The Bayan Obo mine in China’s Inner Mongolia region is considered the largest extraction site for rare earth metals. The open pit mine reaches down to a depth of 1,000 metres.
The Bayan Obo mine in China's Inner Mongolia region is considered the largest extraction site for rare earth metals. The open pit mine reaches down to a depth of 1,000 metres. Europe's energy transition will not succeed without access to essential metals like rare earths, says security researcher Julian Kamasa. Responsible mining and recycling of critical raw materials could help Europe reduce dependence on imports and meet its climate targets. Since the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and its attempted gas blackmail, Europe has been pushing ahead with the energy transition, which includes the perspective of supply security.1 Climate neutrality is a hot topic, and as a long-term goal, it promises to free us from the shackles of fossil fuels. Yet we overlook the fact that renewable energies threaten to make us dependent in new ways. Because for the energy transition, Europe needs large quantities of raw materials to which it has no direct access. These include elements such as cobalt, lithium and silicon as well as many rare earth metals with such exotic names as dysprosium and neodymium. Because these raw materials are indispensable for wind turbines, lithium-ion batteries and electric motors, they are referred to as "critical".2 But they are also considered problematic - critical raw materials are largely mined and processed in authoritarian states with low environmental and labour standards. In the case of rare earth metals, for example, the EU is dependent on imports from China for over 98 percent of its production.3 Climate neutrality with dirty raw materials?
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