To what extent are rare earth elements useful for developing countries and why does China currently dominate the trade market – what are the implications?
Introduction
Rare earth elements (REE’s) are seventeen different chemical elements in the periodic table which include the fifteen lanthanides, scandium and yttrium. They fit into this category as they have similar chemical properties. Unusually they are not actually that rare as they are relatively abundant and can be found in the Earth’s crust. However, it is rare to find high concentrations of REE’s as the rocks they can be found in are mostly non-economically viable to actually mine and process (meaning no profit can actually be made). So there are only a few locations that have been found to supply a sufficient quantity and concentration that would make it economically viable for them to extract and process.
Geologists (mineralogists) see REEs as tools for helping scientific research into the origins of specific types of rocks and ores. Although they come in such minute concentrations, in some cases negligible they are still a very important piece of evidence to support theories of origin and formation. However, they have been in great demand in recent decades due to the development of technologies that require REE’s. Examples include:
• Catalyst (automotive catalyst & fluid cracking catalysts)
• Magnets (used in wind turbines, cars, headphones, etc.)
• Metal alloys (NiMH batteries, mischmetal)
• Polishing (Cerium powders used to polish glass and silicon)
• Glass (Lanthanum makes up 50% of glass for digital cameras)
• Phosphors (used in modern energy saving light bulbs)
REE’s can be found in high concentrations where disseminated fragments of the element containing minerals get weathered, transported and deposited. Additionally, magmatic intrusions often bring from the mantle a high concentration of REE baring minerals. Those that are found in rift zones can be mined for up to 71,000 tonnes/year). The Sulphide Queen in the Mountain Pass district is the largest known mass of high grade RRE ore in the United States with an estimate 20 million metric tons of ore remaining.
How have REE’s helped China and other similar developing countries?
If you look at China several decades ago it would have been classed as an LEDC which is defined as a less economically developed country i.e. a poor country that has a weak infrastructure and development is slow. Now it has been classed as a developing country as its economy is rapidly growing.
China now produces over 90% of all REE’s mined producing 95,000 tons 31,000 of which has been exported. In comparison India another LEDC is the third largest producer of REE’s producing only 3,000 tons. The main reserves are in China (including Bayan Obo), the CIS (in Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan), the USA (including Mountain Pass) and Australia (including Mount Weld). There are also resources in India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, South Africa, Namibia, Mauritania, Burundi, Malawi, Greenland, Canada and Brazil.
In the last decade global demand has increased by 50%. As a result of this production has also increased rapidly in recent years from 80,000 tonnes in 2000 to 123,000 tonnes in 2009. Developing countries have had a big impact on this production expansion these countries often have low labour costs and therefore and able to produce many goods cheaply. For mining companies this is ideal as it means increasing profits. In addition, another benefit to mining in developing countries are that the laws tend to be adjustable meaning no limits or complications which could cost millions to a company when setting up a mining site. The most important factor is whether or not a country has any trading limitations such as taxation or a limit on the production of REE’s
However, there are some side impacts that tend to be ignored when mining in an LEDC most importantly safety regulations. For example, in 2010, 33 miners in Chile were rescued after being trapped for 69 days underground, including more than two weeks when no one knew whether they were alive. A clear indication where mining can be a very dangerous profession. Similar incidents have since occurred and yet there is not much being done to stop this. It is already well known that mining is not the safest profession and as a result of that many countries have implemented legislation to force companies to provide a safe and secure working environment. In some developing countries this is not the case and due to lack of legislation and corruption within government officials mining companies often get away with many injuries but because unemployment rate is so high employees tend to overlook these risks and so do the owners. According to a BBC article from 2010, China’s mines are some of the most dangerous in the world with more than 2600 miners who died in 2009. “The country’s safety record is far worse than other nations”. One statistic suggests that A Chinese miner is 100 times more likely to die in an accident than a miner in the US. Thus proving how unregulated China’s mines really are despite what regulations they have in place.
The environmental impact is another concern as REE’s are associated with the radioactive elements thorium and uranium within REE deposits and is one of the main environmental problems. Marine and alluvial placer deposits used to be the most important source of REE during the 1950s and 1960 due to their high grade in REE’s. However, they have generally fallen from favour because of their radioactivity. Other deposits, such as those associated with carbonatite rocks, have much lower levels of thorium meaning they produce less radiation and therefore and safer to handle. But in China and certain parts of the world they are still today not mined in a safe way in where workers are still being exposed to radioactive elements. Another problem that is linked to mining and processing, REE production is the use of a great deal of energy. The need for heavier industrial equipment such as diggers and transporters use a huge amount of energy collectively and plays a big part in whether or not it would be economically viable. Additionally, the energy is derived from fossil fuels, this will add to carbon emissions (in the absence of widespread Carbon Capture and Storage) – especially when much of it comes from coal fired power stations, as currently in China. China does not consider global warming and high pollution emissions as much as other countries do which means there is little regulation over the emissions of CO2. China accounts for 33-40 percent of the carbon emissions. Other environmental problems can arise from the extraction and processing of REE, including pollution from the chemicals used. These are often the result of inadequate environmental regulation or enforcement.
What gives Developing countries the edge over other countries overall is dependent on how cheaply the minerals can be mined and how much profit can be gained. Even though some of the best deposits can be found in the USA it has had nowhere near the same amount of production rates as China has and this is in my opinion down to legislation and within China there is no limit on the amount of REE’s that can be mined however the world trade organisation has a cap on their production but even then they have surpassed this cap. in 2014 95,000 tons of REE’s are produced by China vs only 7,000 tons produced by the USA per year showing how dominant China is in the trading of these elements. Cheap labour costs and complete disregard for the consequences on the environment and people that excessive mining has on them.
You could ask why there isn’t a high production in most African countries and the answer is quite simply the rocks their do not have a sufficient enough ore to mine to make any kind of profit. There is also the problem that there aren’t enough skilled workers locally. But it is often the case that companies will source these workers elsewhere as LEDC’s often lack the required skilled employees that qualify to run the mine efficiently.
Having said all this the mining does bring benefits to these developing countries. Firstly, it boosts their economy as REE’s are highly in demand so as prices have rocketed by 500% so have profits which brings wealth and allows for a better infrastructure to the local area. Additionally, thousands of jobs are created and most manual labour is supplied by local workers. Some companies do see the problems mining brings to the local area and to counter this affect some setup charities which help fund building projects, help improve education and in the long term build a better life for the local residence and workers. Although a lot more could be done to help these communities. There is no doubt however that the multinational corporations benefit the most from mining in these LEDC’s as their sole purpose is to make profit so that their shareholders are happy and future investment into the company is secure.