Description
The Rare Earth Era: Strategic Metals Dependency & World Order addresses the centrality of 17 rare metallic elements necessary to the manufacture of a vast panoply of products developed through modern technology and in use worldwide—from smartphones, televisions, computers, and medical scanners to components of the most modern weapons systems in Western arsenals. Rare earths are hence crucial to strategic planning, whether for business, combating climate change, warfare, or ascendancy in world order.
Called “rare earths” because of the low concentration in which they are found, which makes their extraction polluting and difficult, the miraculous properties of these elements can endow other materials with an unalterable super magnetism, an amazing hardness or robustness, a unique luminescence or fluorescence, and a special conductivity. The world as we now experience, enjoy and understand it is absolutely dependent on access to these metals in order to produce today’s technology. Without that, it’s goodbye to modernity.
Renewable energies and electric cars cannot be produced without these elements. They are essential to the fight against climate change. Without them, many of the most modern weapons systems in Western arsenals will not be able to function. They form the physical basis of many of the disruptive technologies that act as levers for global leadership. Without access to their proper supply, states’ international, national, and human security is at serious risk.
This staggering account tackles the primary issues surrounding rare earth procurement: the environmental damage caused by their extraction, and the perilous access to global supply. The unbridled race for mineral resources led by rare earths is redrawing the global geopolitical map. Not only are rare earths found primarily in China, but China holds a virtual monopoly on their production. If the West should increase its sanctions against China, China may well retaliate, seriously impacting its access to these critical materials needed for its defense sector. Notably, the Western defense sector’s dependence on Chinese rare earths throughout its supply chain represents a momentous and historic challenge to its strategic autonomy both at the national level and within the framework of its Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and NATO alliance. It impedes the West’s technological sovereignty and may in the future limit its ability to respond to crises and sustain military operations.
Susana Calvo –
“A very lucid essay that explains how vital rare earths are and issues a warning to the West regarding the control of these minerals in relation to industry and renewable energies. Without a doubt, it is a great prospective work that raises current problems and solutions for the future.” Susana Calvo, Editor Chief of Revista de Aeronáutica y Astronáutica.
Mario Borrego, Chief Director, 5 Continents, RNE –
¨Lieutenant Colonel Chomón clearly and exhaustively exposes the current situation regarding the strategic minerals that are necessary to manufacture the technological or defense products that make our lives easier today. This is a book whose pages are a sort of written alarm that awakens us to the not-too-distant future that awaits us.¨ MARIO BORREGO, Chief Director of the Program ¨5 Continents¨ from the Spanish National Radio
MARK CAZELET –
“Chomón undertakes a deep dive into the rare earth metal supply chains which form the material underpinnings of the modern world, and skillfully articulates how these are impacting Western geopolitical priorities. Underpinning Chomón’ work are two primary narratives: the first is the uneasy relationship between rare earth metals’ potential to allow humanity to modernize and decarbonize society, and the massive ecological costs of their extraction and processing. The second is China’s dominance of the rare earth supply chain at all levels, and whose metals are greatly needed for Western political, economic, and military ambitions to materialise. The interweaving of these two narratives reveals the uneasy tension which sits at the heart of many countries’ plans for the future, with no simple solutions apparent.” MARK CAZELET, Editor in Chief, European Security and Defense.