Daily Doom

[chef]

China's hording rare earth materials

Doomed I tell ya

[OwlHoot]

You'd think if anyone it would be India hording Indium

[hyperD]

Well, that kinda throws a spanner into the millions of UK green jobs when China owns 96% of the resources for neodymium, used in the construction of the permanent magnets used in windmill construction. As if windmills weren't subsidised enough by our outrageously high utility bills... now, a monopoly!

Whowouldhavethoughtit!

[TimberWolf]

Well, that kinda throws a spanner into the millions of UK green jobs when China owns 96% of the resources for neodymium, used in the construction of the permanent magnets used in windmill construction. As if windmills weren't subsidised enough by our outrageously high utility bills... now, a monopoly!

Whowouldhavethoughtit!

Those green jobs seem to go like this: Our manufacturers close down we offer subsidies to other EU countries to set up shop here and they bring in their own (foreign) workforce, then our politicians retire rich.

[hyperD]

Those green jobs seem to go like this: Our manufacturers close down we offer subsidies to other EU countries to set up shop here and they bring in their own (foreign) workforce, then our politicians retire rich.

Indeed, that lovely oceanic hairdresser's saloon known as Thanet Windfarm will cost you, me and every CUKer a grand total of £1.2 billion to be given to that lovely Swedish company Vattenfall.

Ah yes, that 300MW of windmill generated power, available 25% of the time, backed up by those nasty fossil fuelled burning power stations 75% of the time, only available in the peak power producing capacity... FFS!

But don't worry everybody, it's created 20 permanent local jobs.

Cheaper to open a fracking sea facing chip shop.

Why are our politicians and journalists (and average bovine populace) so fracking stupid and although they scratch their collective small heads and wonder why their utility bills rocket, fail to even be bothered with finding out why?

Learn about how the National Grid is operated and then the very notion of windmills will be quite rightly discarded into the dustbin of monumentous follies.

[Doggy Styles]

As I understand it, the Chinese hold less than 25% of the world's known deposits of rare earths, but they are the only ones with cheap enough labour to dig the stuff out.

[AtW]

As I understand it, the Chinese hold less than 25% of the world's known deposits of rare earths, but they are the only ones with cheap enough labour to dig the stuff out.

You got it wrong.

They are the only ones smart enough to keep mines open until competitors close their own and then they increase prices or just refuse to sell.

[TimberWolf]

The UK was abundant in natural resources once, but we dug them all up. What a wild party it was too.

[Clippy]

As I understand it, the Chinese hold less than 25% of the world's known deposits of rare earths, but they are the only ones with cheap enough labour to dig the stuff out.

No problem.

Just negotiate deals with the other countries who have a good source.