The world’s sources of critical minerals are increasingly concentrated in just a few countries, most notably China, leaving the global economy vulnerable to supply cutoffs that could disrupt economies and hit consumers with higher prices, a report from International Energy Agency (IEA) has stated.
The report looked at the availability of minerals and metals that may be small in quantity but large in impact when it comes to shifting the economy away from fossil fuels toward electricity and renewable energy.
This critical mineral includes so-called “Rare Earths,” a group of 17 metallic elements with unique properties that make them indispensable to modern technology. They’re essential components in smartphones, electric cars, wind turbines, medical scanners and advanced defense systems. They’re also needed in LEDs, lasers, glass production, steelmaking and petroleum refining. These materials include metals such as Lithium, Graphite, Copper, Titanium and Nickel.
Source: MSN: Read The Article
PSR Analysis: With China dominating Rare Earths, many countries are just waking up to a potential bottleneck and the use of minerals in geo-political bargaining. Some analysts suggest that the USA’s shortfall of some of these Rare Earths, might be the reason behind President Trump’s 90 day pause on tariffs and the subsequent willingness to negotiate on this subject. According to the IEA, the golden rule relating to critical minerals is diversity, something that doesn’t currently exist. PSR
Guy Youngs is Forecast & Adoption Lead at Power Systems Research
