Rare earth elements are crucial to modern technology but are challenging to mine due to their geological scarcity. While rare earths are common in the Earth's crust, they are rarely found in economically viable concentrations. Currently, China has a near monopoly on global rare earth element production and exports. As the world's reliance on rare earths for technology grows exponentially, China is in a strong position to control global rare earth markets simply by expanding its mining operations. This reliance on Chinese rare earth production poses economic and national security risks.

1. THE IMPORTANCE OF
GEOLOGY IN THE WORLD
ECONOMY:
The Search for Rare Earth Elements
By Aaron Malecki
Aaron Malecki Advisor
Studying for B.S. Geology at Dr. John Renton
West Virginia University (304) 293-5603
john.renton@mail.wvu.edu
ammalecki@mix.wvu.edu
102 Briarwood Drive
Sarver, PA 16055
(724) 816-2008

2. 1
The Importance of Geology in the World Economy:
The Search for Rare Earth Elements
If one where to analyze how geological resources plays a role in our global economy, the
main trending issues of today’s world would more than likely include some sort of commodity
like crude oil, coal, or even gold or ore. However, the most overseen and needed resource is that
of rare earth elements.
Rare earths are the 17 different elements that comprise the lanthanides series on the
periodic table in addition to scandium, yttrium, and lanthanum. These 17 elements are crucial to
modern life as we know it (Van Gosen). Everything from the smart phone in your pocket to
immense windmills and high tech military technology is reliant on the uses of these materials to
make their electronics tick.
Despite their name, rare earth’s are not necessarily rare and are actually quite common
throughout the crust. Their true rareness is found in quantities large enough to be considered
economically minable. Due to the small number of existing high concentration deposits, there
are only a small number of profiting active REE mines. The only currently operating rare earth
element mine in the United States is the Mountain Pass mine in San Bernardino, California
which sits upon a 1.4 billion year old Precambrian intrusion of these precious metals. The mine
is currently owned by Molycorp Minerals LLC (formerly Molybdenum Corporation of America).
For the entire second half of the 20th
century the Mountain Pass mine was responsible for the
majority of rare earth elements mined across the globe. However, due to the toxic byproducts of
refining REE’s, environmental regulations soon took over which caused the Mountain Pass
surface mine to shut down for a decade before its slow reopening in early 2011 (MolyCorp).
Unfortunately, a lot had changed in that time. As technology grows at an exponential
rate, so does the need and reliance for rare earth elements. With the total cessation of U.S. REE
exports at the time, China, the rising industrial juggernaut, stepped in to fill the void. China had
been steadily increasing mining production for years, however, the Mountain Pass hiatus paved
the way for its domination. With virtually no regulation and little contempt for the ecological
repercussions, China could become the dominant exporter of REE’s for years to come.
As previously stated, all of modern civilization is a slave to these elements to make life
possible. Anyone who has taken any course in economics knows why this would be a problem.
Not only does China have a virtual monopoly on a material, but one necessary to civilization as
well as national defense. Should the U.S. become engaged in a war with a country like China,
our strained access to REE’s could shift power to an unexpected level.
As it stands, world dependence on rare earth’s puts China in a very pretty position to be
cornering economic markets. China has control of point zero of almost all global markets simply
because it chose to put steel to dirt and start digging.

3. 2
Works Cited
"Molycorp Mountain Pass." Molycorp. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.
Van Gosen, B.S., Verplanck, P.L., Long, K.R., Gambogi, Joseph, and Seal, R.R., II, 2014, The
rare-earth elements—Vital to modern technologies and lifestyles: U.S. Geological Survey
Fact Sheet 2014–3078, 4 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20143078.