Gold and platinum group elements are far less abundant than REs and "extraction is costly, capital intensive and environmentally unfriendly", and yet we still engage in mining and refining them.
We've now reached the point where the strategic and economic importance of REs is enough to overcome those impediments/objections. As I mentioned earlier, this was very predictable at least 15 years ago. It's not lack of foresight but rather lack of political will—thus there's been no cogent or effective forward planning policy in place.
We've now reached the point where the strategic and economic importance of REs is enough to overcome those impediments/objections. As I mentioned earlier, this was very predictable at least 15 years ago. It's not lack of foresight but rather lack of political will—thus there's been no cogent or effective forward planning policy in place.