World Economy | A Blog for Browsing Mining, Mineral Processing, and Metals Info

Category Archives: World Economy

#WhiteHouse Is Cutting #Rare-Earth Research at the Wrong Time

Posted on October 20, 2025 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

A scientist in a lab coat examines a sample in a laboratory, with a map of China and the US in the background featuring charts and data related to rare-earth materials.

The US shouldn’t have ignored a warning shot that was fired a decade and a half ago about China’s ability to use its dominance in the mining and refining of rare-earth metals to disrupt global manufacturing.

In 2010, China restricted the supply of rare-earth materials for a few months after Japanese coast guard vessels collided with a Chinese fishing boat near disputed islands in the East China Sea, resulting in a diplomatic crisis when the captain was arrested.

Following the spat, Japan rushed to develop its own supply of rare-earth elements and is now the second-largest maker of permanent magnets behind China. The US government started a review of its rare-earth dependency and joined Japan in filing a case to the World Trade Organization, but the US response was mostly muted.

This unheeded warning has now resulted in a national security crisis in which China has the ability to disrupt global production by withholding supply. The US government can turn the crisis into opportunity by stepping up funding for both research and production of rare-earth materials, but it’s headed in the wrong direction in some vital areas.

#Xi reignites tensions ahead of #Trump meeting with dramatic curbs on critical rare-earths

Posted on October 9, 2025 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

A dramatic landscape featuring colored rocks resembling rare earth minerals, with smoky clouds and industrial structures in the background. Flags of the United States and China are prominently displayed.

Beijing ramped up sweeping restrictions on rare earth exports on Thursday, expanding the list of minerals under control and extending curbs to target their production technologies and their overseas use, including for military and semiconductor applications.

China dominates the global processing of rare earths – essential in everything from everyday electronics to fighter jets. The latest move came as Beijing broadened its leverage in trade talks with the United States and ahead of an expected meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea later this month.

Under the new rules, Beijing further asserts its dominance in the sector by adding five rare-earth elements, including holmium, erbium, thulium, europium, ytterbium, and related magnets and materials, to its existing control list, requiring export licenses. The announcement on Thursday brought the total number of restricted elements to 12, out of the 17 types of rare earths.

Fast-Track Approval for Key Mining Projects in Canada – #Canadian PM #MarkCarney

Posted on September 15, 2025 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

McIlvenna Bay and Red Chris among first five projects to move under Ottawa’s new framework

Prime Minister Mark Carney has named several mining operations among the first five major projects to undergo fast-track approval under Canada’s new Major Projects Office (MPO).

Key among them is the Foran Mining’s McIlvenna Bay copper-zinc mine in east-central Saskatchewan, operating in one of Canada’s richest mineral belts, which will supply critical minerals for clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and modern infrastructure.

Also included is the expansion of the Red Chris copper mine in northwestern British Columbia, which will increase annual copper production by over 15% and extend the mine’s lifespan by more than a decade, while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by over 70% when the expanded operations are in full swing.

Both projects include collaboration with Indigenous Nations — the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in Saskatchewan and the Tahltan Nation in B.C. — underscoring the government’s emphasis on Indigenous partnership in mining operations.

The other projects referred to the MPO are LNG Canada Phase 2 in Kitimat, B.C., which would double LNG Canada’s output; the Darlington New Nuclear Project in Bowmanville, Ont. — Canada’s first G7 small modular reactor; and the Contrecœur Terminal Container Project near Montréal, which would expand the Port of Montréal’s capacity by about 60%. Together with the two mining ventures, these initiatives reflect the federal government’s priority of expediting critical energy and resource projects that underpin Canada’s transition to a net-zero economy.

Western #Canada holds potential to become a ‘critical minerals processing behemoth,’ expert says

Posted on June 26, 2025 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

A group of battery metal exploration companies and startups says it has a plan to turbocharge Canada’s critical minerals sector by building out “midstream” mineral processing facilities in Western Canada.

Two reports published by the Battery Metals Association of Canada, which hired analysts at the Transition Accelerator to consult with their members, identified nine critical minerals — copper, graphite, iron, nickel, lithium, phosphate, rare earths and vanadium — and five regions where they see big opportunities for major projects.

For example, British Columbia has at least four producing copper mines, which all ship their copper concentrate overseas, primarily to China, because there are no smelters in Western Canada. Building a copper smelter could encourage copper production and exploration while also creating higher-value products to sell, the reports said.

“If you wanted to put together a critical minerals processing behemoth anywhere in the world, the assets that we have in Alberta to do that are just phenomenal,” Bentley Allan, a professor of political economy at Johns Hopkins University and a principal at Transition Accelerator, said. “It has the chemical processing expertise, the clean power resources, other kinds of machining and precision instruments, which make Alberta a really incredible place to do this.”