Uncovering the technology gap: Why China’s rare earth dominance continues

In 2019, at the height of the trade war with the United States, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited a rare earth magnet factory in Jiangxi province. At the time, this visit was interpreted as follows. “muscle flexion” To remind Washington that Chinese leaders depend on China for rare earth supplies. Rare earth elements (REEs) are a group of 17 important metals. military defense system, home appliances and renewable energy technology. Despite more than a decade of efforts by Western countries and businesses to loosen China’s grip, Beijing remains at the top of its game. top players REE in the global mining, processing and refining sector.

Xi’s visit also conveyed China’s broader goals beyond mining: maintaining leadership in the downstream industrial supply chain of processing, refining and magnet production in rare earths. Another technology battle is underway in the rare earth supply chain as China continues to tighten its control over the so-called “semiconductor wars” as attention to them increases. “National resources” and the technology that supports it.

Western countries’ rush to build China-free supply chains in both upstream and downstream industries masks the larger technological challenge of establishing sustainable processing capacity. Given the risks, a targeted approach is required to solve the processing technology puzzle through investment in research and development, international partnerships, and the dissemination of alternative methods.

Rare earths, rare technologies?

In 1992, during a visit to Inner Mongolia’s Baotou city, one of China’s largest rare earth mines, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping famously said: said“The Middle East has oil, China has rare earths,” he said, referring to the country’s resource reserves, which account for more than 30% of the world’s reserves. However, unlike oil-producing countries in the Middle East, which mainly drill and export crude oil, China has developed an eco-friendly industry with a focus on rare earths, from mineral production and processing to final product manufacturing and, most importantly, rare earth magnet manufacturing. The entire system was built.

Bayan Obo rare earth mine, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China (Map data ©2019 Google/CNES/Airbus)

China has maintained leadership at every step. Although it has a global production share, Soaked It still controls more than 85%, from an astounding 97% in 2011 to around 70% in 2022. process capacity. China has something effective Exclusive Excess processing of major heavy rare earths – dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb), and the light rare earths – neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr).

While environmental impact is often cited as one of the main reasons for China’s emergence as a rare earth power, the technological aspects are less discussed. From 1950 to October 2018, China has filed more than 25,000 lawsuits rare earth patentsover 10,000 people in the United States. For decades, Chinese engineers completed The solvent extraction process for refining rare earth elements plays an important role in ensuring China’s advantage. Even though it’s technology origin Domestic rare earth development is underway in the United States due to environmental and regulatory concerns. impossible.

Because rare earths exist solidified in rocks, processing them is a complex task. “They all behave the same way, but the chemical differences are minimal, meaning they bond with the same things under the same conditions and don’t easily separate,” said Dr. Isabel Burton from the University of Arizona. Explained.

Manufacturing stages of rare earth magnets

China has mastered this process, but Western companies lack it. expertise to achieve similar results. The two largest rare earth mining companies outside China, MP Materials and Lynas, I had a hard time This is despite huge investments by the US government to expand refining capacity. Considering the United States’ dependence on China for heavy rare earths used in defense applications, the Department of Defense stipulates that: millions of dollars For both companies and others, the aim is to fully indigenize the REE supply chain “from mine to magnet.”

The Chinese government is trying to protect its treasure. in China in June declared Treated rare earths as a national resource and created new rules for mining, smelting, and trade. This is in addition to recent developments in China. Export ban About technology related to mining, processing, and manufacturing of magnets.

Solving old problems with new technology?

Given the challenges of access to Chinese-controlled solvent extraction technology and its environmental costs, multiple research projects are underway to explore cleaner and more sustainable processing methods. One of them is DARPA– called funded programs embers (Environmental microorganisms as biotechnological resources) Use of microorganisms in processing and refining rare earths. a Biologist Marina Karyuzhnaya, the project’s principal investigator, called it an “intensive program” and argued that biological approaches could play an important role. “The goal is to separate rare earths, and biology may have enough specificity or selectivity to keep individual minerals out of complex mixtures.” The aim was to create something ‘sustainable’, but added that despite the exciting breakthroughs, the scalability of the project would take at least four to five years.

California’s Mountain Pass Mine is the only operating rare earth mine in the United States.

Vision for targeted diversification

Apart from investing in new technologies, the United States and other Western governments have taken several policies. Nationwide and international Steps to diversify your supply chain. Despite these efforts, mining advisory firm Benchmark Minerals project By 2028, China’s share in processing both heavy and light rare earths will decline only slightly.

There are many reasons for the grim prediction. As an example, Western governments are trying to focus on all stages of the supply chain at the same time without prioritizing them, creating inefficiencies and wasting resources. Second, current policies distract from the larger technological challenge of establishing sustainable processing and refining capacity outside of China.

You need to act quickly to resolve this. increase R&D investments in cleaner processing solutions are matching or exceeding China’s cumulative investments. The United States also needs to address the treatment know-how gap as a strategic technology issue, not just a pollution problem. WWhile state-led investment to stimulate private interests is essential, attempts to locate all components of the REE supply chain on land will be counterproductive in the long term. The United States should work with allies to develop REE-specific strategies and promote the development of regional nodes. It took nearly 30 years for China to dominate the REE supply chain. A well-executed diversification effort may not take much time.