Japan discovers large quantity of rare earth, hopes to break China’s chokehold on supply

[XiaoYaoZi]

Ohh Nice.. Me want some!

Let's make that island disputed.

China controls 90 percent of the yield of rare earth and about 60 percent direct demand of it. 90 percent of vendors and 60 percent of buyers are Chinese enterprises.So China has the pricing power of the rare earth. If needed, we will do it like you said.

 

[danger007]

Oh the Americans have an incredible abundance of natural resources. She has the world's largest reserve of natural gas, and well, she hasn't even tapped into ANWR in Alaska, and that's not even including her vast, vast, VAST reserves of shale.

America is not only a military super power, but she is a natural resources power. Many times over.

Isn't that right @LeveragedBuyout Sir?

are these Islands disputed??? is there any chance for the 9 dashed map to be upgraded to 11 dashed chinese map???

 

[EAsian]

We just don't want to export our rare earth because it's limited and it's harmful to environment to produce it.Not to destroy your economy.If you can produce it by yourself,then it's good for both of us.

 

[大汉奸柳传志]

China controls 90 percent of the yield of rare earth and about 60 percent direct demand of it. 90 percent of vendors and 60 percent of buyers are Chinese enterprises.So China has the pricing power of the rare earth. If needed, we will do it like you said.

Well I didn‘t know anything about the island when I said that，but apparently it is already “disputed” in a way - it’s a US island arranged to be under Japanese control after 1968. Right now it makes no difference but if Japan wishes to gain full independence one day，the US will likely demand this island to be returned to the state of Hawaii.

 

[Aepsilons]

are these Islands disputed??? is there any chance for the 9 dashed map to be upgraded to 11 dashed chinese map???

Of course these islands are not disputed. Its well within Japanese Pacific Ocean territory,

Besides, we've developed our beautiful island, Minami-Torishima, quite well.

 

[XiaoYaoZi]

America's greatest enemy when it comes to resource extraction is its environmental lobby. This malevolent lobby has no intention of stopping its consumption of these resources, it just would prefer that China incur the environmental destruction and accompanying pollution.

How do you think the US-based company, Molycorp, having filed for bankruptcy protection last month.

 

[Aepsilons]

are these Islands disputed??? is there any chance for the 9 dashed map to be upgraded to 11 dashed chinese map???

No, of course they are not disputed, they are realized and recognized by the international community.

We just don't want to export our rare earth because it's limited and it's harmful to environment to produce it.Not to destroy your economy.If you can produce it by yourself,then it's good for both of us.

Precisely, I like your pragmatic approach.

 

[GR!FF!N]

Of course these islands are not disputed. Its well within Japanese Pacific Ocean territory,

Besides, we've developed our beautiful island, Minami-Torishima, quite well.

These regions belongs to China since last 3000 years,a claim which is undisputed and China was tapping Rare Earths since Zhou Dynasty is well established fact and it is not needed to establish in any "International Court",as whole world is expected to know this fact.Thus,by the warning no 13209,CCP warned and claimed sovereignty over these regions and are expecting Japanese Authority to leave this region ASAP.

 

[LeveragedBuyout]

How do you think the US-based company, Molycorp, having filed for bankruptcy protection last month.

Molycorp couldn't survive because China relaxed its export restrictions on rare earth resources, and Molycorp's cost of extraction is higher than China's. It's the same story with oil, where Saudi Arabia is flooding the market with oil to squeeze out the high-cost American fracking industry.

No one is going to cry about Molycorp. But China's ability to use rare earth metals as a weapon is checked by the threat of competition from the likes of Molycorp (or this new Japanese discovery).

 

[Aepsilons]

Molycorp couldn't survive because China relaxed its export restrictions on rare earth resources, and Molycorp's cost of extraction is higher than China's. It's the same story with oil, where Saudi Arabia is flooding the market with oil to squeeze out the high-cost American fracking industry.

No one is going to cry about Molycorp. But China's ability to use rare earth metals as a weapon is checked by the threat of competition from the likes of Molycorp (or this new Japanese discovery).

I should also add, Sir, that the media does not mention this openly but India , too, is a potent rare earth metals exporter. She (India) has just begun to export rare earth metals, and estimates predict that India has voluminous reserves of rare earth metals. If China tries to use limit its exports, then she will merely be replaced by other potential providers. Ergo, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Australia, India, Japan et cetera.


Eye on China, India and Japan look at rare earth minerals | The Indian Express

India To Add Five Percent Of Global Rare Earth Supply - Scientific American

 

[Spectre]

I should also add, Sir, that the media does not mention this openly but India , too, is a potent rare earth metals exporter. She (India) has just begun to export rare earth metals, and estimates predict that India has voluminous reserves of rare earth metals. If China tries to use limit its exports, then she will merely be replaced by other potential providers. Ergo, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Australia, India, Japan et cetera.


Eye on China, India and Japan look at rare earth minerals | The Indian Express

India To Add Five Percent Of Global Rare Earth Supply - Scientific American

India can export sure but there has to be judicious planning within India about how much should be exported and how much should be banked as reserves.

That said, I don't how much capacity/technology India has within to absorb these resources but if we can use these resources as a sort of negotiation chip to get some cutting edge tech whether civilian or defense that would be awesome. I am sure policy makers would have this in hand.

Anyway Congratulations to Japan!

 

[danger007]

These regions belongs to China since last 3000 years,a claim which is undisputed and China was tapping Rare Earths since Zhou Dynasty is well established fact and it is not needed to establish in any "International Court",as whole world is expected to know this fact.Thus,by the warning no 13209,CCP warned and claimed sovereignty over these regions and are expecting Japanese Authority to leave this region ASAP.

Actually i am hoping 11 or 13 dashed line for these island... In future 31 dashed line to claim Indian and pacific oceans....

 

[Aepsilons]

That said, I don't how much capacity/technology India has within to absorb these resources but if we can use these resources as a sort of negotiation chip to get some cutting edge tech whether civilian or defense that would be awesome. I am sure policy makers would have this in hand.

Absolutely, India should use these vital rare earth metals as clout during negotiations regarding tech trade trasnfers, even use it as catalyst for more research and development cooperation with her vital partners such as Japan, United States, Russia, et cetera. India should use this to maximum effect and to promote Indian National Strategic Interests.

That's Her right.

 

[Spectre]

Absolutely, India should use these vital rare earth metals as clout during negotiations regarding tech trade trasnfers, even use it as catalyst for more research and development cooperation with her vital partners such as Japan, United States, Russia, et cetera. India should use this to maximum effect and to promote Indian National Strategic Interests.

That's Her right.

We don't need to ask Japan, AFAIK there are plenty of proposals from Japan asking India for collaboration in multitude of fields. The bottleneck is on our side in terms of planning and execution. The good thing about Japan is after they decided to become strategic allies of India, they don't delay on their side and at the same time they are quite patient with Indian Bureaucracy. This is the secret recipe for working in India and reason why Japan is bagging quite good deals.

Going Off topic
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From my personal experience and based on discussions with my peers, Indian bureaucracy is charmed by Japanese, the other day I went with a Japanese diplomat to meet undersecretary - commerce and ministry home affairs. These two appointments are quite tough to get and often take weeks for confirmation but one call from Japanese Embassy and appointment was given for the same day.

Germans, Chinese and Americans are often left frustrated because they don't understand that Indian's are very complex people and it is the personal touch which matters - not talking about bribes here.

Germans and Americans are often brusque and expect a royal treatment from us, our bureaucrats are nice to them in meetings but often curse and deliberately delay their files after they leave.

Chinese are always after an angle and would try to squeeze out every penny, further every meeting with them seems to be like a formality - like they are not really interested, Their terms are conditions are always extortionist and lets just say Indian bureaucrats are extra cautious about dealing with them.

Japanese Diplomats on the other hand are very respectful, they don't talk down and they don't have any hidden agenda. They are also quite generous in terms, not sure if it is a cultural thing or not but for example Let's say India needs 1 Billion USD, Japanese will sanction 1.2 Billion USD which gives extra comfort to us. In case of delays and cost overruns they are patient and won't insist on penalties. I am not saying they aren't tough negotiators but instead of purely transnational dealings, business with them often seem like family business in which they make you a partner.

The other country which is respected is Korea who are similar to Japanese but with a flavor of Chinese penny pinching thrown in too.

French and British are the jokers out of the pack and are mostly concerned with competing with each other and as a result we often get good concessions out of them but lately French have an upper hand.

Russians are our traditional partners and friends and every thing is very informal with them.

Arabs and Iran deserve a separate post

 

[Echo_419]

Good news! Japan has just discovered a large amount of rare earth elements in the seabed around Minami-Tori-shima island. While this is a boon to the tech field and consumers alike, this news undoubtedly comes as a disappointment for China. Turns out, that near-monopoly on rare earth materials was short lived for everyone’s favorite communist state.

From televisions to airplanes, rare earth elements are required for most modern electronics. Unfortunately, rare earths aren’t distributed equally around the world. By the luck of the draw, China makes out like a bandit now that so many industries are in need of these elements. The US, EU, and Japan even battled with China last year in the World Trade Organization over China’s attempt at jacking up rare earth prices. Fortunately, Japan’s findings combined with increased mining activity in other countries are starting to ease China’s chokehold on the world’s supply.



Tokyo University’s Yasuhiro Kato assumed the finding was a mistake when he first saw the “astronomically high level of rare earth minerals” in the mud sample. That’s what makes this discovery noteworthy. Rare earth elements aren’t actually all that hard to find, but they’re usually found in very tiny amounts. Back in 2011, Japan found a large supply of rare earth elements under the Pacific Ocean, but in concentrations of about 2000 parts per million. However, this latest find is reportedly 20-to-30 times more concentrated than China‘s rare earth ore.

This deposit of rare earth is an estimated 6.8 million metric tons sitting a little over three and a half miles under the ocean. Japan is now tasked with finding an economical way of mining the ore. While the real results of this find are still years away, the threat of Japan taking over the rare earths market should be sufficient enough to keep China in check. Even with China estimating that it has less than a third of the world’s reserves of rare earth minerals, it controls over 90% of the market. With any luck, China’s lead will shrink significantly over the next few years.

Considering how important these elements are, relying on one country to supply the lion’s share is scary. Not only is competition good for keeping the price down, but having a single point of failure is incredibly dangerous. If something were to happen to China’s mining operations right now, we would be in dire straits. All eyes are now on Japan — waiting to see if it can pull this off.



@TaiShang @Peter C @Zsari @xunzi @Technogaianist @FairAndUnbiased @LeveragedBuyout



Japan discovers large quantity of rare earth, hopes to break China’s chokehold on supply | ExtremeTech

Great news for Japan & the world not to forget this will boost the competitiveness of Japanese manufacturing