Le Japon ne s'avoue pas vaincu dans la course mondiale aux terres rares

L'identification par le Japon d'un gisement massif de terres rares témoigne des efforts de l'archipel, deuxième consommateur mondial de ces minéraux stratégiques, pour réduire sa dépendance envers la Chine sur fond de demande croissante et de hausse des prix.

China no longer dumping ground for foreign waste

The fear that the United States and European countries may soon face their own piles of waste plastics should not be blamed on China. If anything, the developed world should be grateful that China has been, to the detriment of its own environment and people's health, taking their garbage for years.

China's ban on foreign waste may greatly impact the world's recycling

The dominant position that China holds in global manufacturing means that for many years China has also been the largest global importer of many types of recyclable materials. Last year, Chinese manufacturers imported 7.3 million metric tons of waste plastics from developed countries including the U.K., the EU, the United States and Japan.

Russian scientists develop rare-earth metal recovery technology

Researchers from MISiS National Research Technology University developed a technology of rare-earth metals recovery from mineral fertilizer waste, press service of the university said on Monday.

Συνάντηση Υπουργού ΠΕΚΑ, Γιάννη Μανιάτη, με υψηλόβαθμη αντιπροσωπ​εία της Κίνας για τις Σπάνιες Γαίες

ΥΠΕΚΑ, 09.09.14:

Ο Υπουργός Περιβάλλοντος, Ενέργειας και Κλιματικής Αλλαγής, Γιάννης Μανιάτης, είχε το μεσημέρι συνάντηση με τον Πρέσβη της Λαϊκής Δημοκρατίας της Κίνας στην Ελλάδα, Zou Xiaoli, ο οποίος συνοδευόταν από υψηλόβαθμη αντιπροσωπεία Αξιωματούχων και ειδικών της χώρας του, με αντικείμενο την ανταλλαγή τεχνογνωσίας και επιστημονικών γνώσεων για την αξιοποίηση των Σπάνιων Γαιών, στο πλαίσιο της στρατηγικής που έχει διαμορφώσει η Ε.Ε. επενδύοντας στην έρευνα και ανάπτυξη.

WTO Appellate Body rules against Chinese restrictions on access to rare earths and other raw materials (E.C.)

European Commission, Press release, Brussels, 7 August 2014:

The Appellate Body of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) today ruled in the EU’s favour. It confirmed the findings made by a Panel in March 2014 that China’s export restrictions on rare earth, as well as tungsten and molybdenum, are in breach of WTO rules. Backing the claims of the EU and its co-complainants, the US and Japan, the WTO found that China’s export duties and quotas were not justified for reasons of environmental protection or conservation policy.

WTO confirms China’s export restrictions on rare earths and other raw materials incompatible with WTO rules. -European Commission

A World Trade Organisation (WTO) panel today confirmed that China’s export duties and quotas imposed on rare earths, as well as other two raw materials, tungsten and molybdenum, are incompatible with China’s WTO obligations. The report released today concludes the dispute settlement panel proceedings launched jointly by the EU, US and Japan in March 2012.

Which raw materials are at issue in this case?

Rare earths are 17 chemical elements in the periodic table, specifically 15 lanthanides (lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium), as well as scandium and yttrium.

Έρευνα: Μεγάλη εξάρτηση της τεχνολογίας από σπάνια υλικά. -Σπάνιες γαίες και πιθανή έλλειψή τους...

Εξαρτημένη σε πολύ μεγάλο βαθμό είναι η σύγχρονη τεχνολογία από σπάνιες ύλες, και πιθανή έλλειψή τους θα είχε δραματικές επιπτώσεις στην καινοτομία, σύμφωνα με νέα έρευνα.

Τη μελέτη πραγματοποίησαν ερευνητές του Γέιλ, με επικεφαλής τον καθηγητή Τόμας Γκρέιντελ. Όπως επισημαίνεται, ο μοντέρνος τρόπος ζωής είναι εφικτός χάρη στη χρήση συγκεκριμένων υλικών στην τεχνολογία, και για αυτό το λόγο προκύπτει ο προβληματισμός σχετικά με τις συνέπειες που θα είχε η μείωση της διάθεσης τέτοιων υλικών, ενώ ταυτόχρονα η χρήση τους αυξάνεται.

Rare earth metals: will demand be in line with supply?

Russian state-owned Rostekh and ICT Group plan to invest at least one billion dollars in a joint holding that would extract and refine rare-earth metals at the Tomtor deposit in the Russian republic of Yakutia, Russian media reported on Friday.

The construction of a hydro-metallurgical plant that would process rare earth metals is due to be completed by 2018.

Rare earth metals, or rare earth elements, are a set of seventeen chemical elements in the periodic table that are used in the manufacture of tablet computers and smart phones, as well as in aircraft engineering, automotive and atomic energy industry and the military sphere.

In February 2013, the Russian government approved a state program on producing rare earth elements in the country, something that was then hailed by head of Yakutia Yegor Borisov who touted ICT Group as a “strategic investor.” Borisov was echoed by Moscow-based investment expert Nikolai Sosnovsky.