中
国对重要矿产品市场的控制使得美国军事理论家和政策制定者等开始担忧，他们担心对智能手机和智能炸弹等21世纪高科技有重要作用的原材料是否会遭遇供应限制。
对所谓的稀土元素的供应的担忧来自本周对中国的一篇报道，报道称中国海关已经禁止了对日出口这种材料。周四，中国政府否认了这些报道。中国商务部发言人陈荣凯说，中国并未禁止稀土出口日本。
问题就出在17种金属元素身上，这组元素具有电磁特性，适用于计算机硬盘驱动器及数码相机等高科技应用。稀土原材料同时对绿色科技也非常重要：节能灯泡使用铕和钇元素，混合动力车电池和风能涡轮使用钕元素。
稀土矿石矿藏在全球都有分布，中国在开采和加工方面占主导地位，这使得美国颇为警惕。据美国政府问责局（Government Accountability Office）2010年4月的一则报告说，中国加工的稀土氧化物目前约占全球总量的97%，这种原材料可以被进一步加工成金属，合成合金，从而制成最后所需的成分。
去年，中国对稀土元素实施了全球出口限额。中国商务部说，今年的总出口额将会控制在3.03万吨以下，比去年减少40%。其中今年下半年的配额仅为7976吨。专家说其中大部分都已经交运。
这引发了政府官员和行业人士的担忧。美国、德国和日本的代表团已经恳求中国能认识到他们对可持续供应的急切需求。
中国总理温家宝上个月对一个日本访问代表团承诺说，中国不会禁止出口。中国官员说，今年对出口限额的紧缩是考虑到环境因素。在与日本代表团的会议中，中国商务部部长陈德铭说，中国加紧对生产和贸易的控制是因为大量开采稀土将会导致对环境的极大破坏。
本周早些时候，伦敦的《工业金属》（Industrial Metals）杂志及《纽约时报》（New York Times）报道称由于日本9月7日扣押中国渔船船长，中国对稀土元素实施了禁运。日本外交和贸易官员称他们对此并不知情。对日本实施任何禁运都标志着中日领土争端的急剧升级，可能会导致日本、美国和其他国家联合起来反对中国运用其全球贸易影响力来解决双边政治争端。
稀土金属在军事领域也有很重要的应用，其电磁性的特点能够使得元件可以缩小化。例如，掌握精密制导炸弹方向的尾翼具有钐钴元素永久磁力马达。用于高性能战斗机（例如F-22猛禽战斗机（Air Force F-22 Raptor））控制方向舵和尾翼的马达是由很轻的稀土磁铁制成的。用于锁定目标的固体激光中含有钕元素。
在最新一期美国联合部队季刊（Joint Force Quarterly）中，美国海军后备队少校、美国外军研究局（Foreign Military Studies Office）研究分析员赫斯特（Cindy Hurst）写道，中国似乎正利用其在稀土元素行业的主导地位打出最后一张不可能的王牌。该季刊是由美国国防大学（National Defense University）出版的专业军事期刊。
她写道，中国在稀土元素行业的掌控地位将来可能会使得中国拥有强大的科技优势，并会增强其军事优势。
美国国防部（Department of Defense）正在完成一项研究，分析稀土材料依赖性可能造成的国家安全风险。国防部发言人艾尔文（Cheryl Irwin）说，这项完整的报告吸取了部分政府机构的意见，将于下个月发布。
她说，这是一个高度敏感的话题，并补充说，五角大楼正在试图找出真相，以确保我们继续保护军队和纳税人的利益。
美国议员也开始研究稀土供应对国家安全的影响。国会众议院科技委员会（House Committee on Science and Technology）的调查小组今年就该问题举办了听证会，周四，委员会开始促进一项法案，鼓励美国政府通过收集更多潜在供应的资料和找到可替代原材料以应对稀土的短缺。
委员会主席、田纳西州民主党众议员戈尔登（Bart Gordon）说，他担心美国在新科技原材料的供应上处于被要挟的地位。
美国Molycorp, Inc公司目前正寻求重新开始生产和扩大生产。该公司在加州的帕斯山（Mountain Pass）拥有中国以外最大的、最丰富的稀土矿场。Molycorp发言人西姆斯（Jim Sims）说，公司计划到2012年中期在美国建造一个部分种类稀土矿石的完整供应链。
公司代表同时还与国防部官员讨论了国防部正在进行的研究。
Nathan Hodge / James T. Areddy
对所谓的稀土元素的供应的担忧来自本周对中国的一篇报道，报道称中国海关已经禁止了对日出口这种材料。周四，中国政府否认了这些报道。中国商务部发言人陈荣凯说，中国并未禁止稀土出口日本。
问题就出在17种金属元素身上，这组元素具有电磁特性，适用于计算机硬盘驱动器及数码相机等高科技应用。稀土原材料同时对绿色科技也非常重要：节能灯泡使用铕和钇元素，混合动力车电池和风能涡轮使用钕元素。
稀土矿石矿藏在全球都有分布，中国在开采和加工方面占主导地位，这使得美国颇为警惕。据美国政府问责局（Government Accountability Office）2010年4月的一则报告说，中国加工的稀土氧化物目前约占全球总量的97%，这种原材料可以被进一步加工成金属，合成合金，从而制成最后所需的成分。
去年，中国对稀土元素实施了全球出口限额。中国商务部说，今年的总出口额将会控制在3.03万吨以下，比去年减少40%。其中今年下半年的配额仅为7976吨。专家说其中大部分都已经交运。
这引发了政府官员和行业人士的担忧。美国、德国和日本的代表团已经恳求中国能认识到他们对可持续供应的急切需求。
中国总理温家宝上个月对一个日本访问代表团承诺说，中国不会禁止出口。中国官员说，今年对出口限额的紧缩是考虑到环境因素。在与日本代表团的会议中，中国商务部部长陈德铭说，中国加紧对生产和贸易的控制是因为大量开采稀土将会导致对环境的极大破坏。
本周早些时候，伦敦的《工业金属》（Industrial Metals）杂志及《纽约时报》（New York Times）报道称由于日本9月7日扣押中国渔船船长，中国对稀土元素实施了禁运。日本外交和贸易官员称他们对此并不知情。对日本实施任何禁运都标志着中日领土争端的急剧升级，可能会导致日本、美国和其他国家联合起来反对中国运用其全球贸易影响力来解决双边政治争端。
稀土金属在军事领域也有很重要的应用，其电磁性的特点能够使得元件可以缩小化。例如，掌握精密制导炸弹方向的尾翼具有钐钴元素永久磁力马达。用于高性能战斗机（例如F-22猛禽战斗机（Air Force F-22 Raptor））控制方向舵和尾翼的马达是由很轻的稀土磁铁制成的。用于锁定目标的固体激光中含有钕元素。
在最新一期美国联合部队季刊（Joint Force Quarterly）中，美国海军后备队少校、美国外军研究局（Foreign Military Studies Office）研究分析员赫斯特（Cindy Hurst）写道，中国似乎正利用其在稀土元素行业的主导地位打出最后一张不可能的王牌。该季刊是由美国国防大学（National Defense University）出版的专业军事期刊。
她写道，中国在稀土元素行业的掌控地位将来可能会使得中国拥有强大的科技优势，并会增强其军事优势。
美国国防部（Department of Defense）正在完成一项研究，分析稀土材料依赖性可能造成的国家安全风险。国防部发言人艾尔文（Cheryl Irwin）说，这项完整的报告吸取了部分政府机构的意见，将于下个月发布。
她说，这是一个高度敏感的话题，并补充说，五角大楼正在试图找出真相，以确保我们继续保护军队和纳税人的利益。
美国议员也开始研究稀土供应对国家安全的影响。国会众议院科技委员会（House Committee on Science and Technology）的调查小组今年就该问题举办了听证会，周四，委员会开始促进一项法案，鼓励美国政府通过收集更多潜在供应的资料和找到可替代原材料以应对稀土的短缺。
委员会主席、田纳西州民主党众议员戈尔登（Bart Gordon）说，他担心美国在新科技原材料的供应上处于被要挟的地位。
美国Molycorp, Inc公司目前正寻求重新开始生产和扩大生产。该公司在加州的帕斯山（Mountain Pass）拥有中国以外最大的、最丰富的稀土矿场。Molycorp发言人西姆斯（Jim Sims）说，公司计划到2012年中期在美国建造一个部分种类稀土矿石的完整供应链。
公司代表同时还与国防部官员讨论了国防部正在进行的研究。
Nathan Hodge / James T. Areddy
China's control of a key minerals market has U.S. military thinkers and policy makers alike worried about access to materials that are essential for 21st-century technology like smartphones -- and smart bombs.
The concern over supplies of so-called rare-earth elements was highlighted this week by a report that Chinese customs officials had blocked exports of the materials to Japan. On Thursday, Beijing denied those reports. 'China doesn't block rare-earth exports to Japan,' said Chen Rongkai, a spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce.
At issue is a group of 17 metallic elements with magnetic properties suited for high-tech applications such as computer hard drives and digital cameras. Rare-earth materials are also key to 'green' technology: Energy-efficient light bulbs use europium and yttrium, while hybrid car batteries and wind-power turbines use neodymium.
While rare-earth ore deposits are found around the globe, China's dominance in mining and processing the elements has raised alarms in Washington. According to an April 2010 Government Accountability Office report, China now produces approximately 97% of the world's rare-earth oxides, the raw materials that can be further refined into metals and blended into alloys that can be made into finished components.
Over the past year, China has imposed global export quotas on the elements. Its Commerce Ministry has said total exports for the year would be capped at just under 30,300 metric tons, down 40% from last year. Only 7,976 tons of that were allocated for the second half of this year. Experts say much of that has already been shipped.
That has spurred anxiety among government officials and industry executives. Delegations from the U.S., Germany, and Japan have implored Beijing to recognize how critical they consider sustained supply.
Premier Wen Jiabao pledged last month to a visiting Japanese delegation that China wouldn't halt exports. Chinese officials have said the tighter export limits this year are motivated by environmental concerns. During the meeting with the Japanese, Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said Beijing had tightened controls over production and trade because 'mass-extraction of rare earth will cause great damage to the environment.'
Earlier this week, London-based Industrial Metals magazine and the New York Times reported that China had blocked shipments of the materials, in retaliation for Japan's detention of a Chinese fishing boat captain on Sept. 7 amid a territorial dispute. Officials in Japan's foreign and trade ministries said they weren't aware of such an embargo. Any ban on shipments to Japan would mark a startling escalation of the dispute, one that would risk aligning Japan, the U.S. and others against China for using its global commercial clout in a bilateral political dispute.
Rare-earth metals have important military applications because of their magnetic strength, which allows for extraordinary miniaturization of components. The fins that steer precision bombs, for instance, have samarium-cobalt permanent magnet motors. The motors that run the rudder and tail fins on a high-performance fighter aircraft like the Air Force F-22 Raptor are built with lightweight, rare-earth magnets. Neodymium is found in the solid-state lasers used to designate targets.
In the newest issue of Joint Force Quarterly, a professional military journal published by National Defense University, Navy Reserve Lt. Cdr. Cindy Hurst, a research analyst in the Foreign Military Studies Office at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., wrote that 'China appears to be holding an unlikely trump card' through its dominance in the rare-earth element industry.
'The country's grasp on the rare-earth element industry could one day give China a strong technological advantage and increase its military superiority,' she wrote.
The Department of Defense is completing a study to identify the potential national security risks of rare-earth material dependency. Pentagon spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin said a full report drawing on input from a number of government agencies will be released next month.
'It is a highly charged topic,' she said, adding the Pentagon is seeking to separate 'fact from fiction to ensure we continue to protect the interests of both the warfighter and the taxpayer.'
U.S. lawmakers, too, have begun probing the national-security implications of rare-earth supplies. The House Committee on Science and Technology's investigations panel held a hearing this year on the issue, and on Thursday, the committee began marking up a bill that would encourage the U.S. government to hedge against rare-earth shortages by collecting more data on potential supply and identifying alternative materials.
Rep. Bart Gordon (D., Tenn.), chairman of the committee, said he was concerned about the United States being 'held hostage' when it came to access to raw materials for new technology.
Molycorp, Inc., the owner of a mine in Mountain Pass, Calif., that holds the largest, richest rare-earth deposit outside China, is currently looking to restart and expand production. Jim Sims, a spokesman for Molycorp, said the company was planning by mid-2012 to create a complete U.S.-based supply chain for some kinds of rare-earth magnets.
Company representatives have also discussed the ongoing Department of Defense study with Pentagon officials.
Nathan Hodge / James T. Areddy
The concern over supplies of so-called rare-earth elements was highlighted this week by a report that Chinese customs officials had blocked exports of the materials to Japan. On Thursday, Beijing denied those reports. 'China doesn't block rare-earth exports to Japan,' said Chen Rongkai, a spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce.
At issue is a group of 17 metallic elements with magnetic properties suited for high-tech applications such as computer hard drives and digital cameras. Rare-earth materials are also key to 'green' technology: Energy-efficient light bulbs use europium and yttrium, while hybrid car batteries and wind-power turbines use neodymium.
While rare-earth ore deposits are found around the globe, China's dominance in mining and processing the elements has raised alarms in Washington. According to an April 2010 Government Accountability Office report, China now produces approximately 97% of the world's rare-earth oxides, the raw materials that can be further refined into metals and blended into alloys that can be made into finished components.
Over the past year, China has imposed global export quotas on the elements. Its Commerce Ministry has said total exports for the year would be capped at just under 30,300 metric tons, down 40% from last year. Only 7,976 tons of that were allocated for the second half of this year. Experts say much of that has already been shipped.
That has spurred anxiety among government officials and industry executives. Delegations from the U.S., Germany, and Japan have implored Beijing to recognize how critical they consider sustained supply.
Premier Wen Jiabao pledged last month to a visiting Japanese delegation that China wouldn't halt exports. Chinese officials have said the tighter export limits this year are motivated by environmental concerns. During the meeting with the Japanese, Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said Beijing had tightened controls over production and trade because 'mass-extraction of rare earth will cause great damage to the environment.'
Earlier this week, London-based Industrial Metals magazine and the New York Times reported that China had blocked shipments of the materials, in retaliation for Japan's detention of a Chinese fishing boat captain on Sept. 7 amid a territorial dispute. Officials in Japan's foreign and trade ministries said they weren't aware of such an embargo. Any ban on shipments to Japan would mark a startling escalation of the dispute, one that would risk aligning Japan, the U.S. and others against China for using its global commercial clout in a bilateral political dispute.
Rare-earth metals have important military applications because of their magnetic strength, which allows for extraordinary miniaturization of components. The fins that steer precision bombs, for instance, have samarium-cobalt permanent magnet motors. The motors that run the rudder and tail fins on a high-performance fighter aircraft like the Air Force F-22 Raptor are built with lightweight, rare-earth magnets. Neodymium is found in the solid-state lasers used to designate targets.
In the newest issue of Joint Force Quarterly, a professional military journal published by National Defense University, Navy Reserve Lt. Cdr. Cindy Hurst, a research analyst in the Foreign Military Studies Office at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., wrote that 'China appears to be holding an unlikely trump card' through its dominance in the rare-earth element industry.
'The country's grasp on the rare-earth element industry could one day give China a strong technological advantage and increase its military superiority,' she wrote.
The Department of Defense is completing a study to identify the potential national security risks of rare-earth material dependency. Pentagon spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin said a full report drawing on input from a number of government agencies will be released next month.
'It is a highly charged topic,' she said, adding the Pentagon is seeking to separate 'fact from fiction to ensure we continue to protect the interests of both the warfighter and the taxpayer.'
U.S. lawmakers, too, have begun probing the national-security implications of rare-earth supplies. The House Committee on Science and Technology's investigations panel held a hearing this year on the issue, and on Thursday, the committee began marking up a bill that would encourage the U.S. government to hedge against rare-earth shortages by collecting more data on potential supply and identifying alternative materials.
Rep. Bart Gordon (D., Tenn.), chairman of the committee, said he was concerned about the United States being 'held hostage' when it came to access to raw materials for new technology.
Molycorp, Inc., the owner of a mine in Mountain Pass, Calif., that holds the largest, richest rare-earth deposit outside China, is currently looking to restart and expand production. Jim Sims, a spokesman for Molycorp, said the company was planning by mid-2012 to create a complete U.S.-based supply chain for some kinds of rare-earth magnets.
Company representatives have also discussed the ongoing Department of Defense study with Pentagon officials.
Nathan Hodge / James T. Areddy
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