> rare earth metals have a very pollutant and energy intensive extraction process which in most cases is not accounted in the environmental cost of solar panels.
Thanks to China overplaying their hand, this may be changing. Rare earths were exactly that, rare. And China was quite literally the only country you could get them from (they were the only country that was fine with dealing with all the pollution and waste. Though "dealing with" might be too liberal). They took advantage of their monopoly and used it to bully nations, as well as engage in severe price gouging. They even temporarily banned all rare earth exports to Japan (big electronics producer) back in 2010 because of a minor fishing trawler dispute.
Some countries and business got fed up with China's bullying and began looking at ways to do it cheaper and cleaner. It wasn't that it was "hard" to deal with the waste and pollution, it's that it was expensive to get everything set up and up to IAEA standards. Nobody wanted to invest that much and have China start undercutting the market again.
But China continued to play the bully and demand rose. Finally, it became worth it to open up some new mines (and reopen older ones). Both America and Australia have begun mining operations within the last few years (and meet IAEA environmental standards), and Vietnam signed an agreement to supply Japan with rare earths. Last year, a company in Malaysia was granted a license to refine rare earths with IAEA's seal of approval. They're expected to supply 1/6th the world's rare earths and virtually eliminate China's stranglehold.
Thanks to China overplaying their hand, this may be changing. Rare earths were exactly that, rare. And China was quite literally the only country you could get them from (they were the only country that was fine with dealing with all the pollution and waste. Though "dealing with" might be too liberal). They took advantage of their monopoly and used it to bully nations, as well as engage in severe price gouging. They even temporarily banned all rare earth exports to Japan (big electronics producer) back in 2010 because of a minor fishing trawler dispute.
Some countries and business got fed up with China's bullying and began looking at ways to do it cheaper and cleaner. It wasn't that it was "hard" to deal with the waste and pollution, it's that it was expensive to get everything set up and up to IAEA standards. Nobody wanted to invest that much and have China start undercutting the market again.
But China continued to play the bully and demand rose. Finally, it became worth it to open up some new mines (and reopen older ones). Both America and Australia have begun mining operations within the last few years (and meet IAEA environmental standards), and Vietnam signed an agreement to supply Japan with rare earths. Last year, a company in Malaysia was granted a license to refine rare earths with IAEA's seal of approval. They're expected to supply 1/6th the world's rare earths and virtually eliminate China's stranglehold.