NASA Captures Toxic Lakes in China.

[skipper68]

One single mine produces half the world's supply of 'rare earth' metals
Seven-mile lake of toxic waste captured by Nasa's Terra satellite
Two pictures captured five years apart show huge growth of mine facility
Few Western journalists have ever visited the open-cast mine in China's Inner Mongolia - and with reason. It spews out 420,000 cubic feet of toxic gas for every ton of rare metal mined, along with acidic waste water and radioactive material.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...#ixzz23ci7HKzA

In 2008, China supplied 139,000 tons worldwide, 97 per cent of the world's total rare-earth production.

The architect of modern China, Deng Xiaoping, realized the significance of the elements lurking in the arid wastes of Inner Mongolia almost 20 years ago when he said: 'There is oil in the Middle East but there is rare-earth in China.'

With names like cerium, lanthanum, and ytterbium, rare earth elements aren’t exactly household names.

But the consumer products they are used in - such as magnets, camera lenses, and batteries - certainly are.

There are 17 rare earth elements in all, but these key metals aren’t as rare as the name suggests. (In fact, some are relatively abundant in Earth’s crust.)

The vast majority of rare earths—96 percent of the market—come from China.

[tigerregis]

You can take tops off mountains with little general concern. Why should a serious problem have a discussion? Not enough time between birthing and religion and some other trivia to allow for future considerations.

[David W Pratt]

Is that what Elizabeth Warren thinks we should emulate?

[Paul Pless]

Where's the forum outrage?

Too busy reading the forum on their iPhones.

[skipper68]

Wonder if they have prisoners working there. There are some serious poisons, so either they are uninformed, stupid to the effects or forced labor. They can only compete from low overhead.

The amount of rare earths that are mined and consumed is small compared to almost 1 billion metric tons for iron ore mined each year. “In terms if volume it is tiny, but we are just as addicted to rare earths as we are to hydrocarbons. But we don’t know it,” one mining analyst told the New York Times. “The variations of applications of rare earths is remarkable and expanding, especially in the high-technology area.”

What we use them in:China is a major global supplier of: rare metals such as: 1) barium, used in personal computer monitors; 2) antimony, used in lead storage batteries; 3) tungsten, used on cemented carbide and lamp filaments; 4) indium, used in liquid crystal displays, televisions and solar batteries; 5) Germananium, used in plastic bottles; 6) bismuth, used in automatic fire extinguishers and fuses; 7) strontium, used in cathode ray tubes; 8) molybdenum, used in heat resistant stainless steel; and 9) vanadium m used in high-tension, specialty steel. Radiation? Priceless. http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=1108&catid=9&subcatid=63 So this is the cost of "Going Green?

[Paul Pless]

Wonder if they have prisoners working there. There are some serious poisons, so either they are uninformed, stupid to the effects or forced labor.

Or they may be poor. Look to our own country's coal miners for example. . .

[skipper68]

Is that what Elizabeth Warren thinks we should emulate?

Might find out soon!!Rare Earth Metals in 2012
WealthDaily.com/Rare_Earth.The world's largest deposit has been found right here in the US.
Seems they've been busted..

Mixed views on China’s new rare earth industry standards.
Posted 8/8/2012 10:00 AM by Emerging Money> from Emerging Money in Investing, International, Stocks
0 comments | Like it Don't like it

China's ( YAO , quote ) Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has taken a very large step to clean up substandard rare earth miners. The Ministry has set strategic rules to regulate access to technology equipment, resources, and raised the minimum scale of production required for rare earth mining. Currently in China the new regulations will affect 23 rare earth mining entities and just shy of 100 smelting and extraction companies. Jia Yinsong, a ministry official, foresees nearly one third of the miners and roughly 50 of the smelters and extractors will need to close due to being unable to meet the new minimum thresholds. He adds that companies falling short of the standards are basically substandard companies in the ministry's view anyway.

The move should allow for consolidation, prevent "mischievous acts", and curb the black market for rare earths.

http://community.nasdaq.com/News/201...storyid=162250

[Bob Cleek]

China's monopoly on the world's "rare-earth" resources has not been generally appreciated, save at the highest levels. The use of these elements, even in the relatively miniscule amounts many are employed, has now so pervaded our technology that we cannot do without them. We are entirely beholden to China for this resource. Imagine what the reaction would be if China controlled all the world's oil? It's really no different with the rare-earth resources... they pretty much "control" the production of all of our current generation of computerized toys!

We have rare-earth resources in the US and Canada, but have not kept apace with the development of mining and refining infrastructure, opting to abandon production due to Chinese undercutting of the market and cost increases due to pressure from environmentalists. Estimates are that it would take fifteen years for us to develop sufficient infrastructure to produce what we need from our own resources. In the meantime, China has us all by the short and curlies.

See: http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/41856

[David W Pratt]

IIRC, mercury (Hg) is still traded in 76lb flasks because that was as much as the slaves on the Romans cinnabar mines could carry.

[purri]

And then there's Afghanistan's northern deposits.