3 ms·
> The rare earth in motors -and not even in all motors- is neodymium, which is the second most common. There are huge deposits worldwide and the US gets over 85
by Melting_Harps 3y ago
> The rare earth in motors -and not even in all motors- is neodymium, which is the second most common. There are huge deposits worldwide and the US gets over 85% of its REE domestically.
Has that changed? This was my understanding of the situation:
“I think most people outside our industry would be shocked to learn that there are virtually no factories in the US building these magnets at scale,” said Shilpan Amin, GM vice president for global purchasing and supply chain. “Well that’s about to change.”
0: https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/9/22825948/gm-ev-motor-rare-earth-metal-magnet-mp-materials https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/9/22825948/gm-ev-motor-rare...
- hwillis 3y agoYes, 92% of Nd magnets are made in China. Large amounts of the REE used to make those magnets are imported. The implication that all that mining is just in China is false, and cheap labor is the only reason it isn't all in the US. The US supplied almost ALL of the planets REEs until cheap labor outcompeted it. https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/Neodymium%20Magnets%20Supply%20Chain%20Report%20-%20Final.pdf https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/Neodymium...
- Melting_Harps 3y ago> The US supplied almost ALL of the planets REEs until cheap labor outcompeted it. I fail to see how that is untrue then, if the labour arbitrage holds then nothing is being refined in the US and is then still solely taking place in China were Xi has made it a priority to remediate destroyed soil after decades of dumping waste as Cheaply as possible during its Industrialization, mainly for export make to the West.