In recent years, with the development of international trade, more and more people have turned their attention to scarce resources. Take Middle Eastern oil, for example. The status of oil in the world is unparalleled, especially in the current context where all industries are rapidly developing, and it is sought after by many countries.
However, in fact, our country also holds an ace card, and this ace card is also the greatest confidence of our country in international trade. This ace card is rare earth elements, which our country started to pay attention to in the 1990s.
The status of rare earth elements is best reflected in the rapid development of the new energy industry in recent years. If our country values it so much, it must have real capabilities, otherwise it would not make sense at all. So why are rare earth elements so important?
Rare earth mining refers to the collective term for elements such as "lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium," etc. Many people may not understand why something called "earth" is composed of various metal components.
Advertisement
In fact, this is because rare earth elements were discovered around the 18th century. However, at that time, various technologies were immature, and people were not very familiar with this newly emerged substance.
Later, someone used the chemical methods of that time to extract some insoluble oxides from this substance. These oxides, when accumulated, were very similar to soil, and because they were very rare, they were named rare earth elements.With the rapid development of technology, rare earths have gradually emerged in various industries, playing a significant role. For instance, they are well-known in the new energy sector, which is familiar to many.
In addition to this, rare earths are indispensable in the advanced equipment manufacturing industry, and they are also highly valued in the military field, earning widespread praise.
However, the mining and refining of rare earths are extremely complex processes. Therefore, even though everyone recognizes the value of rare earths, they cannot be possessed or used in large quantities.
Nevertheless, since our country proposed that rare earths are comparable to Middle Eastern oil, there has been a strong focus on researching their mining and smelting. The achievements made in recent years have been very encouraging.
Currently, more than 250 types of rare earth minerals have been discovered, and over a quarter of them have demonstrated remarkable strength in industrial development. This discovery has further heightened our awareness of the importance of rare earths.
Following this, the country has begun centralized allocation and management of rare earths. Now, our rare earth industry has gradually formed a "one south, one north" situation, which facilitates national mining, smelting, and management of rare earths.
This has made our country the nation with the most types of rare earths in the world. Moreover, our reserves have also become the largest in the world, making it our country's biggest trump card in international trade!Countries around the world have also recognized the importance of rare earths and have begun to vigorously develop their rare earth industries. Russia, in particular, has gone all out to protect and promote the development of rare earths, even enacting relevant laws for this purpose.
After years of development, Russia has become quite proficient in the utilization and smelting of rare earths, which can be seen from the rapid development of various industries in their country over the years. This is also closely related to Russia's unique geographical location, which has made their rare earth mining efforts more efficient, allowing them to quickly secure a leading position among the world's major rare earth countries.
However, the rapid development of industry has also led to a直线上升 in Russia's demand for rare earths, and their own reserves of rare earths are also直线下降. Nevertheless, Russia's reserves of rare earths are still quite formidable.
According to the results of surveys conducted by the United States Geological Survey, as of last year, Russia already had no less than ten million tons of rare earth reserves, and they continue to explore domestic and international markets.
Compared to Russia, how much rare earth reserves do China and the United States have?Relative to Russia, the United States has not placed as much emphasis on the rare earth industry, even going so far as to consistently claim that their country's reserves of rare earths are minimal. In reality, they have not been aggressively mining these resources.
When global rare earth prices experienced significant fluctuations, the United States began to strongly support the rare earth industry, achieving commendable results in a relatively short period of time. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the United States currently has approximately 1.8 million tons of rare earth reserves, a figure that is undeniably surprising.
However, due to their late start in development, the United States' technology for rare earth mining and smelting is not yet particularly advanced. To support the growth of industry and emerging sectors, the United States has no choice but to import rare earths from our country.
Some may be curious about the exact amount of rare earth reserves our country possesses and why, in addition to our own use, we can export to the United States. This is thanks to the scientists who have been continuously researching rare earths. It is their efforts that have made us aware of the importance of rare earths.
In terms of rare earth management, our country has always been quite strict, especially with the maturity of mining and smelting technologies, which has led to a rapid increase in rare earth reserves. There is even a tendency for our reserves to become the largest in the world!Especially after the centralized management of rare earths, China's rare earth industry has gradually become unified. Even though some companies took advantage of the low rare earth pricing to buy in large quantities before, it did not have a particularly significant impact.
Because of their operations, the country has placed greater emphasis on the development of the rare earth industry. Over the years, various policies have been continuously proposed to protect and support the development of rare earths, making them our greatest confidence.
The "Rare Earth Management Regulations" announced on June 29 this year will be implemented from October 1, once again promoting the high-quality development of the rare earth industry.
I believe that after continuous protection and support, the rare earth industry will eventually become the most important weapon in our country's hands, allowing us to shine our unique Eastern beauty on the international stage!