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Europe's largest deposit of rare earth metals discovered in Sweden

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Re: Europe's largest deposit of rare earth metals discovered in Sweden

#211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But a Swedish speaking Finn and it seems he made his discoveries while living in Sweden. From wikipedia: "Johan Gadolin was born in Åbo (Finnish name Turku), Finland (then a part of Sweden)." [0] "In 1779 Gadolin moved to Uppsala University." Uppsala is in Sweden. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Gadolin

> But a Swedish speaking Finn this is the argument Russia has used to invade Ukraine...

That Finland has a sizable Swedish-speaking minority? The guy was considered Swedish back then; Finland was simply the Eastern half of the Swedish kingdom.

There's plenty of Finnish speaking Swedes too. Is that also an argument for invasion?

Re: Europe's largest deposit of rare earth metals discovered in Sweden

#212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is going to be an agonizing compromise for Sweden - destroy the Kiruna area with extraction (a million tons is a lot) or be environmentally friendly. Currently the Congo and Chile are being torn apart with toxic dollar a day child labor extraction. The Swedes will do a good job of mechanizing/sanitizing the process though. I went to Kiruna once to see the northern lights but they didn't show up.

The find is 700 meters deep and in an already established mine more than 100 years old.

Yes, yes, but they just discover it. /s

Re: Europe's largest deposit of rare earth metals discovered in Sweden

#214
post #90

Isn't rare earth metals mining insanely pollutive? I've heard they can be found all over the world but only China mines them massively because nobody else is willing to destroy their ecology.

This is the main reason I'd like to see asteroid mining take off. Let's tear some uninhabited asteroids apart, instead of the only planet we can live on.

Believe it or not, I discussed mining the moon with people, and they were horrified. Way more than mining Africa.

Re: Europe's largest deposit of rare earth metals discovered in Sweden

#215
post #200

The value of many "rare earths" suddenly plummeted recently when an iron+nitrogen [edit: not "nickel"] alloy/crystallization ("allotrope") was discovered that approximates the properties of the best lanthanide magnets. ("Rare-earths" are not, incidentally, needed for [edit:batteries], wind turbines, or solar panels, however much certain people wish they were, or confidently claim.)

> "Rare-earths" are not, incidentally, needed for electric vehicles, wind turbines, or solar panels, however much certain people wish they were, or confidently claim. What exactly does this mean? EVs use a ton more rare earth minerals than conventional cars https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/minerals-used... Solar panels use silicon, indium, gallium, selenium, cadmium, and tellurium. Neodymium and dyspros…

The graph you linked shows that this is not true. See the tiny purple graph at the right side of the bar? That's the rare earth minerals and their amount in an electric car is tiny.

Re: Europe's largest deposit of rare earth metals discovered in Sweden

#216
post #197
post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also most of todays Finland was under Swedish rule until 1809.

Was any part of todays Finland not under Swedish rule 1809?

The area around Viborg was lost to the russians in 1721 and 1743. The western part of that, Lappeenranta and part of Kymenlaakso, are part of Finland today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Finland

Re: Europe's largest deposit of rare earth metals discovered in Sweden

#217
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think they used impressive colloquially. I guess more fitting would be "interesting/amusing" Although, I think yours is a far bigger offence: being intentionally ignorant for the purpose of being an asshole online

i'm genuinely curious what about their comment makes them an asshole. the comment is a bit dismissive, but hardly assholish

Others have pointed out what struck me as assholeish: perceived snarky tone, seems antagonistic for no reason, and completely unproductive. Like, why did they make that comment? I can't see any point other than criticizing and demeaning the other person for their statement (which also seems to be intentionally misinterpreted).

Of course, there could be a language barrier (which I didn't think of immediately), in which case I'm the asshole

Re: Europe's largest deposit of rare earth metals discovered in Sweden

#218
post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It certainly depends on the industrial process as a whole. But it's worth pointing out that nobody ever had a complaint about gold, silver, platinum or diamond mining, nor about the unimaginable volumes of ore processed to acquire iron and copper. But somehow these days everyone likes to think that they know that rare earth metals are "the devil".

Not really sure what you are trying to say here. Criticizing gold and diamond mining isn't uncommon. A popular example coming to mind is the "Dirty Money" Netflix documentary series ( https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11947154/ ). The existence of "Blood diamonds" is also a pretty commonly known fact. > But somehow these days everyone likes to think that they know that rare earth metals are "the devil". Many years ago peo…

"Not really sure what you are trying to say here."

That there's an ongoing movement with common people and the media, almost a fashion, of yapping about the perils of lithium extraction from ore, despite most of it coming from brine evaporation.

"Criticizing gold and diamond mining isn't uncommon."

Yeah it is.

Re: Europe's largest deposit of rare earth metals discovered in Sweden

#219
post #215
post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "Rare-earths" are not, incidentally, needed for electric vehicles, wind turbines, or solar panels, however much certain people wish they were, or confidently claim. What exactly does this mean? EVs use a ton more rare earth minerals than conventional cars https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/minerals-used... Solar panels use silicon, indium, gallium, selenium, cadmium, and tellurium. Neodymium and dyspros…

The graph you linked shows that this is not true. See the tiny purple graph at the right side of the bar? That's the rare earth minerals and their amount in an electric car is tiny.

Right, says "0.5 kg 'rare-earths'" per vehicle. A biggish camera drone uses more.

Re: Europe's largest deposit of rare earth metals discovered in Sweden

#220
post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It certainly depends on the industrial process as a whole. But it's worth pointing out that nobody ever had a complaint about gold, silver, platinum or diamond mining, nor about the unimaginable volumes of ore processed to acquire iron and copper. But somehow these days everyone likes to think that they know that rare earth metals are "the devil".

> nobody ever had a complaint about gold, silver, platinum or diamond mining In what world? NGOs, academics, journalists, and non-profits have been speaking out about these and the blood diamond industries around them for decades at least > Gold mining is one of the most destructive industries in the world. It can displace communities, contaminate drinking water, hurt workers, and destroy pristine environments https:…

I know there's a "clique" criticizing this. That's not my point, but thanks for trying to balance the needle on its tip. Ask common people and the media about gold, silver and platinum mining, and you'll get a careless shrug on the shoulders in return.
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