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cover of episode Can the U.S. get around China's restrictions on rare earth minerals?

Can the U.S. get around China's restrictions on rare earth minerals?

2025/4/16
logo of podcast Marketplace All-in-One

Marketplace All-in-One
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B
Barbara Arnold
M
Megan McCurdy Carino
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Barbara Arnold: 我认为美国可以探索一些替代方案来减少对中国稀土元素加工的依赖。虽然美国目前从其他国家进口一些稀土元素，但问题在于大部分稀土元素的加工都在中国进行。中国将加工后的稀土金属或矿物卖回美国及世界各地。美国国内有一些地方正在准备进行稀土元素的加工，例如Energy Fuels公司在其铀矿厂将进行稀土矿物精矿的加工。此外，有一些研究机会正在探索从铝土矿等其他来源提取稀土元素，例如从铝土矿废料中提取钪。我们的一些学生正在进行这方面的研究，并取得了一些成功。我认为有一些方法可以奏效，但美国转向其他稀土元素来源的速度取决于技术展示、产业界是否采用这些技术、政府是否加快审批流程等因素。一些稀土元素可以在煤炭和矿物废料的酸性矿山排水等来源中找到，一些技术已经达到展示规模或试验规模，可以用来回收这些元素，只是需要更快地推进这些技术。至于深海采矿，这是一种尚未大规模允许的技术。深海采矿存在环境风险和技术挑战，需要确保采矿安全且环保，并且还需要相应的加工能力。 Megan McCurdy Carino: 根据报道，美国政府希望建立深海金属储备以应对中国的限制。此外，美国在过去五年投资了超过3亿美元用于建设稀土元素加工设施，但其国内稀土产量只占全球供应链的一小部分，更大的问题是稀土资源的获取。

Deep Dive

Chapters
China's new export restrictions on rare earth minerals have prompted the US to explore alternative sources and processing capabilities. While some US locations are developing processing facilities and research into extracting rare earths from sources like bauxite waste, the process requires significant time, investment, and technological advancements.
  • China dominates rare earth mineral processing globally
  • US seeks to develop domestic processing capabilities
  • Research underway to extract scandium from bauxite waste

Shownotes Transcript

China is responsible for most of the world’s processing of rare earth metals and minerals, but its new export restrictions have raised the stakes for U.S. efforts to build its own supply chain and processing industry. Barbara Arnold, a professor of mining engineering at Penn State, says there are options, but they require time, development and investment.