In this blog post, we will look at how rare earth resources, the core of IT technology development, are being weaponized and how prepared we are for this.
These days, IT devices are getting smaller and smaller, and their performance is improving faster than their size. This change is more than just a technological advancement, it is fundamentally changing human life. Features that were unthinkable just a few years ago are now readily available in our daily lives. Smartphones have more features than we could ever imagine, and the speed of 4G LTE, which is wireless Internet, is comparable to the loading speed of wired LAN. Many people see this and say that IT companies have “captured and hired aliens who have crash-landed on Earth” or “God is actually helping them.” These words are quite reasonable when you look at the current pace of IT technology development.
However, there is a lot of effort behind this technological leap. The process is more complicated than you might think, from innovative semiconductor technology and software development to securing the rare resources that support it all. The true protagonist of IT technology development is something else. It is rare earth. Rare earth elements are materials that, even in very small amounts, have unique physical, electrical, and chemical properties that make products with amazing performance that other materials cannot imitate. It’s like how a few spoons of seasoning can turn even the most tasteless dish into a great meal. What on earth are rare earth elements that make products with such amazing performance? Let’s take a closer look at the world of rare earth elements.
Rare earths are a collective term for 15 lanthanide elements with atomic numbers 57 to 71 and 17 elements with atomic numbers 21 (scandium) and 39 (yttrium). Because of the name “rare earth,” many people think that rare earth metals are very rare on Earth, but this is a common misconception. In fact, rare earths are relatively common resources. The problem is that the extraction and refining process is very difficult and expensive, so it is considered rare. In fact, cerium, with an atomic number of 58, is the 25th most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. However, if the process of producing rare earths is not handled properly, by-products and chemical substances can cause severe environmental pollution, so it has not been produced as actively as other metals.
Let’s take a closer look at why rare earth elements are called “the seasoning of industry” or “the vitamins of industry.” Rare earth elements are chemically very stable, withstand dry air well, have high thermal conductivity, and have excellent electrical conductivity. Rare earth elements are so effective that even a small amount of them can significantly improve the efficiency of a product. Therefore, they are essential materials for high-performance IT products such as LCDs, LEDs, smartphones, and computers, as well as optical fibers, which emphasize miniaturization and lightness. As modern electronic devices become smaller and more powerful, they have become essential elements to satisfy consumer demands. Rare earths are also widely used as nuclear reactor control agents because of their excellent radioactive shielding effects. Typical examples of the use of rare earth elements include lanthanum, which is used in batteries, neodymium, which is synonymous with permanent magnets, the core of alternative energy sources, and yttrium, which makes up superconductors. If we were to use all the electronic products we use today without rare earths and with the same performance, they would have to be made in a size that would be several times larger and heavier than current products, the size of which we would have seen around 15 years ago. That’s how powerful rare earths are.
In addition to this technical necessity, rare earths are also closely related to the national economy. The development of IT technology is not only leading to economic growth, but also intensifying the competition for resources between countries. Although rare earths are not an absolutely rare metal, a look at the rare earth deposits shows that they are distributed quite unfairly. China has about 48% of the reserves, the Commonwealth of Independent States has about 17%, and the United States has about 11%, with 76% of the rare earths concentrated in the top three countries. However, since the production and refining of rare earths produces a huge amount of pollutants, other countries, including the United States, have almost stopped producing rare earths, but China is still developing rare earths and is monopolizing the rare earths market with a production volume that accounts for 97% of the world’s rare earths production. The problem of rare earth monopoly is not just about the price. Although the skyrocketing prices have dealt a huge blow to the Korean economy, if China suddenly stops exporting rare earths, the Korean industry will be paralyzed in just two days. The power of resource weaponization is so destructive that it can bring a country to its death just by cutting off the supply of a single resource.
As mentioned earlier, Korea has only enough rare earth reserves for two days. This sense of crisis, that the entire industry could be paralyzed in such a short period of time, leads to the search for new alternatives. And there is always the possibility that China will stop exporting rare earths. Therefore, we must pay more attention to rare earths and resource recycling to secure reserves of rare earths and minimize wasted resources. In addition, we will need to further promote resource diplomacy to open up the path for resource imports from countries other than China.
