Potential rare-earths industry in the US must avoid China's mistakes, Asia Times reports
In the last five years or so, the Chinese government has begun to enforce environmental regulations and crack down on black markets in the rare-earths industry, which in turn drove up the cost of operations and compliance. In one small-scale mining city alone, they spent the equivalent of more than US5 billion on cleanup and rehabilitation.
Overall, the rare-earths industry is losing the country money, as the World Trade Organization urges China to keep prices low. In 2015, the industry lost US116 million and was negative again last year. Thus, in China's case, at least for the time being, the economic impact does little to make up for the environmental degradation.
The US uses about 15,000 tonnes of rare-earth elements every year, more than 700 tonnes of which go to defense. West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin recently told the Washington Examiner thatAmerica's reliance on foreign sources for such a vital material is 'a national security concern that must be addressed.'
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Ashram würde diese Umweltprobleme vermeiden.