Rare earth is a general term for a variety of rare materials, which have very important applications in many fields such as chip semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and aerospace. In the rapid development of modern science and technology industry, the importance of rare earth elements is also increasing, it can be said that the lack of sufficient rare earth materials will lead to the development of many industries are greatly affected.
On August 1, 2023, we officially imposed export controls on rare metal materials such as germanium and gallium, and at the same time restricted the export of some rare earth technologies. Among them, germanium and gallium are one of the rare earth materials and are very critical in the semiconductor field. Now, we have restricted the shipment of germanium and gallium for more than half a year, and the current situation of the United States and the West in this field has also yielded results.
Globally, we export more than 80% of the world's rare earth materials every year, and our shipments in the field of rare metals such as germanium and gallium account for more than 90% of the global total. The most noteworthy point is that rare earth materials are actually a very wide range, including some elemental materials as well as compound materials.
The rare earth materials used in artificial intelligence, chip semiconductors and other fields are basically products that need to be finished, and these rare earth materials are basically shipped by us.
In fact, there are not a few countries with rich rare earth mineral resources in the world, such as the United States has rich germanium minerals, and Mongolia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have a variety of rare earth material minerals. At present, the number of rare earth minerals that have been proven in Mongolia has exceeded 31 million tons.
However, we are the only ones who can ship rare earth materials in large quantities on a global scale, and the vast majority of rare earth materials in the global market come from our shipped materials. In fact, the main reason for this situation is that we have mastered advanced technology and have a complete industrial chain.
Many domestic netizens believe that the United States also has rich rare earth minerals, why does the United States still have a large number of rare earth materials, doesn't it want to wait for us to mine our own after mining. In fact, this is not the case, the United States is very dependent on our rare earth materials and has always wanted to get rid of it.
The United States not only engaged in the rare earth freedom program to promote the development of the local rare earth industry, but even pulled Australia and the United Kingdom to form a rare earth alliance, but the result was ineffective. After all, our rare earth technology and related equipment industry chain have developed very rapidly, and can even be said to be the world's leading level.
After we restricted the shipment of germanium and gallium, the United States also looked for alternative rare earth industry chains internationally. However, whether it is Mongolia or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, these countries rich in rare earth minerals basically have no relevant technology and industrial chain. Even the local rare earth manufacturers in the United States can only produce some basic materials, and the materials used in artificial intelligence, chip semiconductors and other fields are still unable to be mass-produced.
On top of that, some rare earth materials are actually by-products of other metallic materials. For example, germanium and gallium are the by-products of tin and aluminum. It is a by-product of the process of producing tin and aluminum, which means that if the United States wants to produce enough germanium and gallium, it also needs to build an aluminum and tin industry chain first.
However, the United States is now very deindustrialized, and the tin and aluminum produced are basically indigestible by other domestic industries. That's why the U.S. wants to get rid of its dependence on our rare earth products, but it has never been able to do so.
To put it bluntly, it is not that the United States does not want to mine local rare earth minerals, but that there is no relevant finishing technology for mining, and eventually the ore products will be exported to China, and then imported back by the United States after a series of processes such as processing.
Nowadays, we have completely restricted the shipment of rare earth products, and the United States is also very uncomfortable, it can be said that it has been hit to "seven inches", and the United States even needs to meet domestic demand from the waste of gallium. There is no doubt, however, that this approach by the United States is basically impossible to meet domestic needs.
After all, the amount of gallium in waste is limited, and the demand for gallium is constantly expanding. This approach can only meet the needs of the moment, and in the long run, the United States still needs to seek external channels. But now the United States has nothing to do about it, and even its allies have begun to distrust the United States.
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