this was posted by SHIMMER many thanks. i pinched thyis from the pek thread if there are still doubters read this No wonder China want all the Rare earths for themselves,
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 It’s All China. Mobile phones embrace the use of these technology metals, with lithium batteries, indium in the screen, and REEs in the circuitry. With around a billion mobile phones being made every year, the "volume of technology metals required is astonishing and the pace of demand is not letting up", said Alan McLelland of the National Metals Technology Centre.
Two more items from China yesterday that drive home just what a large and growing consumer of rare earth elements China is. Up first, China’s mobile phone operators collectively got 81 million new subscribers in just the first 8 months of the year. That’s some 21 million more new accounts and mobiles, than the entire population of Great Britain. About half the new subscribers were 3G users, though 3G users still only account for about 10% of total mobile users in China. There is massive scope within China for 3G growth and upgrade.
China's mobile phone users exceed 940m Updated: 2011-09-27 09:16 BEIJING -- China's mobile phone operators had 81.08 million new subscribers in the first eight months of this year, bringing their total number of users to a record high of 940.09 million, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Sept 26.
More than half of the new subscribers were 3G users, and the total number of 3G users in the country reached 94.12 million, according to a statement posted on the ministry's website.
The country's telephone users totaled 1.23 billion by the end of August, due to the steady rise in the number of mobile phone users, the statement said.
During the first eight months, revenues of China's telecommunication sector rose 10.1 percent year-on-year to reach 647.73 billion yuan ($101.21 billion). More
In Recycled Cell Phones—A Treasure Trove of Valuable Metals, a July 2006 fact sheet, the USGS reports that "About 130 million cell phones are retired annually in the United States (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2005). Collectively, these cell phones weigh about 14,000 metric tons...annually retired cell phones contain almost 2,100 metric tons of copper, 46 metric tons of silver, 3.9 metric tons of gold, 2 metric tons of palladium, and 0.04 metric ton of platinum."
The other equally important REE news came from Ford. Ford is to introduce its best models and technologies to China between now and 2015. The top of the line models all have electric gizmos to the roof, so I’m beginning to think that China might indeed become an importer of some REEs as soon as 2014. Below Ford’s announcement, effectively moving to become a Chinese manufacturing company.
Ford to bring best models, technologies to China Updated: 2011-09-27 13:16 BEIJING -- Ford Motor Co Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally said on Sept 26 the company will introduce its best models and technologies to China in order to meet the demands of Chinese consumers.
Like other automakers, Ford has increasingly focused its business plans on emerging markets, especially China.
Ford's global auto sales will rise to 8 million vehicles in 2020, up from 5.3 million last year, Mulally said.
He said he expects 60-70 percent of the increased sales to come from the Asia-Pacific region and Africa, and China will become the biggest engine of the company's growth over the next decade.
Joe Hinrichs, CEO of Ford China, said the automaker plans to build seven factories in the Asia-Pacific region and Africa, including four in China. The company also plans to introduce 15 new models to China by the end of 2015 in order to tap the growing auto market.
China overtook the United States as the world's largest auto market after vehicle sales jumped 46 percent to hit 13.6 million units in 2009.
Hinrichs said the three Ford-invested factories that are currently under construction in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality will start operations by the end of 2013.
Chongqing will become Ford's second-biggest production base after Detroit, with an annual output of 900,000 autos. More
Finally, something that’s not from China. A glimpse at the future from Corning glass. Anyone care to guess how much REEs are needed to make this version of the future a reality
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