A Visit to the Only American Mine for Rare Earth Metals

Post by Tuna-Fish » Sat, Nov 02, 2013, 9:10 PM UTC

DanBC wrote: post #12

Tuna-Fish wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Rising rare element prices might change this in the future. They can't. The mining of rare elements isn't constrained by resources, only cost. Setting up the kind of infrastructure needed for REE recovery would always cost more than mining, so if the prices start going up again, mining will just be expanded.

I don't quite understand how it's cheaper to dig massive holes in the ground and process that dirt to extract REE than it is to grind up all the waste electronics and extract copper, tin, gold, REE from that.

Digging holes in the ground is actually much easier and cheaper than you'd think. Almost all of the costs of a running REE mine are in the separation part.

REE is usually used in small amounts in alloys, or especially in electronics, in very thin films and such. Because of this, simply shredding it doesn't quite do it -- after you ground it, what you have is basically a very poor ore of the material, and rather than extracting things from it, it would be cheaper to just get better stuff from the ground.

Post by Tuna-Fish » Sat, Nov 02, 2013, 9:10 PM UTC

wuschel wrote: post #16

Tuna-Fish wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Rising rare element prices might change this in the future. They can't. The mining of rare elements isn't constrained by resources, only cost. Setting up the kind of infrastructure needed for REE recovery would always cost more than mining, so if the prices start going up again, mining will just be expanded.

> The mining of rare elements isn't constrained by resources, only cost. Ok, I am not an expert on the topic of REE mining, consumption and recovery, but I would say that availibility and access of mining sites are a strong factor e.g. at some point of rare earth element consumption the parties mining these elements might be able to dictate prices. I am pretty sure that RE mined in China might have a special tax for…

REE can be mined almost everywhere. Almost every country larger than Luxembourg has multiple rich REE deposits. Traditionally, the location providing their supply has depended on where mining and separation has been the cheapest, meaning usually the place with the laxest labor and environmental laws. (It's also been somewhat influenced by political stability, since separation requires capital-intensive equipment. This is the only reason all your REE doesn't come from Africa.)

It's hard to build a monopoly on a resource when basically anyone can just start a new mine if you ask too much for it.

China does not have a separate export tax -- they have strict export quotas. This makes sense, as given how high the externalities of cheap REE mining are, it makes little sense for them to mine cheaply and then give it to foreigners.

Re: A Visit to the Only American Mine for Rare Earth Metals

Re: A Visit to the Only American Mine for Rare Earth Metals