How prepared are we for the weaponization of rare earth resources, a key driver of technological progress?

The performance of modern IT devices is improving rapidly, but rare earths play an important role behind the scenes. Rare earths can significantly improve the performance of electronics, even in small quantities, and China’s monopoly on most rare earth production raises concerns about the potential for weaponization.

 

Today’s tech devices are getting smaller and smaller, and their performance is improving at a faster rate than ever before. These changes are more than just technological advances; they are fundamentally changing our lives. Features that were unimaginable just a few years ago are now readily available in our everyday lives. Smartphones have more capabilities built into them than we could have ever imagined, and even wireless internet, 4G LTE, can match the loading speeds of wired LAN. This has led many people to say that tech companies have “captured and employed aliens who crash-landed on Earth,” or that “God is actually helping them. Given the current pace of technology advancement, these statements are certainly true.
But there’s a lot of hard work behind these technological leaps. From innovative semiconductor technology, to software development, to securing the rare resources that power it all, the process is more complex than you might think. But there’s one element that is truly responsible for the advancements in technology. Rare earths. Rare earths are materials whose unique physical, electrical, and chemical properties, in very small quantities, allow them to create products with incredible performance that other materials cannot replicate. It’s the same way that a few spoonfuls of seasoning can turn a bland dish into a great meal. But what is it about rare earths that makes them so amazing? Let’s take a closer look at the world of rare earths.
Rare earths are a group of 15 elements in the lanthanum series with atomic numbers 57 through 71, and 17 elements with atomic numbers 21: scandium and 39: yttrium. Because of their name, many people assume that rare earth metals must be extremely rare, but this is a common misconception. Rare earths are actually relatively common resources. It’s just that their extraction and refining is very difficult and expensive, which is why they’re considered rare. In fact, cerium, with atomic number 58, is the 25th most abundant substance in the Earth’s crust. However, the process of producing rare earths hasn’t been as prolific as other metals because the byproducts and chemicals are extremely polluting if not handled properly.
Let’s take a closer look at why rare earths have been called the “seasoning of industry” or “vitamins of industry”. Rare earths are chemically very stable, resistant to dry air, highly thermally conductive, and electrically conductive. Their effects are so dramatic that even small amounts of rare earths can significantly improve the efficiency of a product. As such, they are essential materials for high-performance IT products such as LCDs, LEDs, smartphones, computers, and optical fibers that require miniaturization and lightweight. This has become essential to meet consumer demands as modern electronics become smaller and more powerful. Rare earths are also widely used as nuclear reactor moderators due to their excellent radioactive shielding. Some of the most common applications of rare earth elements include lanthanum in batteries, neodymium as a key permanent magnet in alternative energy sources, and yttrium in superconductors. Without rare earths, all of the electronics we use today would have to be many times larger and heavier than they are today, and would be the size of something we would have seen 15 years ago. That’s how powerful rare earths are.
Beyond this technological necessity, rare earths are also closely linked to national economies. The development of information and communication technology is not only driving economic growth, but also increasing competition for resources between countries. Although rare earths are not absolutely rare metals, the distribution of rare earth deposits is quite unequal. The top three countries account for 76% of rare earth reserves, with China holding about 48%, the Commonwealth of Independent States about 17%, and the United States about 11%. However, while other countries such as the United States have largely stopped producing rare earths due to the enormous pollution involved in their production and refining, China is still exploiting them and dominates the rare earth market with 97% of the world’s production. The problem with the rare earth monopoly is not just the price. Although the price spike has hurt Korea’s economy, if China were to stop exporting rare earths at any point, Korea’s industry would be paralyzed in just two days. The power of weaponizing a resource is so destructive that a country can be left destitute by simply tightening the supply of a single resource.
As I said earlier, Korea’s rare earth reserves are only two days’ worth. The sense of crisis that an entire industry could be paralyzed in such a short period of time forces us to look for new alternatives. And there is always the possibility that China will stop exporting rare earths. Therefore, we should pay more attention to rare earths and resource recycling to minimize wasted resources in order to secure our rare earth reserves. In addition, we should further promote resource diplomacy to open up new avenues for importing resources from countries other than China.