Rare Earth News

House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee discusses rare earth elements in Asia

Members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee recently discussed the status of China's grip on rare earth elements and the issues surrounding them, including the undermined competitiveness seen in other areas of the world.

John Galyen, president of Danfoss, a global manufacturer of compressors and other related devices, gave a testimony in front of the committee, urging the members to confront China's monopoly on rare earth mining.

"Chinese control over the mining, processing and exporting of these materials has now driven up the cost of our bearings almost ten-fold," he stated. "We’ve experienced an 800 percent increase in the cost of magnets used in a bearings/shaft/motor kit this year, [threatening] the viability of the technology and profitability of our factory."

Galyen cited Canada as one country that is taking advantage of the high demand for rare earth elements, stating that it has begun to re-open old dysprosium and neodymium mines, and also develop new ones.

On Friday, September 23, neodymium sold for $140,896 per metric ton in the Hong Kong market, up from $133,0641.15 the week before, according to Reuters.

Many new rare earth mining operations are being developed in British Columbia and Quebec, as major mineral deposits have recently been discovered in those regions.