Discovering rare earth minerals on the ocean floor (WHOA!!!) is a great and a significant find. Scientists have always discover something useful and rewarding for the benefit of mankind. I think, this is another great opportunity for us to explore and utilize what mother nature had in stock for us. As a country, we can begin to see how we can make the best use of them. There are resources in colorado, california, nevada and other places especially when it comes to technological advancement. I believe this is our time to explore and get creative. It is a long term project but its duable.
I heard that the discovey in Pacific Ocean does not come to anyone's territory. Which means that we can see a fight for the control. But this might reduce the dependency on a set of countries (ofcourse depending on the ease of extraction and economic viability).
The Western Slope of Colorado has huge deposits of nearly all of the main rare earth minerals which have been known of for years but there has been no interest in them. They are located in the same area as the vast urainium deposits which have been mined before for years. A new urainium mine is in the process of opening after a 25 year hiatus. These vast deposits are located in Mesa and Montrose counties and should not be difficult to mine. The Colorado Dept. of Geological Surveys has the information which has been known about for many years.
Since the Chinese manipulated the markets and shut down competition, I think it is high time that the US gets into action and start utilizing its own resources and stop depending on unreliable sources. Unfortunately, under the current conditions it can take years to get a new mine into production, I think we should put this on a fast track. There are huge deposits in California and possibly another one in Nevada as well. This can be done with minimal impact to the enviroment. We know how to handle radioactive materials and have improved methods available now.
Since these materials are used in critical military systems, this should be of some national concern. Cut the red tape and get it going!
I wonder how efficient we are at recycling electronic waste to recover these rare earth elements and thus reduce our dependence on new sources? Deep sea mining sounds awfully expensive.
This looks like a good outcome for electronic manufacturers along with other businesses that use these minerals. I know of a few companies that were looking at making alternative materials to use due to the global restrictions in place. Finding a new large reserve under the ocean is a great find, but could be costly not only to extract the minerals but to the environment also. It will be interesting to see the proposals for mining this material and what safe guards will be in place.
Well, one of the most important topics still not outlined clearly (in my personal opinion) is a worldwide rule to classify what is "rare" and the way to manage row materials as per that rank. WTO provides rules to manage commercial inter-exchange, but in addition it could be important to avoid critical resources such as "rare materials" will be owned only by a few players (I mean Gov) which adopts strategy to satisfy alone policy. Is a case countries major "rares" owner are also Internet growing protagonist in terms of users' penetration trend?
The rare earth minerals market is headed for a more normal supply condition following a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling against Chinese export restrictions and the discovery by scientists of a large deposit of the raw materials used heavily in high-tech equipment manufacturing.
Bolaji,
I agree with you that there has been lot of "rare mineral" discovery worldwide. Infact one of Indian company Varun Industries claimed that it has found mining blocks covering an area of 62.5 sq. km. at Belay and Anosy in Madagascar, Africa. Looks like rare earth mineral is not so rare as we imagined before.
Of course, there are many challenges to overcome in order for the extraction to be economically viable. But this could be a long-term project that could be achieved in a decade or two. My concern though is whether the extraction won't cause an irreversible ecological impact to the sea-floor.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
To save this item to your list of favorite EBN content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
