RARE EARTHS AS A GEO-ECONOMIC STAKE IN MODERN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Abstract

Will future international relations be determined by the rivalry and geoeconomic and geopolitical war surrounding rare earth elements? "The world map seems to be redrawn around natural resources," and China has secured its dominance over rare earths. Africa, still rich in natural resources, appears to be an important resource for the EU, which is rather poorly endowed with deposits. These rare metals are relatively abundant in the Earth's crust. However, their extraction is complicated, and their refining is very expensive and polluting. These minerals, with chemical properties essential for manufacturing key technologies of the energy and ecological transition, as well as electronic and digital devices, number 17. Given their wide range of uses, the available quantities of rare earths are low, while demand is constantly increasing due to global population growth, improving living standards, industrialization, and innovation. This growing demand is expected to put pressure on global rare earth reserves in the future. Furthermore, the low recycling rate of "urban mines" (1%) and the low substitution rate of rare earth elements with iron phosphate or molecular sponge (0.87%) do not mitigate the effects of this growth.