Inb4 Trade War

[Prince Glittersnatch III]

China has stopped exporting rare earth materials to America in retaliation to a US government investigation of illegal Chinese subsidies:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/business/global/20rare.html?_r=2&hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1287514868-FKgXcf7WZdAy8sCTRJUR6g

[Doktor Howl]

China has stopped exporting rare earth materials to America in retaliation to a US government investigation of illegal Chinese subsidies:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/business/global/20rare.html?_r=2&hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=
1287514868-FKgXcf7WZdAy8sCTRJUR6g

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Obama won't have the stones to react.

[Elder Iptuous]

aren't all the raw materials like that traded on international bourses anyways?
seems kind of hollow if that is the case...

[Doktor Howl]

aren't all the raw materials like that traded on international bourses anyways?
seems kind of hollow if that is the case...

China makes 90% of rare earth supplies.

[Doktor Howl]

Of course, South Africa is SWIMMING in that shit, and it's about time they caught a break.

[Elder Iptuous]

really?
huh.  that does supplies me!  
i knew they were big, but not in *that* ballpark.

link-o for edumacation?

[Doktor Howl]

really?
huh.  that does supplies me!  
i knew they were big, but not in *that* ballpark.

link-o for edumacation?

First hit on google:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/26538/

[Golden Applesauce]

Now, I just heard this in a student lounge, so I could be wrong, but:

The US does have significant rare earth deposits.  But because it was so much cheaper to mine in China, where they don't pretend half as well as we do to have mining safety regs, the US mines closed rather than be undercut.  If that's true, then when/as the prices rise back to where it's profitable to run the US mines, we should see production increase (and local production at that.)

[Cain]

That Japanese discovery is looking pretty timely, isn't it?

[Adios]

Isn't Afghanistan mineral rich?

[Cain]

Supposedly.  Said information came from a Soviet survey, done during the occupation of Afghanistan, when they were losing.  Coincidentally, this report is found again when the US is occupying Afghanistan, and losing.

It's not like the Soviets or US haven't made up complete bullshit before simply to justify a continuing occupation.

[Adios]

Supposedly.  Said information came from a Soviet survey, done during the occupation of Afghanistan, when they were losing.  Coincidentally, this report is found again when the US is occupying Afghanistan, and losing.

It's not like the Soviets or US haven't made up complete bullshit before simply to justify a continuing occupation.

Yeah, good point.

[Jenne]

Eh...there've been geological surveys more recent than the 80's from the former USSR, though. (since '06)

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/report-afghanistan-sitting-on-goldmine-literally/19514874

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html?_r=1&hp

...but I still don't see this as being anything but another stick to beat Afghans over their heads with (if you want to know how they react to that, see the last 70 years of Afghan history).

Although, apparently, Karzai said Japan had first dibs on the mineral rights to Afghanistan's mines?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/20/japan-has-priority-on-rig_n_618545.html

[Prince Glittersnatch III]

really?
huh.  that does supplies me!  
i knew they were big, but not in *that* ballpark.

link-o for edumacation?

First hit on google:

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/26538/

rare earths, which are crucial for a wide range of technologies, including hard drives, solar panels, and motors for hybrid vehicles.

Its official. China is trying to kill us with Global Warming.

[Jenne]

Hm...and we just went solar this week.