Future development trend of rare earth metals

First, the advantages of resources effectively translated into market advantages China's use of rare earth began in the mid-1960s in the application of cast iron, and soon, in the steel has also been applied. For half a century to date, the application of rare earths has expanded to include non-ferrous metallurgy, petrochemicals, glass-ceramics, magnetic materials and various functional materials, light industrial textiles, agriculture, forestry, and medicine.

The application of rare earth in ferrous metallurgy is the largest area of ​​rare earth consumption in China, especially in cast iron. Rare earth metals have high chemical activity and large atomic radius. They are used in non-ferrous metals and alloys. Can produce good results, can effectively improve the mechanical properties of the alloy, physical properties, processing properties and comprehensive performance; rare earth as a catalyst also has a wide range of applications, such as rare earth in petroleum catalytic cracking, in automotive exhaust gas purification catalyst, synthetic rubber There are a large number of applications for catalysts such as catalysts and catalysts for the synthesis of hydrocarbon monomers. In magnetic materials, especially in rare earth permanent magnetic materials, rare earth magneto-optical materials, rare earth giant magnetostrictive materials, etc., there are also extensive Application prospects; In luminescent materials, rare earth ions have abundant energy levels and 4f electronic transition characteristics, making rare earths a huge treasure trove of luminescence, providing a lot of superior luminescent materials and laser materials for high-tech fields; In materials, high-performance, non-polluting chemical power sources are important for rare earth applications. In the glass industry, rare-earth optical glass with a single rare earth oxide as an additive is widely used in various optical instruments and devices; in ceramic materials, rare earths are widely used in ordinary ceramics and fine ceramics; in agriculture, China’s initiative The use of rare earths in agriculture covers food crops, vegetables, fruits, pastures, as well as animal husbandry such as raising fish and raising chickens. Rare earth elements can not only increase the yield of crops, but also improve the quality of crops. It can be seen that the rare earth industry is closely related to the high-tech industry, the product market is characterized by its globalization, and the follow-up industry chain has a very wide development space. It is the sunrise industry in the 21st century.

China, which has the advantages of rare earth resources, is a world-recognized rare earth country. According to related data, China’s rare earth industry now holds four of the world’s largest:

1. First, reserves of resources, accounting for about 45% of the world;

2. First, the output of rare earths accounts for more than 80% of the world's rare earth commodities;

3. Sales volume is first, and more than 60% of rare earth products are exported to foreign countries;

4. The amount of the first, from the middle and low-grade primary products to deep-processing high-grade products can produce and supply, the application of new materials has accounted for more than half of the total consumption.

More concerned about the market is the control of resources: industrial integration and national collection and storage. At the internal meeting of the rare earth industry held in August 2009, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that through macro-control measures of market quotas, it will persist in taking the market as the direction and linking the industrial chain of resources and production technologies to promote the joint reorganization of rare earth enterprises; Formulate annual rare earth mineral product extraction, smelting and separation instructions, establish an expert review system for rare earth mining, and change the general restrictions of the past on rare earth smelting and separation, focusing on the Baotou light rare earth mine, Sichuan bastnasite mine, and Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces in the south Ionic ore smelting and separation are separately specified. Since the beginning of 2009, Inner Mongolia and Jiangxi Province have also collected and stored some rare earth oxides, and some large rare earth companies have begun to try to store them. The rare earth industry policy will also promote the integration of the Southern rare earth industry. Through resource control, industrial integration, and state collection and storage, China can effectively transform its resource advantages into market advantages. 1 2

Second, improve the utilization of resources to achieve sustainable development and standardize the mining order, strengthen resource protection, rational mining, improve resource utilization. The state should regulate the mining order from the perspective of legislation, strictly implement the mining permit system, strictly prohibit unlicensed mining, and stop indiscriminate mining and excavation; implement the national protective mining policy for the development and utilization of rare earth resources, and stop or cancel the mining rights for the offenders. It is necessary to reasonably regulate the total amount of resources used and development efforts, strengthen scientific research and management, and increase the overall utilization rate of resources; strengthen the treatment of wastes, protect the environment, and achieve coordinated development of man and nature. The rare earth industry must implement the principle of environmental protection first before it can achieve sustainable development. The state must take effective measures to govern and rectify the environmental pollution problems of rare earth enterprises; strictly enforce the law and administer the enterprises that pollute the environment seriously. It is necessary to strengthen technological transformation, improve the level of technical equipment, promote cleaner production, and achieve both environmental and environmental symptoms. We must attach great importance to the role of science and technology, research and development of pollution-free mining, selection, and smelting of new technologies to increase the utilization of rare earth resources; market-oriented, rely on scientific and technological innovation to accelerate the transformation of China's rare earth industry, economic growth mode. With limited resources and unlimited innovation, technological innovation is crucial to the development of China's rare earth industry. Scientific and technological innovation can solve the research and development of rare earth deep-processing products, increase the level of equipment and equipment, increase the technological added value and resource utilization of products, and solve the problems of energy conservation and environmental protection.

China is a rare earth country rather than a rare earth power. Therefore, on the one hand, we must vigorously develop rare earth high-tech new materials with independent intellectual property rights and high value-added applications, realize industrialization, form an industrial chain, and increase the technological level of China's rare earth industry. Strengthen the company's international competitiveness and sustainable development of the industry. On the other hand, it is necessary to establish and improve a technological innovation system that takes enterprises as the main body, increase scientific and technological input, give full play to the role of universities and research institutes in technological innovation, provide strong technical support for the sustainable development of rare earth industries, and adhere to the people-oriented principle. Human resources development. Strengthen the cultivation of high-quality talents, improve the ability of strategic development and modern management as the core, cultivate and cultivate a group of managers with world-class management; to improve innovation ability as the core, to cultivate and cultivate a group of Chinese rare earth industry technology contingent; To improve the technical ability as the core, nurture and create a group of highly skilled workers. For the sustainable development of the industry, cultivate and cultivate management, technology and operational talents.

As the largest owner of rare earth resources, the development and utilization of abundant rare earth resources plays a decisive role in the development of China's national economy. In accordance with the scientific concept of development and the requirements of new industrialization, efforts are made to increase the level of comprehensive utilization of rare earth resources to promote The sustainable development of China's rare earth industry.