was announced by scientists ar (he Universiry of Lccds, in rhe UK. They
found a way tO extracr usable q ua ntities of rare earth o xides from
rjtanjum-dioxjde minera ls. Whether (his method can provide la rger
amo ums rC"n1ains [ 0 be seen.
With all th e discussion abour dean rechnologies and investmem value,
another a spect of rare earrhs is be ing igno red , says Reller. Somc mines are
io coumries where imernationallabor laws are not follo wed: "You have
ilia:. poverry, and in so me cases, like Congo, YOll have arrjsana l minin~
in war zones, and th e mined minerals are used ro pay local warlords."
Mainta ining our high standard of l iving in the West becornes a political
a nd social issue, a s weil a s a rechnica l o ne.
T here is no convenient solution [Q a sho rrage of rare eart hs. Bur Mar-
tin Engi, professor of rnincralogy and perrolo&y at the University of Sero
(see the interview o n page 66), believes oew answers will be fo und. " Once
world supplies dwiodlc - 3nd th ey will- replacement technologies w ill
110 doubt ~ fo r rnany producrs. However, ir is d ear (hat the ~
properties of SOOle o f the rare earths will no t allow easy substitutions. "[Iabuse [;)'bju:s]
Aecoontability: U.S. Government -Office
(accountabitity [Ol,kaunt.l'bll.lti]
artisanal mining [;o:r' .lz·n.l) 'maIn10*]
eore I b :r"]
erust Ikrl\st]
deposit Idj'~
dt't'OUr 5 th. Idi 'V1IO'f")
dire ['da, ... ·]
dwindle ['dwmdol]
dye [d:u l
emerge [i'm3:d31
ladge! ['IIa:d 31 1]
Geological Survey rd3j:~,lo:d3Ik'l 's3:ve,O]MISSbrauch
etwa: US-Rechnungshol
Rechenschaltspl ilcht)
Bergbau mirhandwerkhchen Mitteln
(Erd-)Kern
(Erd-fKruste
VOI'kommen
elw. verschl.i"~g,~"c-
schrecklich;Jlier: exlrem
SChWinden
Farbstofl
entstehen
Gerat, technische Spielerei
US·BehOrde, die sich u.a:-mrfRessourcen
belassl
lne. (lncorpofatedl /lok] US etwa: AG
intqrated circuit l,mt...grell;K) 's:d:;)'*J Chip: mtegrlerter Schaltkf\!'S
inuluable [m'vrelj u.li»I] 'IOn unschalzbarem Wert
mainland ['mcml;)ndJ Fesllands----
manlle l'mreflPIl (Erd-)Manl-' -' -
nOfl.reflewablel no:n ri'nU::b>~"~' ~C.:=~_;"~iChi erneuerbar
petrology [p.l'tro:l'ld3i") Petrologie, Gesleinskunde
planttary bodies I,plll'na!ari 'bo:diz*] planelarc Körper
Potent ['pooPfl!"] lelstungslahig
fare earth elements (REEs) Seltenerdmetalle, Seltene Erden
l,fc'1" '3:9 ,clJm.mh (.o:r i: 'i:z)")
run short of sth. l.rl\n 'J.l:r'''c'c·~I ___ _
shOftage 1'J;):ru d3°]
supervisiofl r~p>r'vl3'nO]
iupply chain Is;)'plm !Jeml
titaflium dioxide [tal,IClni.1 01 d:u'o:ksaldol
uflique [ju'n-i:k] --
warlord ['w~:rb:rd"]
watctldog ['wo:!JdJ:g"]an e!w. knaep werden
Knappheit. Mangel
-Oberw"'hung
lielerkett-'--
Titandioxid- ThtS symbol mar1<s Slan<Wd US ,.,..,.,uncoatoon that d,ffer\ lrom 51'ndard UK pronunc,ahOll.
For more information
REPORTS- "China's Rare Eartb E[ements Industry: Whal Can the West Learn?," Cindy Hurst,
Institute for the Analysis 01 Global SecurilY (lAGS). Download Oll http://www.iags.org - "Rare Earth Materials in Ihe Oelense Supoly Chain," U.S. Goveroment Account·
ibi.l.J..b: Office (GAO). Download at http://www.gao.govlhtextldl0617r.html
4/2010
MARTON RAOI<At is an Amencan journalist living In southern Baden near
Basle. He has written extensivelyon travel, culture, and tec hnology, in-
cludlng fare earth elements. Contact: [email protected]4 /201 0 AUDIO •BUSINESS
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