economist", "Slashing their exports of rare-earth metals...is all about moving Chinese manufacturers up the supply chain, so they can sell valuable finished goods to the world rather than lowly raw materials."
The United States Department of Energy in its 2010 Critical Materials Strategy report identified dysprosium as the element that was most critical in terms of import reliance.
A 2011 report issued by the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Department of the Interior, “China’s Rare-Earth Industry," deals with industry trends in China. It looks at national policies that may guide the future of the country's production. The report says that China’s lead in the production of rare-earth minerals has grown over the past two decades. In 1990, China accounted for only 27% of such minerals. In 2009, world production was 132,000 metric tons. China produced 129,000 of those tons. According to the report, recent patterns suggest that China will slow the export of such materials to the world: “Owing to the increase in domestic demand, the Government has gradually reduced the export quota during the past several years.” In 2006, China allowed 47 domestic rare-earth producers and traders and 12 Sino-foreign rare-earth producers to export. By 2011, there were only 22 domestic rare-earth producers and traders and 9 Sino-foreign rare-earth producers. The government’s future policies will likely keep in place strict controls: “According to China’s draft rare-earth development plan, annual rare-earth production may be limited to between 130,000 and 140,000 [metric tons] during the period from 2009 to 2015. The export quota for rare-earth products may be about 35,000 [metric tons] and the Government may allow 20 domestic rare-earth producers and traders to export rare earths.”
The United States Geological Survey is searching southern Afghanistan for rare earth deposits under the protection of United States military forces. Since 2009, the USGS has done remote surveys as well as fieldwork to verify Soviet claims that volcanic rocks containing rare earth metals exist in Helmand province near the village of Khanneshin. The USGS has found an area of rocks in the center of an extinct volcano with light rare earth elements including cerium and neodymium. It has mapped 1.3 million metric tons of useful rock. This is about 10 years of supply at current demand levels. The Pentagon has estimated its value at about $7.4 billion.
Rare earth elements are not exchange-traded in the same way that precious (for instance, gold and silver) or non-ferrous metals (such as nickel, tin, copper, and aluminium) are. Instead, they are sold on the private market. This makes their prices hard to monitor and track. However, prices are published periodically on websites such as mineralprices.com. The 17 elements are not usually sold in their pure form. They are usually distributed in mixtures of varying purity, e.g. "Neodymium metal ≥ 99.5%". because of this, pricing can vary based on the quantity and quality required by the end user.
Larry Hankin
Larry Hankin (born August 31, 1940) is an American movie, television, radio, stage, voice actor, movie director and movie producer who is known for his role as Mr. Heckles in "Friends".
Hankin was born on August 31, 1940 in New York City, New York. He studied at Syracuse University.
Jonathan Harris
Jonathan Harris (Jonathan Charasuchin; November 6, 1914 – November 3, 2002) was an American movie, television, radio, stage, and voice actor who is known for his role as Dr. Zachary Smith in "Lost in Space".
Harris was born on November 6, 1914 in The Bronx, New York City, New York. He studied at James Monroe High School. Harris was married to Gertrude Bregman from 1938 until his death in 2002. Harris died on November 3, 2002 in Encino, Los Angeles, California from heart failure, aged 87.
Zenith
In astronomy, the zenith is a point "above" a particular location, in the sky. "Above" means in the opposite direction of gravity at that location. The zenith is the opposite of the nadir. The nadir is in the direction the direction that gravity pulls. The zenith is not a real point, it is used as a reference for the location of other things in the sky.
For scientists, the zenith is the direction of reference for measuring the zenith angle. The zenith angle is the angle between a place in the sky (usually a star) and the local zenith.
Nadir
In astronomy, the nadir is a point "below" a particular location. "Below" means in the same direction of gravity at that location. The nadir is the opposite of the zenith. The nadir is not a real point. It is used as a reference for the location of other things.
Herman Bing
Herman Bing (March 30, 1889 – January 9, 1947) was a German-American character actor and voice actor. He was the brother of Gus Bing (1893–1967).
He shot himself on 9 January, 1947.
Larry Semon