The Rare Metals War: the dark side of clean energy and digital technologies

by Guillame Pitron, Bianca Jacobsohn (Translator)

Is the shift to renewable energy and digital devices going to free us from severe pollution, material shortages, and military tensions?

Rare metals are essential to electric vehicles, fighter jets, wind turbines, and solar panels, and also to our smartphones, computers, tablets, and other everyday connected objects. But consumers know very little about how they are mined and traded, or the environmental, economic, and geopolitical costs of this dependence.

This book reveals the dark side of the world that awaits us. It is an undercover tale of a technological odyssey that has promised much, and a look behind the scenes. Behind it all lurks China, which has captured the lion’s share of the ownership and processing of rare metals we now can’t do without. Drawing on six years of research across a dozen countries, this book shows that by breaking free of fossil fuels, we are in fact setting ourselves up for a new dependence—on rare metals that have become vital to our new ecological and digital society.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Technology, Politics, Economics, Environment, Business

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 2018

Reviews

[meltemay]

Toplam 9 bölümden oluşan Nadir Metaller Savaşı yeni nesil enerji dönüşümünün perde arkasındaki ekonomik çıkarları, çevresel tahribatı ve yeni güç dengelerini ortaya koyan bir araştırma kitabı. Özellikle çevre teknolojileri, küresel ekonomi veya jeopolitik konularla ilgilenenler için temel bir kaynak niteliğinde.

Bilen bilir, nadir toprak elementleri olarak adlandırılan lityum, kobalt, neodimyum, galyum, germanium gibi metaller stratejik öneme sahiptir. Pitron, yeni çağın kaynak savaşının bu metaller (Tesla’nın bataryasında lityum, F-35 savaş uçağının radarında neodimyum, iPhone’un ekranında galyum vb.) etrafında şekilleneceğini -başladı bile- anlatıyor. “Yeşil” ya da “ileri teknoloji” olarak bilenen bu ürünlerin ardında ciddi bir jeopolitik kırılganlık yatıyor. Nadir elementler doğada tamamen tükenmiş olmasa da düşük yoğunlukta bulundukları için çıkarılmaları çevreye büyük zarar veriyor. Üstelik ekonomik olarak da masraflı. Bu nedenle birçok ülke kendi madenlerini kapatırken Çin bu alana sistemli biçimde yatırım yaptı. Dünya üretiminin yaklaşık %80’i de malumunuz onların kontrolünde. Pitron’un deyimiyle, “nadir metallerin yeni efendisi artık Pekin!". Bu durum, enerji dönüşümü ve dijitalleşme alanlarında stratejik bir bağımlılık ilişkisi doğuruyor. Avrupa ve Amerika, elektrikli araç üretiminde ilerlemek için Çin’den gelen malzemelere muhtaç. Yani insanlık fosil yakıtlardan kurtulduk derken bu sefer de madenciliğe dayalı bağımlılık içeren yeni bir sisteme merhaba diyor. Çin’in elindeki bu avantaj geleceğin enerji, savunma ve teknoloji politikalarını belirleyecek ki gündemi de epeydir meşgul ediyor.

Neyse uzatmayayım, kitabın en güçlü yanı, büyük şirketlerin "çevrecilik" söyleminin ikiyüzlülüğünü (son yıllarda greenwashing de denen) deşifre etmesi. Elektrikli otomobiller “temiz” olarak lanse edilse de bu esnada olanlardan, örneğin, Şili’de lityum madenlerinde yeraltı sularının kuruduğundan ya da Kongo’da kobalt madenlerinde çocuk işçilerin çalıştırıldığından ve benzer pek çok konuda çevreye ve insana ağır bedeller ödetildiğinden kimse bahsetmiyor… Pitron'un kulağa evhamlı gibi gelen -ancak olmayan- ve bu ikiyüzlülüğe atıfta bulunan haklı sorusu da burada kalsın “Bir zamanlar kömür ve petrolle oynanan satranç oyunu artık yenilendiğine göre bu yeni oyunda kazananlar ve kaybedenler olacak mı yine? Bu metallerin düzenli tedariğini sağlamak ekonomilere, insanlarımıza ve çevreye ne tür bedeller yükleyecek?”

[Levent Kurnaz]

This is a book about the dark side of China rather than the dark side of clean energy.

[Igor Veloso]

Whether socialist or liberal, one has to be very ideologically blind to ignore the fact green technology, or any technology, exists because someone mines resources from the earth, and the more a population uses it the more it demands of the market. To meet those demands the market has to quickly adapt, and what is available may not be what we wish for. Concessions have to be made. Green technology comes also from digging the earth’s crust and destroy certain environments. Without proper regulation the rare earth mines produce as much radioactive waste as a nuclear power plant, and turn the surrounding fields infertile. With too much regulation the market stagnates and the technology for safer, faster and less polluting mining does not evolve. On one hand grows the sentiment that resources locally mined should be used for domestic consumption, yet on the other hand grows ecological conscience and activism opposing the exploration and opening of local mines. For example, Portugal – a tungsten producer - has lithium (not a rare metal but key in green tech). We want those electric cars and those iPhones, but apparently we also prefer the cheaper labour from Africa and China, not to speak it’s their people – including child workers - dying from cancer and malnutrition. Europe and USA thrive on green politics, green policy and green tech: left-wing activists sabotage all these by calling out the past of western colonization of Africa, while China exploits the continent along with Wagner induced coups, right now, in the present; liberal activists want the state away from private companies whilst China takes over that market and gains majority in key companies; right-wing activists totally ignore foreign policy and what that entails for domestic production. Western politics are chaotic, and in the midst of it’s chaos, authoritarian and hegemonic governments in the east exploit and gain an economic and trade advantage of raw materials.

The book focuses on the biggest economic threat to the west and it’s green policies: China.

It does mention some cases of the west mismanagement of rare earth mining. Per usual involves lack of environmental responsibilities and eventual demise of the companies, putting families out of a job. If no western capital fills the gap, the Chinese buy offices in the west and move the factories to China or its periphery. The west may have lesser and lesser carbon emissions, but it is China and Africa bearing the costs. It does not excuse their lack of domestic policy towards the environment, but the global market demands them to adapt fast, and they are willing to comply. China having a very loose definition of worker and Human Rights also helps speed up the process.

One major gripe I have with this book is somewhat frequent the use of “one American expert said” or “one Chinese expert said”, but who? For transparency and legitimacy sake we have to know who makes the claims. These can mostly be found on the Notes section on the final pages of the book, but I think they would be much more useful on the body text. Maybe it’s my own problem, but I’m sticking with it.

Nonetheless I’ve been following rare earth politics for a while, it’s a subject I esteem, and I have to recommend this book. Of course, having the author in mind, the subject also has the French elites as the target audience, though I’m not sure he’s telling anything new or convincing. He mentions the French influence on the Pacific, specifically the islands/kingdoms of Wallis and Futuna, well positioned diplomatically and also abundant in rare earths. It is, however, a very brief affair. He mainly points out the immense potential of french mining prospects. Not sure how meaningful is the following match, but the places with major potential are also the ones where Emmanuel Macron has the strongest support, but we would have to also look closely at the legislative level to make conclusions.

[Shannon Kim]

Only with a revolution of consciousness can an industrial and technical revolution be meaningful

[Richard Marney]

A light-weight analysis of a profoundly important topic. The Statistical Annexes are useful, but much of the rest of the book is disjointed and even reads as a spy novel at times. Wasted reading on the whole.

[Scribe Publications]

[T]he journalist and filmmaker warns against the optimistic belief that technology is the solution … At a time when many claim to be “citizens of the world” or retreat into naive or hypocritical protectionism, Pitron’s book is an attempt to open people’s eyes to the consequences of their societal choices and lifestyles.
Green European Journal

French Writer and analyst Guillaume Pitron warns about growing reliance on rare-earth metal – which are necessary to build high-tech products … He shines a light on “the untold story” of the energy and digital transitions.
European Scientist

An expert account of a poorly understood but critical element in our economy.
Kirkus Reviews

[E]xposes the dirty underpinnings of clean technologies in a debut that raises valid questions about energy extraction.
Publishers Weekly

The Rare Metals War is Guillaume Pitron’s urgent exposé of the race for resources and an examination of its environmental and human impacts.
Dan Shaw, Happy Magazine

Global demand for rare metals is rapidly rising. Guillaume Pitron explores and exposes the geopolitical, economic, environmental, and societal impacts of securing supplies of these raw materials … The issues raised give pause to the thinking that many of the world’s problems will be solved with a rapid shift to global energy generation from renewable sources. Pitron articulately outlines the precarious status of global supply of these raw materials, and the toll to the environment and human health that their extraction and processing has caused, particularly in the worlds leading rare metal player, China … Pitron exposes a terrible legacy to rare metal production, including accounts of corruption, exploitation, environmental degradation, and toxic exposure.
Carl Spandler, Associate Professor and Director of the Australian Critical Minerals Research Centre at the University of Adelaide

Normally the sight of photovoltaic panels and wind turbines fills me with hope, but after reading this book I have my doubts … In The Rare Metals War, French investigative journalist Guillaume Pitron sounds the alarm, showing both the environmental impact and China's chokehold on the market … The Rare Metals War is a powerful and sobering exposé that will no doubt shatter the green dreams of many readers. However, we cannot continue to ignore the material reality that underlies the green revolution that politicians and environmental organisations want us to pursue. This book is a much-needed conversation starter.
Leon Vlieger, NHBS

Demand for rare metals can only increase in the move to a zero-carbon economy. The Rare Metals War by Guillaume Pitron lays out the terrifying cost … Zipping from an abandoned mine in the Mojave desert to the toxic lakes and cancer-afflicted areas of Baotou in China, Pitron weighs the awful price of refining the materials, ably blending investigative journalism with insights from science, politics and business.
Simon Ings, New Scientist

In our race to save the climate, a new book claims that we are destroying the environment and starting a new war over natural resources … He is concerned that we are escaping one trap merely to fall into another.
Harry de Quetteville, The Telegraph

He asserts the sustainable economy is a “ruse”. The capture and use of renewable, non-polluting energy relies on resources neither renewable nor non-polluting … The Rare Metals War is framed by an ecological critique of industrial production and a neocolonial critique of the world economic order.
Paul Gillen, Post Magazine

This book reveals the dark side of the world that awaits us. It is an undercover tale of a technological odyssey that has promised much, and a look behind the scenes … Drawing on six years of research across a dozen countries, this book shows that by breaking free of fossil fuels, we are in fact setting ourselves up for a new dependence ― on rare metals that have become vital to our new ecological and digital society.
BookAuthoity

Guillame Pitron’s book, The Rare Metals War, fills in some of the gaps in this green and digital technology story… He says that the environmental impact of rare earth metals “could prove far more severe than that of oil extraction” … There are stories of the detrimental effects of mining rare metals on workers and communities all over the world from Kazakhstan to France to Congo to Bolivia. Pitron suggests that an environmentally ethical approach to mining outside China is possible if the quest for financial gain is set aside.
Clare Wilkins, Socialism Today

[Zeb Kantrowitz]

Every cell phone, computer, electric car motor, specialized magnets for jet planes and satellites, contain one of the rare metals. The 17 rare-earth elements are cerium (Ce), dysprosium (Dy), erbium (Er), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), holmium (Ho), lanthanum (La), lutetium (Lu), neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), scandium (Sc), terbium (Tb), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), and yttrium (Y). They are often found in minerals with thorium (Th), and less commonly uranium (U).

At one time many countries including the US, Canada, and France mined their native ore for these metals. Then China (which has one of the largest known deposits) who don't care about polluting their environment, began large scale mining. They sold the elements at such low prices that they undercut all the other producers. Once all the others shut down, China just rose their rates, even higher than they had been before.

The problem is that once the other mines were shut down, they were very expensive to start up again and most ran into environmental laws that they had been grandfathered protection but now were subject to the new laws. So China pretty much has the rest of the world over a barrel. If they want and they have, shut down exports when they decide they need it for themselves and stockpile the elements so they don't run out.

Bottom line is that until the rest of the world bights the bullet and reopens the old mines China can control the production of specialize magnet and other products without having to pay any penalty.

[Laura]

I couldn’t get on with this, unfortunately. I found the writing style too irritating. He just wasn’t getting to the point - over explaining things to bump up the page count. This included telling us how a windmill works by using wind, or helping us visualise that there less of some metals than others, just like we have less of some flowers than others. No shit. I also didn’t like the imaginary person turning up at the Paris agreement and giving a speech. Gimmicky. Pitron is meant to be a journalist - is this a serious book or not?

All in all, it felt like being talked at by one of my more frustrating colleagues. Less words, more value please. I made it to page 16 and realised I just couldn’t take any more, but also that I didn’t have to. Shame, because it would have been interesting to get an additional perspective on what is clearly a global environmental and political issue and to expand more on China’s part in this.

I recommend Material World instead.

———

So I did go back and finish it. It’s actually quite a short book and I was when it came down to it, I was curious enough to read what he said about China. On balance, this isn’t quite the book I expected. Not much tangible information about rare metals to give a broad context to the discussions, but some good context on politics, policies and past events, particularly focusing on China.

I stand by my previous comments. As a book, it is poor. It does make a few interesting points, but they are badly presented. It’s massively verbose and disappointingly superficial. It reads like a pop science documentary with meaningless statistics that repeatedly compare apples with hair dryers. References are poor and are not always references (they look like references but are actually “notes”). We also have to take on trust that the multiple unnamed “experts” quoted throughout the text are actually credible contributors. The only thing you know about them is what country they’re from. Not their job. Nope. Why not?? You are lucky if you get more than just their name in the bloody “notes”. (One of the US experts is Jack Lifton. Google him yourself 🙄🤦🏻‍♀️) Utter madness. The translation makes it feel clunky and, at times, it made little sense. Again. It’s a shame. The good points would be better presented as an article. Or a shorter book. Or padded out with science, rather than chats on ducks and flowers.

If you already know about the part China is playing in the rare earth mining game, I wouldn’t bother reading this. If you don’t, I’d probably look to do your own research esp as this book is already 8 years old, but on the plus side it is short and saves you doing your own leg work. I did learn some stuff but I can bet there is something better out there. If you want to know more about mining, its environmental consequences and how it links back to greener energies, I’d still recommend Material World. But one cannot deny the main point of the book. We are absolutely dependent on these elements (for green energy or otherwise) and the challenges of sourcing them is absolutely nontrivial. Governments need to address this now and we as consumers should pressure them to ensure mining is more environmentally sustainable. Finally, we should challenge ourselves to consume less.

[Monika]

Ta książka przekonała mnie, że warto z powrotem w Europie otworzyć kopalnie różnych metali, szczególnie tych rzadkich.
Autor pokazuje jak decyzja o transformacji energetycznej zwiększyła znaczenie surowców, o których wcześniej mało kto myślał. I o tym, że zielona rewolucja ma swoją brudną stronę.
Pitron opisuje błędy Zachodu, które doprowadziły do koncentracji wydobycia, przetwarzania i produkcji coraz bardziej zaawansowanych komponentów w Chinach. Decyzje o outsourcingu, regulacje środowiskowe i krótkowzroczne myślenie o zmniejszeniu kosztów produkcji sprawiły, że Zachód oddał kontrolę nad kluczowymi metalami, za to teraz może sobie krytykować inne kraje że nie są tak czyści, zieloni i uświadomieni jak my tutaj na zachodzie.
Dużo miejsca poświęcone jest chińskiej polityce: od przyciągania produkcji tanią siłą roboczą i subsydiami, po presję polityczną, zależności handlowe i walkę o dominację w łańcuchach dostaw. Miejscami to przerażający thriller.
To książka, która pokazuje, że transformacja energetyczna ma swoją ukrytą cenę – środowiskową, społeczną i geopolityczną – i że nowoczesne technologie nie uwalniają nas od konfliktów, tylko przenoszą je w inne miejsca świata.
A to wszystko na 150 stronach.

[Matthew Carr]

Excellent and sobering corrective to green new deal Utopianism. Pitron painstakingly reveals the environmental costs of EVs and green technologies in the countries where the metals and minerals that build these technologies are sourced. He also shows how the environmental devastation and labour exploitation that accompanies the mining of these metals are ignored, leading to a situation in which western consumers are participants of a ‘green’ technological revolution that is not as green as it seems. Pitron’s analysis was a little Sinophobic for my taste, but his book is nevertheless an essential read for understanding the new post-Paris Agreement race to acquire rare earths and other metals that are driving the 21st century’s technological shift.

[Zachary Barker]

Sometimes you read something that completely challenges your world view. This book pulls no punches. Starting from the Paris Climate Agreement’s commitment for signatories to decarbonise their entire economies. Surely this heralds a bright new future? Not necessarily.
The reality is that both the hydrocarbon economy (gas and oil) and the decarbonised electrified economy is not so much about replacing resource dependency with complete independence. Depending on where the resources we need for decarbonisation are located, we are replacing one resource for another. And those resources are called Rare Earth minerals (or more specifically metals or just generally ‘rare earths’.

Unfortunately, the clue is in the name. Rare Earths are found either in small few grams trace amounts in rocks or within other more common metals. Still more unfortunate is that the process of getting these materials out of their sources is energy intensive and needs the use of potentially polluting chemicals, especially if these processes are done without many environmental safeguards. Rare Earths are available from many different countries, although some of them like the Democratic Republic of the Congo have fraught histories. But the country to watch is China. The Chinese Government has been playing a years long game of taking over the Rare Earths global market.
Realising the future potential of Rare Earths China early on heavily pushed for opening new mines all over regions where these minerals are concentrated. This dovetailed nicely with former Chinese Premier Deng Xiaoping’s long-term vision to have the country specialise in science and technology and push ahead by effort and on notable occasions by subterfuge. Now and then China has placed embargos or restrictions on the market of Rare Earths to use price fluctuations as a battering ram against Western mining sectors. Over time one Rare Earth mining company after another threw in the towel. Sandwiched between an artificially volatile market and environmental concerns from Western citizens one by one Western Rare Earth companies have moved their operations to China. The vehicle of partnership agreements have allowed China to acquire Rare Earth industry know-how. Cleverly, the Chinese have developed their Rare Earth industries downstream too, meaning that the end products are increasingly made in China. Their complete lack of concern for safe working conditions and environmental regulations was an added pull factor. The end result is that the dirty reality of Rare Earth processing that supplies Western businesses takes place out of sight and out of mind.

Overall, I found this book fascinating and quite direct. I felt there were times were the journalist showed his ego a bit, like at the start when he spoke of a hypothetical wise man appearing at the Paris Climate Summit and telling them off for their hubris. In terms of research and making itself clear though, I cannot fault this book. This book is the product of 8 years of research, so I have a lot of respect for the author going to great lengths to understand his subject matter. The author is French, so he occasionally took the time to inform the reader about France’s position in the global competition for Rare Earths. I would say that a lingering annoyance was the author’s preoccupation on how daunting the challenges are ahead of us, while being seemingly short on possible solutions. Then again some of the possible solutions he did propose were intriguing and occasionally controversial. How about moving Rare Earth mines to Western countries? Why should developing countries and the Chinese be lumbered with the full burden? It would certainly make us consider environmental safeguards more as well as the conditions of miners. And what of E recycling (of electronic devices) and recycling Rare Earths? This seems to be gaining traction in Japan (to lessen their reliance on China), but more research and development needs to happen into this. I may have some news on the local front on this before too long.

As a self-proclaimed technocrat Social Liberal, this book has given me pause for thought. I believe that the course towards digitisation and green technology is irreversible, but I believe we definitely need to consider looking both ways before we walk down this street. We need to at least have the conversation about supplying Rare Earth minerals closer to home. There is also a possibility that asteroid mining may one day help us get Rare Earths in the quantities we need, while sparing the Earth from more of our prospecting. So at least in the future, space prospecting has a green element. The carbon output produced by Rare Earth mining and processing is also a timely reminder that progress needs to be made in carbon capturing technology. In the near term though we need to keep a close eye on China. We also need to focus a lot more resources and attention on recycling Rare Earths and devices containing them. The development of a circular economy may be a scientific Holy Grail. But surely it is one worth pursuing?

[Angelina Mehta]

Great overview of the geopolitical landscape for the energy transition and the role western mining needs to play. I think I will have a very busy next decade.

[Matt Beaty]

This is an interesting, kind of terrifying look into the mining that is required for electronic devices and green technology. As much of a call for specific actions, Pitron is writing a book that slaps you right up side your noggin and yells "pay attention, this isn't gonna end well" (or whatever the equivalent is in French).

Our society uses a lot of rare metals, which are elements that are often found alongside iron, uranium, and some more non-rare ones. These are the little bobby pins in the messy bun of our green, high-tech supply chain. The danger is they are mined and increasingly primarily owned by singular countries.

Pitron supports bringing mining back to western nations for security, economic, and ecological reasons. The last point is a long play, where people are exposed to the true costs of their toys, so they reduce waste, fight for anti-obsolescence laws, and ecological regulations.

I really like his analogy to the whaling industry. By mindlessly consuming whale oil and allowing the whaling to go on laissez faire style, wars were fought and the whale population plummeted.

The book does not make apologies for the petroleum industry, but instead suggests to more mindfully get into green energy revolution to avert further climate change in order to avoid having to go through another crisis brought on by energy.

[Fiona Lomascolo Pujado]

El suponer que por usar energía de paneles solares, molinos, o baterías eléctricas (entre muchos otros) somos más ecológicos, sostenibles y verdes es un error muy común.
Para entender el porqué de esto, hace falta adentrarse mucho más, llegando a las pequeñas piezas indispensables que crean estos productos, los metales raros.

Este libro, abre los ojos. Ayuda a entender cómo las "energías renovables" no son tan verdes como nos hacen creer.

A parte, enseña cómo el monopolio de la industria de los metales raros solo producirá problemas a nivel mundial. Ya sean económicos o sean ambientales.

Por un lado, tenemos la dependencia de China por prácticamente todos los países del mundo (ya que este es el primer país productor de metales raros). Guillaume Pitron explica perfectamente el porqué y las consecuencias de esto.

Por otro lado, el problema de la deslocalización. Un tema MUY importante pero no lo suficientemente tratado. Muy resumidamente, sin ir más lejos cómo los países Europeos se limpian las manos haciendo ver que son sostenibles, conscientes y tienen preocupación por el cambio climático. Pero mientras tienen a los productores de estos metales indispensables deslocalizados en China, mayoritariamente, sin ningún tipo de regulación y precaución, contaminando.

Sin duda un libro que me ha marcado.

[Dylan]

Well, this was a pretty eye opening book what it means to move to green technologies and more electrical systems. It comes with a price, environmental and political. It is yet uncertain whether we could even mine enough rate earth metals to meet our best future needs. Let alone the carbon emissions, pollution, and land degradation caused by doing this. There have been players, like China, that have long seen the world's need for rare earth metals that now control the market through monopolies of mining, production, and more.

Oh boy. Glad I read this. Still trying to wrap my head around what it all means. Other than a radically new way of moving forward is needed that does not rely on concepts like progress, innovation, profit, control.

[Seneka Najmłodszy]

"Wojna o metale rzadkie" traktuje na temat niezwykle ważnego i nieznanego powszechnie problemu dostępu państw prowadzących "rewolucję energetyczną" do złóż niezbędnych metali. Nie można jej zarzucić niczego zarówno pod względem pisarskim, jak i "rzeczowym", gdyż nawet człowiek nieznający się na temacie jest w stanie zauważyć, że zawarte w książce twierdzenia są dobrze udokumentowane. Krótko mówiąc, książka jest z pewnością warta przeczytania przez każdego i myślę, że poruszana w niej problematyka może wkrótce stać się bardzo głośna.

[The Inquisitive Biologist]

A sobering exposé, The Rare Metals War reveals the material cost of our utopian dreams of green energy and digital technology. See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2021...

[Alan Eyre]

Massive respect to anyone who writes a book, but the hyperbole and factually incorrect statements rife in this book made me wary of believing much of it. Coming off reading Vaclav Smil it made me realize even more the need to support one’s contentions w actual facts.

[Ed Bosworth]

the ivermectin of green economic debate

This is an awful book. A mess of sensationalist conspiracy theories with explicitly racism thrown in. It should not be read by anyone interested in a rational debate about green economics or how we manage the transition to net zero.

[Carlos Garcia]

Qué buen libro, creo que nadie se dió cuenta que China nos tomó la delantera en muchas cosas, en especial en toda la parte de minerales raros que son los empleados para casi todas las nuevas tecnologías (electrónicas y energías renovables), así que se hicieron los dueños del mundo…

[Adrian Serna Tamez]

It's very hard to keep up with a book's credibility after you find a factual error at the beginning of the book.

[George Siehl]

The author builds a strong case for the importance of the increasingly important rare earth metals.
These natural resources are crucial to advanced technologies underpinning the optimistic dreams for a green energy future, and for the ever-broadening role of digital technology. Electric vehicles, wind turbines, military weapons and equipment are highly dependent upon the high capacity batteries made from the metals. The bottom line is that not only are these metals scarce, they are highly polluting to mine and process. Also, China holds the vast majority of the supply domestically and is working to gain access and control of sources around the globe.

There are many interesting issues raised in this book. These include technology trends, political dealings, efforts by many nation states to ensure access to reserves abroad and at home, and comparison with earlier natural resource depletion issues. The book should rank higher than three stars, but the writing is not as tight and conclusive as one would hope for. The reader is left to infer the message of some of the explanations. Nonetheless, the book provides a useful point of entry to a resource supply issue which will rapidly become more critical. The discussion extends to the search for new sources of supply beneath the sea and in space.

The book is recommended for general readers, particularly those with environmental concerns or an interest in international relations. Those with more extensive backgrounds in the field may find the bibliography, references, and appendices useful, as well.

[Jake Pokorny]

Such an easy and straightforward book to read. changing the way we produce and therefore consume energy is humanity’s next great adventure. Since the Renaissance, human beings, consumed only seven metals until now we consume all 86 metals on Mendeleev’s periodic table of elements, which blows my mind!

1970s - there were only a handful of industrial applications for rare earths and other rare metals; for their luminescent properties. Scope of application first grew with the advent of the color television screen, and the advent of the supermagnet in 1983 changed everything.

He ended the book with a quote from a French engineer named Christian Thomas, “ we don’t have a rare material problem; we have a gray matter problem”. Acknowledging the elephant in the room, what is the point of progress if it doesn’t help humanity progress?

[Elisala]

Le problème d'avoir du retard dans ses lectures, c'est de lire avec du retard des livres qui devraient être lus le plus tôt possible. Ce livre est déjà dépassé, assurément. Cela ne veut pas dire que je n'ai pas appris plein de choses.
Bon, il y a une large part de géopolitique dans ce livre qui ne m'intéresse que moyennement. Je ne dis pas que ce n'est pas important, mais perso, pfff, ça me gonfle. Ce qui m'intéresse avant tout c'est les aspects environnementaux, et là-dessus je reste un peu sur ma faim, même si peut-être ça suffit finalement largement pour se faire une bonne idée du désastre.

[Bryn Smith]

Pros were a much more universal perspective on this subject rather than it being limited to the US and Chinese interests, as well as interesting details on rare metal extraction, refining and consumption.

Cons were the writing wasn't very engaging (possibly due to the translation rather than the original text) and the focus jumped sporadically around digital and green tech before getting into the "war" part of the book. A tighter focus would've been better. 2.5 stars.

[Hannes Berselius]

Insightful read! Really makes you understand how little one knows about the works and how it works. However, a bit too critic of the Western world, discarding e.g. ESG in favor of China destroying its environment through mining. On the other hand, the criticism is rooted in truth and raises many issues about the green economy being dependent on someone else doing the dirty work.

[Fatih Volkan Özel]

Her ne kadar Fransız milliyetçiliğini işlesede çıkarılacak bir çok ders var. Enerji geçişinin kirli yüzünü, sermaye transferlerini ve en önemlisi ekolojik felaketlerin cevresel etkilerini çarpıcı şekilde kanitlari ile hazırlanmış bir basvuru kitabı niteliğinde.

[Jas Viesulas]

‘Nada mudará radicalmente enquanto não experienciarmos por nós mesmos a totalidade do custo da felicidade a que nos habituámos. Uma mina responsável que se localize entre nós será sempre melhor do que uma mina irresponsável noutro lugar.’

dificil de concebir uma tal realidade, mas é mesmo isso o problema. é que estamos alienados dessa realidade que está a acontecer em outro local. para os nossos próprios benefícios e estilos de vida. a hipocrisia e cegueira (ou o desvio intencional, perpetuado pela média obviamente) ocidental. e isto para mim, resume perfeitamente o conflito ambiental e social resultante da transição energética e supostamente “verde”.

‘Uma revolução industrial, técnica, social, só tem sentido se for acompanhada de uma revolução das nossas consciências.’

[Praneesh K]

Mining nationalism

[Paula]

- La mejor energía es la que no se consume.
- No tenemos problemas de materias raras, tenemos problemas de materia gris.