World faces hi-tech crunch as China eyes ban on rare metal exports

This is a huge story that deserves massive distribution and attention. How will other countries continue to manufacture products as they currently do without these rare metals? Are there replacements? I’ll keep track of whether there are any further updates about this story.

“A draft report by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has called for a total ban on foreign shipments of terbium, dysprosium, yttrium, thulium, and lutetium. Other metals such as neodymium, europium, cerium, and lanthanum will be restricted to a combined export quota of 35,000 tonnes a year, far below global needs.
China mines over 95pc of the world’s rare earth minerals, mostly in Inner Mongolia. The move to hoard reserves is the clearest sign to date that the global struggle for diminishing resources is shifting into a new phase. Countries may find it hard to obtain key materials at any price. ”

Read the full article here