The Rare Metals War: the dark side of clean energy and … (2024)

This is a book about the dark side of China rather than the dark side of clean energy.

Whether socialist or liberal, one has to be very ideologically blind to ignore the fact green technology, or any technology, exists because someone mines resources from the earth, and the more a population uses it the more it demands of the market. To meet those demands the market has to quickly adapt, and what is available may not be what we wish for. Concessions have to be made. Green technology comes also from digging the earth’s crust and destroy certain environments. Without proper regulation the rare earth mines produce as much radioactive waste as a nuclear power plant, and turn the surrounding fields infertile. With too much regulation the market stagnates and the technology for safer, faster and less polluting mining does not evolve. On one hand grows the sentiment that resources locally mined should be used for domestic consumption, yet on the other hand grows ecological conscience and activism opposing the exploration and opening of local mines. For example, Portugal – a tungsten producer - has lithium (not a rare metal but key in green tech). We want those electric cars and those iPhones, but apparently we also prefer the cheaper labour from Africa and China, not to speak it’s their people – including child workers - dying from cancer and malnutrition. Europe and USA thrive on green politics, green policy and green tech: left-wing activists sabotage all these by calling out the past of western colonization of Africa, while China exploits the continent along with Wagner induced coups, right now, in the present; liberal activists want the state away from private companies whilst China takes over that market and gains majority in key companies; right-wing activists totally ignore foreign policy and what that entails for domestic production. Western politics are chaotic, and in the midst of it’s chaos, authoritarian and hegemonic governments in the east exploit and gain an economic and trade advantage of raw materials.

The book focuses on the biggest economic threat to the west and it’s green policies: China.

It does mention some cases of the west mismanagement of rare earth mining. Per usual involves lack of environmental responsibilities and eventual demise of the companies, putting families out of a job. If no western capital fills the gap, the Chinese buy offices in the west and move the factories to China or its periphery. The west may have lesser and lesser carbon emissions, but it is China and Africa bearing the costs. It does not excuse their lack of domestic policy towards the environment, but the global market demands them to adapt fast, and they are willing to comply. China having a very loose definition of worker and Human Rights also helps speed up the process.

One major gripe I have with this book is somewhat frequent the use of “one American expert said” or “one Chinese expert said”, but who? For transparency and legitimacy sake we have to know who makes the claims. These can mostly be found on the Notes section on the final pages of the book, but I think they would be much more useful on the body text. Maybe it’s my own problem, but I’m sticking with it.

Nonetheless I’ve been following rare earth politics for a while, it’s a subject I esteem, and I have to recommend this book. Of course, having the author in mind, the subject also has the French elites as the target audience, though I’m not sure he’s telling anything new or convincing. He mentions the French influence on the Pacific, specifically the islands/kingdoms of Wallis and Futuna, well positioned diplomatically and also abundant in rare earths. It is, however, a very brief affair. He mainly points out the immense potential of french mining prospects. Not sure how meaningful is the following match, but the places with major potential are also the ones where Emmanuel Macron has the strongest support, but we would have to also look closely at the legislative level to make conclusions.

[T]he journalist and filmmaker warns against the optimistic belief that technology is the solution … At a time when many claim to be “citizens of the world” or retreat into naive or hypocritical protectionism, Pitron’s book is an attempt to open people’s eyes to the consequences of their societal choices and lifestyles.
Green European Journal

French Writer and analyst Guillaume Pitron warns about growing reliance on rare-earth metal – which are necessary to build high-tech products … He shines a light on “the untold story” of the energy and digital transitions.
European Scientist

An expert account of a poorly understood but critical element in our economy.
Kirkus Reviews

[E]xposes the dirty underpinnings of clean technologies in a debut that raises valid questions about energy extraction.
Publishers Weekly

The Rare Metals Waris Guillaume Pitron’s urgent exposé of the race for resources and an examination of its environmental and human impacts.
Dan Shaw, Happy Magazine

Global demand for rare metals is rapidly rising. Guillaume Pitron explores and exposes the geopolitical, economic, environmental, and societal impacts of securing supplies of these raw materials … The issues raised give pause to the thinking that many of the world’s problems will be solved with a rapid shift to global energy generation from renewable sources. Pitron articulately outlines the precarious status of global supply of these raw materials, and the toll to the environment and human health that their extraction and processing has caused, particularly in the worlds leading rare metal player, China … Pitron exposes a terrible legacy to rare metal production, including accounts of corruption, exploitation, environmental degradation, and toxic exposure.
Carl Spandler, Associate Professor and Director of the Australian Critical Minerals Research Centre at the University of Adelaide

Normally the sight of photovoltaic panels and wind turbines fills me with hope, but after reading this book I have my doubts … In The Rare Metals War, French investigative journalist Guillaume Pitron sounds the alarm, showing both the environmental impact and China's chokehold on the market … The Rare Metals War is a powerful and sobering exposé that will no doubt shatter the green dreams of many readers. However, we cannot continue to ignore the material reality that underlies the green revolution that politicians and environmental organisations want us to pursue. This book is a much-needed conversation starter.
Leon Vlieger, NHBS

Demand for rare metals can only increase in the move to a zero-carbon economy. The Rare Metals War by Guillaume Pitron lays out the terrifying cost … Zipping from an abandoned mine in the Mojave desert to the toxic lakes and cancer-afflicted areas of Baotou in China, Pitron weighs the awful price of refining the materials, ably blending investigative journalism with insights from science, politics and business.
Simon Ings, New Scientist

In our race to save the climate, a new book claims that we are destroying the environment and starting a new war over natural resources … He is concerned that we are escaping one trap merely to fall into another.
Harry de Quetteville, The Telegraph

He asserts the sustainable economy is a “ruse”. The capture and use of renewable, non-polluting energy relies on resources neither renewable nor non-polluting … The Rare Metals War is framed by an ecological critique of industrial production and a neocolonial critique of the world economic order.
Paul Gillen, Post Magazine

This book reveals the dark side of the world that awaits us. It is an undercover tale of a technological odyssey that has promised much, and a look behind the scenes … Drawing on six years of research across a dozen countries, this book shows that by breaking free of fossil fuels, we are in fact setting ourselves up for a new dependence ― on rare metals that have become vital to our new ecological and digital society.
BookAuthoity

Guillame Pitron’s book, The Rare Metals War, fills in some of the gaps in this green and digital technology story… He says that the environmental impact of rare earth metals “could prove far more severe than that of oil extraction” … There are stories of the detrimental effects of mining rare metals on workers and communities all over the world from Kazakhstan to France to Congo to Bolivia. Pitron suggests that an environmentally ethical approach to mining outside China is possible if the quest for financial gain is set aside.
Clare Wilkins, Socialism Today

Every cell phone, computer, electric car motor, specialized magnets for jet planes and satellites, contain one of the rare metals. The 17 rare-earth elements are cerium (Ce), dysprosium (Dy), erbium (Er), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), holmium (Ho), lanthanum (La), lutetium (Lu), neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), scandium (Sc), terbium (Tb), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), and yttrium (Y). They are often found in minerals with thorium (Th), and less commonly uranium (U).

At one time many countries including the US, Canada, and France mined their native ore for these metals. Then China (which has one of the largest known deposits) who don't care about polluting their environment, began large scale mining. They sold the elements at such low prices that they undercut all the other producers. Once all the others shut down, China just rose their rates, even higher than they had been before.

The problem is that once the other mines were shut down, they were very expensive to start up again and most ran into environmental laws that they had been grandfathered protection but now were subject to the new laws. So China pretty much has the rest of the world over a barrel. If they want and they have, shut down exports when they decide they need it for themselves and stockpile the elements so they don't run out.

Bottom line is that until the rest of the world bights the bullet and reopens the old mines China can control the production of specialize magnet and other products without having to pay any penalty.

A light-weight analysis of a profoundly important topic. The Statistical Annexes are useful, but much of the rest of the book is disjointed and even reads as a spy novel at times. Wasted reading on the whole.

Sometimes you read something that completely challenges your world view. This book pulls no punches. Starting from the Paris Climate Agreement’s commitment for signatories to decarbonise their entire economies. Surely this heralds a bright new future? Not necessarily.
The reality is that both the hydrocarbon economy (gas and oil) and the decarbonised electrified economy is not so much about replacing resource dependency with complete independence. Depending on where the resources we need for decarbonisation are located, we are replacing one resource for another. And those resources are called Rare Earth minerals (or more specifically metals or just generally ‘rare earths’.

Unfortunately, the clue is in the name. Rare Earths are found either in small few grams trace amounts in rocks or within other more common metals. Still more unfortunate is that the process of getting these materials out of their sources is energy intensive and needs the use of potentially polluting chemicals, especially if these processes are done without many environmental safeguards. Rare Earths are available from many different countries, although some of them like the Democratic Republic of the Congo have fraught histories. But the country to watch is China. The Chinese Government has been playing a years long game of taking over the Rare Earths global market.
Realising the future potential of Rare Earths China early on heavily pushed for opening new mines all over regions where these minerals are concentrated. This dovetailed nicely with former Chinese Premier Deng Xiaoping’s long-term vision to have the country specialise in science and technology and push ahead by effort and on notable occasions by subterfuge. Now and then China has placed embargos or restrictions on the market of Rare Earths to use price fluctuations as a battering ram against Western mining sectors. Over time one Rare Earth mining company after another threw in the towel. Sandwiched between an artificially volatile market and environmental concerns from Western citizens one by one Western Rare Earth companies have moved their operations to China. The vehicle of partnership agreements have allowed China to acquire Rare Earth industry know-how. Cleverly, the Chinese have developed their Rare Earth industries downstream too, meaning that the end products are increasingly made in China. Their complete lack of concern for safe working conditions and environmental regulations was an added pull factor. The end result is that the dirty reality of Rare Earth processing that supplies Western businesses takes place out of sight and out of mind.

Overall, I found this book fascinating and quite direct. I felt there were times were the journalist showed his ego a bit, like at the start when he spoke of a hypothetical wise man appearing at the Paris Climate Summit and telling them off for their hubris. In terms of research and making itself clear though, I cannot fault this book. This book is the product of 8 years of research, so I have a lot of respect for the author going to great lengths to understand his subject matter. The author is French, so he occasionally took the time to inform the reader about France’s position in the global competition for Rare Earths. I would say that a lingering annoyance was the author’s preoccupation on how daunting the challenges are ahead of us, while being seemingly short on possible solutions. Then again some of the possible solutions he did propose were intriguing and occasionally controversial. How about moving Rare Earth mines to Western countries? Why should developing countries and the Chinese be lumbered with the full burden? It would certainly make us consider environmental safeguards more as well as the conditions of miners. And what of E recycling (of electronic devices) and recycling Rare Earths? This seems to be gaining traction in Japan (to lessen their reliance on China), but more research and development needs to happen into this. I may have some news on the local front on this before too long.

As a self-proclaimed technocrat Social Liberal, this book has given me pause for thought. I believe that the course towards digitisation and green technology is irreversible, but I believe we definitely need to consider looking both ways before we walk down this street. We need to at least have the conversation about supplying Rare Earth minerals closer to home. There is also a possibility that asteroid mining may one day help us get Rare Earths in the quantities we need, while sparing the Earth from more of our prospecting. So at least in the future, space prospecting has a green element. The carbon output produced by Rare Earth mining and processing is also a timely reminder that progress needs to be made in carbon capturing technology. In the near term though we need to keep a close eye on China. We also need to focus a lot more resources and attention on recycling Rare Earths and devices containing them. The development of a circular economy may be a scientific Holy Grail. But surely it is one worth pursuing?

Great overview of the geopolitical landscape for the energy transition and the role western mining needs to play. I think I will have a very busy next decade.

This is an interesting, kind of terrifying look into the mining that is required for electronic devices and green technology. As much of a call for specific actions, Pitron is writing a book that slaps you right up side your noggin and yells "pay attention, this isn't gonna end well" (or whatever the equivalent is in French).

Our society uses a lot of rare metals, which are elements that are often found alongside iron, uranium, and some more non-rare ones. These are the little bobby pins in the messy bun of our green, high-tech supply chain. The danger is they are mined and increasingly primarily owned by singular countries.

Pitron supports bringing mining back to western nations for security, economic, and ecological reasons. The last point is a long play, where people are exposed to the true costs of their toys, so they reduce waste, fight for anti-obsolescence laws, and ecological regulations.

I really like his analogy to the whaling industry. By mindlessly consuming whale oil and allowing the whaling to go on laissez faire style, wars were fought and the whale population plummeted.

The book does not make apologies for the petroleum industry, but instead suggests to more mindfully get into green energy revolution to avert further climate change in order to avoid having to go through another crisis brought on by energy.

Well, this was a pretty eye opening book what it means to move to green technologies and more electrical systems. It comes with a price, environmental and political. It is yet uncertain whether we could even mine enough rate earth metals to meet our best future needs. Let alone the carbon emissions, pollution, and land degradation caused by doing this. There have been players, like China, that have long seen the world's need for rare earth metals that now control the market through monopolies of mining, production, and more.

Oh boy. Glad I read this. Still trying to wrap my head around what it all means. Other than a radically new way of moving forward is needed that does not rely on concepts like progress, innovation, profit, control.

A sobering exposé, The Rare Metals War reveals the material cost of our utopian dreams of green energy and digital technology. See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2021...

Massive respect to anyone who writes a book, but the hyperbole and factually incorrect statements rife in this book made me wary of believing much of it. Coming off reading Vaclav Smil it made me realize even more the need to support one’s contentions w actual facts.

Qué buen libro, creo que nadie se dió cuenta que China nos tomó la delantera en muchas cosas, en especial en toda la parte de minerales raros que son los empleados para casi todas las nuevas tecnologías (electrónicas y energías renovables), así que se hicieron los dueños del mundo…

The author builds a strong case for the importance of the increasingly important rare earth metals.
These natural resources are crucial to advanced technologies underpinning the optimistic dreams for a green energy future, and for the ever-broadening role of digital technology. Electric vehicles, wind turbines, military weapons and equipment are highly dependent upon the high capacity batteries made from the metals. The bottom line is that not only are these metals scarce, they are highly polluting to mine and process. Also, China holds the vast majority of the supply domestically and is working to gain access and control of sources around the globe.

There are many interesting issues raised in this book. These include technology trends, political dealings, efforts by many nation states to ensure access to reserves abroad and at home, and comparison with earlier natural resource depletion issues. The book should rank higher than three stars, but the writing is not as tight and conclusive as one would hope for. The reader is left to infer the message of some of the explanations. Nonetheless, the book provides a useful point of entry to a resource supply issue which will rapidly become more critical. The discussion extends to the search for new sources of supply beneath the sea and in space.

The book is recommended for general readers, particularly those with environmental concerns or an interest in international relations. Those with more extensive backgrounds in the field may find the bibliography, references, and appendices useful, as well.

Pros were a much more universal perspective on this subject rather than it being limited to the US and Chinese interests, as well as interesting details on rare metal extraction, refining and consumption.

Cons were the writing wasn't very engaging (possibly due to the translation rather than the original text) and the focus jumped sporadically around digital and green tech before getting into the "war" part of the book. A tighter focus would've been better. 2.5 stars.

Mining nationalism

"Wojna o metale rzadkie" traktuje na temat niezwykle ważnego i nieznanego powszechnie problemu dostępu państw prowadzących "rewolucję energetyczną" do złóż niezbędnych metali. Nie można jej zarzucić niczego zarówno pod względem pisarskim, jak i "rzeczowym", gdyż nawet człowiek nieznający się na temacie jest w stanie zauważyć, że zawarte w książce twierdzenia są dobrze udokumentowane. Krótko mówiąc, książka jest z pewnością warta przeczytania przez każdego i myślę, że poruszana w niej problematyka może wkrótce stać się bardzo głośna.

Interesting primer on rare earths with lots of information on the geopolitics of renewable energy. The version of this book I read is a French to English translation that wasn’t the best. Probably would have been better in the original version. In terms of content, it was a bit light in information, very France-centric and with a lot of unnamed sources. 3 of 5 stars as a review.

An eye opening examination of the minerals underpinning renewable energy sources. Makes apparent our (necessary) dependence on mining companies and China. The author took their time establishing the overarching thesis, but once fully outlined at the conclusion of the book I had come around to the premise.

Donne une bonne vue d'ensemble des limites et des contradictions de notre transition "verte" mais déjà un peu désuet (publié en 2019). Je crois qu'aujourd'hui nous avons tous pris collectivement conscience du besoin de ré industrialiser nos économies européennes, pour relocaliser l'emploi, la R&D mais aussi produire "mieux". Pitron est optimiste en disant qu’il faut réactiver l’exploitation de mines françaises pour améliorer les procédés de transformation, et tabler sur des consommateurs plus exigeants.

This may not look much, but it details quite a bit about the truths about clean energy and all the latest gizmos. But doesn't it sound similar to the days back in the 19th century when steam engines and smokestacks obliterated clean air as we knew it? Isn't it the same case when agriculture by the first farmers cleared pristine forests? The rare earth mining and processing wreak another havoc, but the line of logic is exactly same as all the other technologies. The benefit trumps. The more edgy topic is whether non-Chinese world is able to stomach the dirtying of the mines and their vicinity, conjuring up special rules that allows dirtying and polluting, so that those minerals can be secured. If anything, the book cries out loud that in the world of 2020s, there can be no clear-cut rules and that exceptions become the standards of any rule.

Hyper intéressant, je ne savais pas à quel point les métaux rares tenaient une place si cruciale dans la géopolitique des nations et aussi dans l'impact environnemental. Ça fait beaucoup réfléchir à notre société actuelle, la tech et aussi cela remet en question l'image des pays verts, des énergies renouvelables, des green tech qui sont en réalité une catastrophe en termes d'empreinte carbone du fait de l'extraction minière en amont

Rare Metals, are metals with obscure names and hanging out discreetly at the bottom of the periodic table. They are the ingredients behind our modern technological advances by powering green-tech machinery and amplifying the capabilities of our digital devices. Rare metals are scarce and are mainly in China/Baotou – Inner Mongolia. Whilst western countries are quick to drum up the importance of electric vehicles and green tech in our fight against climate change, most of them are either oblivious or decide to turn a blind eye to how environmentally destructive these essential ingredients are mined. China does not have the most impressive track record for enforcing control over pollution (especially outside their tier 1 cities). Since the 90s, politically the Chinese administration has always prioritised wealth generation ahead of climate control. With the lack of guidelines and enforcement, ironically, ‘green technology, isn’t as 'green' as advertised once we factor in the amount of carbon emitted from the point where raw materials are extracted.

The book also shed light on how the Chinese administration uses this monopoly to its advantage. By controlling export quotas, there is a strong economic push for companies to move their manufacturing operations to the mainland. This results in wealth creation lifting a whole generation out of poverty and enabling technological-knowledge diffusion into their workforce.

Other depressing concerns were raised including the difficulty in recycling these rare metals because they are usually mixed with other materials to create alloys (e.g. there is no economically sensible way to recycle them); and man-kind insatiable appetite for technological growth & wealth creation will quickly exhaust the readily available mine and force us to search out harder to reach, harder to mine sites. Most often creating more disturbance to our ecology in the process (the same pattern we observe today in the Petroleum industry).

It was a thought-provoking read. However, I felt that it was a little too harsh on the Chinese administration. I suppose the antagonistic tone was necessary to drum up attention on this topic. That said, if there is 1 country that can turn the tide on improving their mining practices and lead our climate change, my bet is on the Chinese administration. Currently, this is not addressed because of the lack of will, not the lack of ability. Covid-19 is a sense-check of how effective a government is. Judging from the current situation in China in comparison with other countries, perhaps we should be thankful that these rare metals are within the remits of China instead of other East Asian countries rampant with corruption or with poor governance.

4/5 stars!

Uno dei libri più belli che ho letto quest'anno; un'affermazione che non avrei mai pensato di fare a proposito di un argomento come i "metalli rari", quei curiosi piccoli tasselli che stanno in fondo alla Tavola Periodica e che hanno nomi tanto buffi quanto assolutamente dimenticabili: Neodimio, Europio, Samario, Disprosio...
Eppure mi hanno appassionato da subito nella lettura, il fatto è che questi piccoli tasselli sono le vere pietre angolari su cui si basa tutta la tecnologia moderna, "verde", digitale e di Rete.
Smartphone, automobili elettriche, missili balistici, non c'è apparato elettronico che non sia tenuto insieme da questi elementi dotati di proprietà straordinarie.

Chi possiede queste risorse ha in mano le chiavi del mondo. E chi, allo stato attuale, tiene in mano le redini del mercato?
La Cina.

Consiglio la lettura di questo libro a chiunque voglia capire come funziona veramente il mondo oggi (e no, le tecnologie verdi non sono proprio così pulite ed ecologiche e se l'Occidente si sta dando una ripulita lo sta facendo scaricando tutta la propria m***a su Africa e Cina).

Consiglio la lettura a chi vuole capire come stiamo deindustrializzando a favore della Cina anche le tecnologie più avanzate e non solo magliette e materassini da spiaggia.

Inoltre lo consiglio a qualsiasi Direttore Acquisti o Imprenditore. Ho trovato qui lezioni di economia e strategia geopolitica più interessanti che in tanti testi specialistici.

Chiudo aggiungendo che tra le molte chicche del libro ho trovato forse una spiegazione indiretta delle più plausibili sul motivo del successo di Trump alle elezioni a Presidente U.S.A. e le relative motivazioni sull'abbandono del trattato di Parigi sul clima da parte degli Stati Uniti stessi.

This book does a phenomenal job of shining a light on the fact that the sources of clean energy - wind, solar etc - and alternative transportation - electric cars, trucks, planes et al are heavily dependent on the rare earth elements. And the extraction of these elements is anything but clean.

Those of us in the Western world are drowning in a blitzkrieg media campaign "educating" us that the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy will lead us to net zero carbon consumption. The author puts his own life in peril by traveling to the locations of these rare earth mines in the remote corners of the globe to expose the exploitation of slave labor and unprecedented damage to the environment done in the extraction of rare earths. The episodes he describes in great detail won't be told to us by the compromised MSM elites since it would mean departing from the paid narrative and leaving their comfy air conditioned offices - both of which are deeply inconvenient to them.

The author maintains a balanced view at all times and often provides answers; some innovative some provocative to solve the problems he witnesses first hand. So go ahead, buy the book and read it with an open mind. You will be amazed at the breadth and depth of knowledge that would be added to your own knowledge base.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book ahead of a podcast style interview I conducted at my own behest in September of 2020.

This book is not only about the rare earth materials. It is even more so a book about the economic strategy of China. This whereby China uses e.g. (i) predatory pricing to get control of certain resouces; or (ii) restriction in ownership of international companies wanting to do business in China. Combined, it allows China to "steal" intellectual property in this way.

This book is therefore also relevant in light of the current "trade wars" that are ongoing between China and western countries (e.g. the USA).

Since rare earth materials are important for constructing e.g. windmills, batteries and photovoltaic cells, this book also discusses the downsides of moving towards a world with more sustainable energy. This is especially relevant since too many people only show the positive sides of sustainable energy. It will therefore allow the reader to have a more informed insight about both the pros and cons of the move towards a more sustainable economy.

The story is built up as a sort of a "travel log", whereby the author visits certain places relevant in the supply chain of rare earth materials. Specific issues related to that specific location, like e.g. polution, are then discussed.

This book deserves a score of 3.8 stars, which is rounded to 4 stars.

[T]he journalist and filmmaker warns against the optimistic belief that technology is the solution … At a time when many claim to be “citizens of the world” or retreat into naive or hypocritical protectionism, Pitron’s book is an attempt to open people’s eyes to the consequences of their societal choices and lifestyles.
Green European Journal

French Writer and analyst Guillaume Pitron warns about growing reliance on rare-earth metal – which are necessary to build high-tech products … He shines a light on “the untold story” of the energy and digital transitions.
European Scientist

An expert account of a poorly understood but critical element in our economy.
Kirkus Reviews

[E]xposes the dirty underpinnings of clean technologies in a debut that raises valid questions about energy extraction.
Publishers Weekly

The Rare Metals Waris Guillaume Pitron’s urgent exposé of the race for resources and an examination of its environmental and human impacts.
Dan Shaw, Happy Magazine

[T]he journalist and filmmaker warns against the optimistic belief that technology is the solution … At a time when many claim to be “citizens of the world” or retreat into naive or hypocritical protectionism, Pitron’s book is an attempt to open people’s eyes to the consequences of their societal choices and lifestyles.
Green European Journal

French Writer and analyst Guillaume Pitron warns about growing reliance on rare-earth metal – which are necessary to build high-tech products … He shines a light on “the untold story” of the energy and digital transitions.
European Scientist

An expert account of a poorly understood but critical element in our economy.
Kirkus Reviews

[E]xposes the dirty underpinnings of clean technologies in a debut that raises valid questions about energy extraction.
Publishers Weekly

The Rare Metals Waris Guillaume Pitron’s urgent exposé of the race for resources and an examination of its environmental and human impacts.
Dan Shaw, Happy Magazine

A book about rare metals' economics is essentially a book about China. But it is also about the western consumer who takes to the street way too often to protect the environment all the while ignoring the true costs of the smartphone she buys every year. Some staggering facts highlighted were - the full-cycle carbon footprint of electric cars with current technology is almost same as that of conventional cars - and this doesn't include recycling costs of the batteries - the techonologies for which are just being finessed and yet to be comercial on a large scale.

Moral highstanding though won't reverse the march of civilisation and the key to restoring balance - more recycling or carbon capture or what not - resides in our ability to find newer sources of energy. If we have control over fusion for example, those asteroids have plenty of rare metals for your iPhone 50 or Tesla Model XX.

Un ouvrage assez facile et rapide à lire qui a le mérite d'éveiller la conscience du lecteur sur les externalités négatives des énergies "propres", voitures électriques, smartphones, etc.
Comme le dit l'auteur, l'humain du XIXe siècle savait que son énergie provenait du charbon, celui du XXème siècle de l'électricité. Mais l'humain du XXIème siècle ne sait pas que son énergie provient en grande partie de ces fameux métaux rares.

Très utile pour comprendre ce que sont les métaux rares, où ils se trouvent et quelles conséquences géopolitiques, environnementales et industrielles ils engendrent.

N'espérez toutefois pas aller bien en profondeur dans les thèmes abordés. Ce livre s'appréhende avant tout comme une introduction au sujet. Les références sont toutefois nombreuses et les sources bien documentées pour qui souhaiterait explorer davantage certaines problématiques mises en avant.

An interesting and important book. The author provides a thorough explanation of the role that rare metals play in both digital and green technologies, the environmental damage caused by their mining, and the strategic risks associated with having dominant suppliers for many of them.

At the same time, this is not a particularly well written book. It is overstuffed with facts and figures that detract from its main points. It sometimes gets things quite wrong, like saying that complex supply chains are the result of lean manufacturing techniques. This book might have been more effective as a long, coherent article.