North Korean rare earth discovery could be 'game changer'

[xhw1986]

An unverified rare earth discovery in North Korea could give the rogue state six times the reserves of market leader China and become a "game changer" for the international rare earth industry, reports the Voice of America, the official external broadcast institution of the US federal government.

According to a geological study released last month by the British Islands-based private equity firm SRE Minerals Limited, North Korea could hold 216 million tonnes of rare earth — a valuable mineral used in electronics such as smartphones and HD televisions. If verified, the discovery would more than double global known sources, which is currently dominated by China with a 90% market share.

The company has also inked a 25-year deal to develop the deposits in a joint venture with state-owned Korea Natural Resources Trading Corporation.

Some analysts have questioned the estimated size of the deposit, with the US Geological Survey saying there was insufficient information to comment on the announcement.

If the discovery is genuine, the deposits could not only destroy China's strangehold on the rare earth industry but also improve relations with major importers Japan and South Korea, says Scott Bruce, an associate of the East-West Center in Hawaii.

Bruce said that if North Korea was able to launch this program, overcome political barriers and develop its own industry, it could help the closed-off country develop economic ties with its neighbors.

On the other hand, Leonid Petrov, a Korean studies researcher at the Australian National Studies University's College of Asia and the Pacific, believes Pyongyang has no interest in making the necessary reforms to sustain foreign investment in its economy.

"The two conditions of its survival, the constant crisis and the isolation which are needed for the maintenance of the regime, would be jeopardized," Petrov said.

The researcher believes North Korea will prefer to sell its rare earth at cheap prices to China, its "buffer state," to earn continued military and logistic support, rather than betray Pyongyang's existing regime by extending trade to other countries. Petrov points to the execution of North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un's uncle-in-law, economic reformer Jang Sung-taek, as a sign Pyongyang is resistant to change.

 

[Fsjal]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!

This sounds f*cking BS, but hilarious and stupid. Kim Jong Un will be like "Hey evil americans, i have this. bow to me, filthy westerners."

But in seriousness, China should annex North Korea before the Americans invade.

And also, how can such a small, sh*tty nation have more than a larger nation??? This news is really stupid.

 

[DoTell]

Ignorance is bliss. LOL.

Rare earth is not rare. There is plenty of rare earth minerals almost everywhere. China dominates the rare earth supplly market not because it has the most reserves, but because it has the most capacity in rare earth mining and processing. Mining rare earth is a very dangerous job and processing the rocks to extrac raw rare earth materials pollutes the environment badly. Nobody wanted to do that job therefore it was taken on by the Chinese. Now everyone is crying about China reaching monopoly. They want China to continue to produce massive quntity and sell it at dirt cheap price. Isn't that ironic?