美国会通过法案鼓励美境内开采稀土资源

美国国会众议院已经通过了H.R. 6160号法案，即“2010年稀土与关键材料振兴法案(Rare Earths and Critical Materials Revitalization Act of 2010)，授予在美国境内开发稀土资源的权限，以解决短期性的材料缺乏，确保对美国国家安全、经济与产业方面需求的长期供应。

根据**社的报导，中国在7月份宣布立即开始减少稀土的出口配额，幅度高达72%，此举让部分稀土材料的价格飙涨六倍以上，而此类材料对能源、军事、电子与制造业等领域是不可缺少的。为此，美国审计总署(U.S. Government Accountability Offic，GAO)对美国国会委员会提出了一份报告，警示其严重性。

在该份“国防供应链中的稀土资源(Rare Earth Materials in the Defense Supply Chain)”报告中，GAO指出，虽然稀土矿有不同地理分布位置，但目前运用在成品材料中的稀土金属，大部分是取自中国；美国在所有以稀土为基础的材料供应链任何层面，都没有任何置喙余地，而中国的主导地位不只影响了全球稀土材料的取得与价格，也对美国国防造成威胁。

与业界较相关的则是，由于磁铁是采用稀土原料所制作的关键电子零组件，中国一旦握有对该零件生产的掌控权，恐怕会对电子业者造成相关影响。

GAO报告表示，采用包括铷(neodymium)、镝(dysprosium)、铽(terbium)等稀土元素所生产的材料，主要掌握在中国供应商手中；中国已经开始实施稀土材料的国内生产配额，同时削减了出口配额，将所有稀土材料的出口税提高了15~25%。

若要重建美国的稀土材料供应链并达到供需稳定的水平，可能要花上15年的时间；而有些专家认为，仰赖新技术的开发活动，恐怕无法达到4年所需的生产规模，且需要较高的起步成本。此外在这方面还有知识产权的问题，日本等国家拥有生产钕铁硼磁体(neodymium iron boron magnets)的技术专利，而且最快要到2014年才到期。

最近波音公司(Boeing)与美国稀土公司(U.S. Rare Earths Inc.)所签署的合作协议，带来了一线希望；根据双方合约，波音将采用该公司的一种无线感测技术，协助稀土公司在拥有采矿权的地区辨别并确认稀土矿床。而稀土公司将利用波音的发现来扩展其开采工作，并将更多经过确认或可能拥有稀土矿床的地点加入其采矿地图中。

点击进入参考原文：U.S. must fast-track policy on rare earth materials, by Nicolas Mokhoff

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U.S. must fast-track policy on rare earth materials

by Nicolas Mokhoff

The House of Representatives has approved H.R. 6160, the Rare Earths and Critical Materials Revitalization Act of 2010, authorizing development of a domestic rare earth materials program to address short-term scarcities and ensure long-term supply for the nation’s security, economic and industrial requirements. The nod comes none too soon.

According to a ** report, China in July reduced rare earth export quotas for the rest of the year by 72 percent, inflating prices more than sixfold for some rare earth materials vital to the energy, military, electronics and manufacturing sectors.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office, in a briefing to congressional committees, reported on "Rare Earth Materials in the Defense Supply Chain." The GAO warned that while rare earth ore deposits are geographically diverse, current capabilities to process rare earth metals into finished materials are limited mostly to Chinese sources. The United States can no longer claim a role in all stages of the supply chain for materials based on the rare earths. China's dominance not only has implications for global availability and pricing of rare earth-based materials but also could jeopardize U.S. defense readiness.

In a concern closer to the industry, ceding control of both magnetic polarities of the world's magnets to China—magnets being the key electronic components that use rare earth elements—could hold consequences for producers of electronics.

The GAO report states that the fate of materials based on such elements as neodymium, dysprosium and terbium is largely in the hands of Chinese suppliers. China has adopted domestic production quotas on rare earth materials while slashing export quotas. It has increased export taxes on all rare earth materials to a range of 15 to 25 percent.

Still think China's industrial ambitions are purely benevolent?

Rebuilding the U.S. supply chain for rare earth materials to a level that will ensure sustainability could take 15 years. Development is dependent on new technologies that some experts believe will not be available on a production scale for up to four years and will require high startup costs. There is also an intellectual property rights issue: Japanese and other foreign companies own key technology patents for manufacturing neodymium iron boron magnets, some of which do not expire until 2014.

One hopeful sign is a recent contract between Boeing and U.S. Rare Earths Inc. under which Boeing will use a version of its remote sensing technology to identify and confirm rare earth deposits at sites for which USRE owns the mineral rights. USRE will use the Boeing findings to expand its exploration and incorporate large-scale mapping of confirmed and suspected rare earth deposits.

USRE holds the rights to significant deposits of rare earth elements in the United States, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

China's export and tariff rule changes for the rare earths are a wakeup call for nations that have let their own capabilities lapse. The U.S. government must fast-track its policy on rare earth mineral exploration, development and commercialization.

The rare earths are critical ground.