{"id":273032,"date":"2019-10-01T05:05:24","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T12:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=wherenext&#038;p=273032"},"modified":"2024-05-10T05:55:28","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T12:55:28","slug":"us-plans-for-rare-earths","status":"publish","type":"wherenext","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/us-plans-for-rare-earths","title":{"rendered":"The Role Technology Plays in US, Australia Rare Earths Plan"},"author":501,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1001,369822,1031],"tags":[386272,386282,386292],"department":[488812],"wherenext-category":[],"industry":[],"class_list":["post-273032","wherenext","type-wherenext","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commercial","category-digital-supply-chain","category-natural-resources","tag-china","tag-supply-chain-management","tag-supply-chain-visibility","department-emerging-technologies"],"acf":{"short_description":"If the screen on your mobile phone wouldn\u2019t work without an underground element that one country might withhold, what would you do?","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"With China dominating the production of rare earth elements, US manufacturers of consumer tech and defense products have turned to Australia as an alternative global producer. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/ajimpact\/australia-set-rare-earths-plant-190828022406271.html\">Al Jazeera<\/a>, the US is now collaborating with its longtime ally to preempt the effects of China\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/china-rare-earth-list-of-us-products-could-affected-2019-5\">threatened manipulation of the rare earths market<\/a>."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Left","content":"<strong>Article snapshot:<\/strong> In a trade war with a country that controls 80 percent of the market for an essential product ingredient, the US looks for alternatives in Australia, as location concerns come into sharp focus.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"To accelerate this bold international experiment\u2014and secure US supply of metals used in camera lenses, LED screens, rechargeable batteries, and defense systems like satellites and drones\u2014Australian mining companies need the right technology to support production and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/digital-supply-network\">reduce supply chain risk<\/a>.\r\n<h3><strong>Chipping Away at Dominance <\/strong><\/h3>\r\nAlthough China dominates the global market for rare earths, the elements aren\u2019t exclusive to Chinese soil, nor are they technically rare. They\u2019re just stubbornly bonded to soil in varying concentrations around the world.\r\n\r\nRare earth ores require massive amounts of energy and labor to extract and refine, and China has capitalized on its available work force and processing skill to capture <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2019\/5\/23\/18637071\/rare-earth-china-production-america-demand-trade-war-tariffs\">80 percent of global production<\/a>.\r\n\r\nIf it hopes to loosen China\u2019s grip on the rare earths market, Australia will have to create efficient and sustainable production methods. Automated processes, along with supply chain management that minimizes disruptions, will be critical to winning US investor confidence.\r\n<h3><strong>Raising the Ante on Discovery<\/strong><\/h3>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"form","form_type":"aside","form_position":"Right","form_title":"THE ESRI BRIEF","form_desc":"A biweekly email connecting senior executives and business leaders with thought-provoking articles on location intelligence and critical technology trends.","form_button_label":"Sign up now","form_content":"https:\/\/go.pardot.com\/l\/82202\/2017-10-12\/jw1bmb","form_tag":"low-commitment-form\/sign-up-form"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Technologies that help companies extract rare earths from the soil and manage their journey to market will contribute to the anticipated shift in market hierarchy. But before that comes the task of discovery. Australia contains just 2.8% of the world\u2019s rare earths, according to the Al Jazeera report. With such a limited pool, its manufacturers need efficient methods of identifying the best sites for extraction.\r\n\r\nCompanies that process natural resources\u2014from miners to oil and gas companies to timber producers\u2014have long relied on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/location-intelligence\">location intelligence<\/a> to pinpoint the best sites for their operations. Geologists enlist digital mapping platforms to visualize and analyze soil composition, underground stability, and resource deposits. Their go-to asset is a geographic information system (GIS), which reveals an analysis of the world beneath their feet. For this reason, GIS is a standard asset in extractive industries.\r\n\r\nAs Australia\u2019s producers ramp up production of rare earths, they\u2019ll use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/location-technology-drives-intelligent-action\/\">location technology<\/a> to automate the identification of promising resources and analyze site suitability.\r\n<h3><strong>Agility in the Supply Chain<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nOnce producers have located and extracted rare earths, the challenge shifts to end-to-end supply chain management. US manufacturers will need a reliable, on-time supply of the elements to maintain their production of mobile phones, fighter jets, and other products.\r\n\r\nTo that end, Australian miners could take a cue from GM. For the global auto giant, GIS serves as a real-time supply chain information system. In a recent <em>WhereNext<\/em> article, Esri\u2019s Yasaman Kazemi described how the system <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/gm-maps-supply-chain-risk\/\">gives GM the ability to respond quickly<\/a> when supply chain disruptions such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and political unrest occur:"},{"acf_fc_layout":"blockquote","content":"Last year, for example, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in central Mexico . . . impacted many GM supplier operations in the area. Already coping with the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, the crisis response team was nevertheless able to move fast when it received email alerts and a detailed report about the earthquake."},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"In the evolving global supply chain for rare earths, Australian producers and their American buyers will be keen to establish real-time visualization and analysis to help intelligently reroute mineral shipments when disruptions occur.\r\n\r\nWith location intelligence to accelerate resource discovery and mitigate supply chain risk, Australian rare-earth producers can provide the alternative source American manufacturers seek in a time of global trade uncertainty."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The US Looks to Australia to Diversify away from China on Rare Earths<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" 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