HAVING played host to one of the earliest gold mines in the country, a
small dusty town in Mbeya Region is poised to become a significant
producer of rare earth elements.
Some 189 kilometres from the district centre in Chunya, to the east
of the Lake Rukwa, on the edge of the East African Rift Valley, there
lies one of the largest and highest grade rare earth deposits in the
world. Rare earth is a mineral that contains more rare earth elements as
major metal components.
It consists of 17 elements on the periodic table, including 15
elements beginning with atomic number 57 (lanthanum) and extending
through number 71 (lutetium), as well as two other elements having
similar properties (yttrium and scandium). These are referred to as
"rare" because although relatively abundant in total quantity, they
appear in low concentrations in the earth's crust and extraction and
processing is both difficult and costly.
According to a study conducted in 2013 by Marc Humphries, a
Specialist in Energy Policy based in United States, rare earth elements
share many similar properties, which is why they occur together in
geological deposits. The 17 rare earth elements (REEs) are found in all
rare earth element deposits but their distribution and concentrations
vary.
They are referred to as "rare" because it is not common to find them
in commercially viable concentrations. According to Eng Donald Mremi,
the Resident Mines Officer in Chunya, "China is the largest producer of
the rare earth minerals in the world. China has the largest deposits of
the elements.
This has enabled her to become the superpower in production of the
electronic utensils." His views are supported by a report titled
"Dominating the World, China and the Rare Earth Industry" from the
National Institute of the Advanced Studies in Bangalore, India.
Their 2013 report explains that, "More recently China has established
a dominant position in the global Rare Earths Industry. "It effectively
controls the entire global supply chain in Rare Earths. This control
extends all the way from mining to the production of key intermediate
products such as magnets.
Many of these intermediate products are critical inputs for high
growth industries such as hybrid cars, windmills and lighting. These are
also the industries in which China is trying to build scale for future
dominance." CIBC World Markets Reports of 2013 states that, "In 2010,
global REE production was about 125,000 metric tonnes; up 54 per cent
from 80,000 tonnes in 2000.
Loading...
Post a Comment