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You've probably heard of rare earths, but do you know what they are?
Rare earths are a group of 17 metallic elements, and their abundance in the earth's crust is not scarce, but their distribution is very scattered and difficult to refine and utilize.
Rare earths have a wide range of applications, from mobile phones, computers, televisions, wind turbines, missiles, lasers and other high-tech products.
To traditional industries such as glass, ceramics, magnets, and catalysts, they are inseparable from the role of rare earths.
Rare earths are expensive because of their supply and demand. The mining and processing of rare earths has a great impact on the environment, producing a large amount of pollutants such as wastewater, waste gas, and waste residue.
Therefore, in order to protect the environment, many countries have restricted the development of rare earths. China, on the other hand, is rich in rare earth resources, accounting for 37% of the world's reserves.
In order to promote economic development, China has vigorously mined rare earths, becoming the world's largest producer and exporter of rare earths.
In the 90s of the last century, China's rare earth production accounted for more than 90% of the world's total, forming a monopoly of rare earths.
But this monopoly has not brought substantial benefits to China.
On the contrary, China's rare earths are sold abroad at low prices, and foreign companies and countries use rare earths to develop high value-added products and technologies, from which they make huge profits. China's rare earths are not only wasted, but also cause serious environmental damage and resource depletion. Are China's rare earths really not rare or expensive?
First, the sinking of China's rare earths
The history of rare earth development in China can be traced back to the 50s of the last century, when it was mainly to meet the needs of national defense and atomic energy.
In the 80s of the last century, with the continuous expansion of the application field of rare earths, China began to mine rare earths on a large scale to meet the market demand at home and abroad.
China's rare earth development is mainly concentrated in Inner Mongolia, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong and other places, among which the silver rare earth mine in Inner Mongolia is the largest.
The mining and processing of rare earths in these areas places a huge burden on the local environment.
It is estimated that for every ton of rare earth refined, 2,000 tons of wastewater, 600 tons of waste residue, and 60 tons of waste gas are produced.
It contains a large amount of harmful substances such as radioactive substances, heavy metals, and acidic substances.
These pollutants are serious hazards to soil, water, air, vegetation, animal and human health.
During this period, Xu Guangxian, who was studying Xi in the United States, saw this situation and understood that the motherland needed him, and returned to China for development after experiencing all kinds of difficulties in the United States.
Moreover, China's rare earth resources are unevenly distributed, with light rare earths accounting for the vast majority and heavy rare earths being few. The application value of heavy rare earths is higher, but China's heavy rare earth reserves only account for about 10% of the world's heavy rare earth reserves, and most of them are concentrated in the offshore islands, which is difficult to mine and costly.
China's rare earth export prices have also been depressed, not reflecting the true value of rare earths.
Second, the awakening of China's rare earths
Domestic scholars, media, government and the public have all called for the rational development, effective utilization and effective protection of rare earths.
In this context, China has begun to carry out a series of reforms and adjustments to rare earths to achieve the sustainable development of rare earths.
China has imposed restrictions and regulations on rare earth exports. A quota system has been implemented for rare earth exports, and the total amount of rare earth exports and distribution plans are determined every year according to market conditions and national needs.
Export duties have also been imposed on rare earth exports to increase the cost of rare earth exports.
The purpose of these measures is to reduce the export volume of rare earths, increase the export value of rare earths, protect the resources and environment of rare earths, and promote the domestic utilization and industrial upgrading of rare earths.
The effectiveness of these measures is clear.
The average export price of rare earths in China also rose from US$2,800 per tonne in 2010 to US$5,000 per tonne in 2015, close to the international market price.
And during this period, under the research of Xu Guangxian and others, the refining technology of these rare earth resources has also become more accurate.
The utilization rate of rare earth resources in China has also increased significantly, from about 40% to more than 60%, effectively saving rare earth resources.
China's rare earth environmental management has also been effective, with measures such as shutting down illegal mines, cleaning up waste slag heaps, restoring vegetation, and purifying water sources, improving the ecological environment of rare earth development zones.
epilogue
Rare earth is the pride of China and the wealth of the world. Rare earths are China's responsibility and the world's opportunity.
In the past three decades, China's rare earths have gone through a process from monopoly to awakening, providing the world with rare earth resources and products, but also bringing economic and environmental problems to itself.
In the next 30 years, China's rare earths need to go through a process from awakening to innovation, providing rare earth technology and services to the world, and also bringing opportunities for development and competition for themselves.
Dear readers, what are your views and feelings on China's rare earths?