Obama cites 'obsession' on Afghanistan timeline

[alienlovechild 75]

I don't think I ever brought up oil or Iraq for that matter... where is that coming from? Its about lithium and beryllium. http://www.wealthdaily.com/articles/afghanistan-mineral-discovery-a-1-trillion-find/2553 in reference to this http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/business/energy-environment/03rare.html

According your sources we are already screwed if China holds 90% of the rare earth minerals and Afghanistan is going to take a long time to come online. I wouldn't worry about fighting a war in China or Afghanistan to secure access to the stuff to make green lightbulbs and windmills.

China is planning to tighten its control over its rare earth minerals by allowing just a handful of state companies to oversee the mining of the scarce elements, which are vital to some of the worlds greenest technologies.

Rare earth minerals are an unusual group of natural elements that are vital for high-performance electric motors in hybrid cars, wind turbines, efficient light bulbs and even missiles. China now accounts for over 90 percent of the worlds production of the minerals.

The U.S. Congress even ordered a study of alternative sources because of the American militarys dependence on Chinas supply of rare earth minerals.

China doesn't have the strategic power projection and (won't have for a while) to secure supply lines to minerals very far from her borders. Her economic "colonies" would be isolated in a major war.

Edited June 29, 2010 by alienlovechild

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Well its a bit like peak oil in a way. If time isn't an issue, the market drives changes. IE if China stops meeting world demand the price jumps making it worthwhile to explore other areas. For instance, the US likely holds nearly as many rare materials as China but has never invested in exploring for it because China has heavily subsidized its mining. This makes North American exploration uneconomic. However, if China cuts off supply nearly all at once the west wouldn't have time to catch up because it might take a decade to go from exploring to actually producing usable amounts of the material. However, a third party source that is developed now could buy the west enough time to get their own resources on line.