Rare Earth Production is concentrated in China..
Producing rare earths creates toxic waste water, gases and tailings — left-over materials that aren’t sellable — which includes ammonia and thorium that can severely damage the lungs and liver.
In 2013, China acknowledged it had more than 247 “cancer villages” as a result of environmental pollution.
Due to this, China has become the main producer of these minerals.
Some recent news stories on the subject.
China threatens rare earths blacklist as trade war expands.
Trump moves to expand rare earths mining.
Trump moves to expand rare earths mining, cites China threat
Saskatchewan to create Canada’s first rare earth processing facility.
Saskatchewan to create Canada’s first rare earth processing facility at SRC
Officially, Australia has large reserves of critical minerals, including the world’s third-largest deposits of lithium.
It’s ranked sixth in the world for its rare earth deposits, according to Geoscience Australia.
But what’s stopped Australia from gaining ground on China has been the steep environmental and financial costs of rare earth production.
abc.net.au
Africa-focused Rainbow Rare Earths has inked an agreement with Bosveld Phosphates to co-develop the Phalaborwa rare earths project in South Africa.
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