It's probably not such a bad idea considering the environmental issues related to mining. If businesses are in a panic over the move, maybe they should have thought more about this in the past. (What exactly do they teach in business schools these days?) The real downside is that the same businesses will likely search the world for the REEs and find governments willing and able to destroy their environment to mine them. It's not unlike the Canada Oil Sands project where the government has warmed up to the idea of damaging the environment in search of oil. Now imagine the same in a poor country where they care even less about the environment.
China has struck fear into Western governments and electronics giants by slashing exports of a highly sought-after array of metals which are crucial for electronics products ranging from iPads and X-ray systems, to low-energy lightbulbs and hybrid cars.
In a sign of its growing industrial and political clout, China has cut its export quotas for rare earth elements (REEs) by 35 per cent for the first six months of 2011, threatening to extend a global shortage of the minerals and intensifying a scramble to find alternative sources.
Mines in China supply 97 per cent of the world's rare earths, 17 obscure metals which possess various qualities, such as conductivity and magnetism, that make them an essential component in many modern applications such as smartphones, computers and lasers.
