Rare earths are known as ? industrial monosodium glutamate? The mother of new materials? The name, is the collective name of 17 kinds of metal elements, because of its excellent physical properties such as photoelectricity and magnetism, can be composed of other materials with different properties, a wide range of new materials, its most significant function is to significantly improve the quality and performance of other products. For example, significantly improve the tactical performance of steel, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, titanium alloy used in the manufacture of tanks, aircraft, missiles. Moreover, rare earths are likewise lubricants for electronics, lasers, the nuclear industry, superconductivity and many other high technologies. Once rare earth technology is used in the military, it will inevitably bring about a leap in military technology. In a certain sense, the U.S. military in several local wars after the Cold War overwhelming control, thanks to the technology in the field of rare earth science and technology.
Rare earths **** there are two categories of light rare earths and medium and heavy rare earths, light rare earths which are mostly used in the production of screens, sunscreens, glass products and other civilian areas, while the medium and heavy rare earths rich reserves are widely used in the military, aviation field.
Rare earths, especially in the fluorescent, magnetic, fiber optic communications, metallurgy, hydrogen storage, lasers, and several other fields have an irreplaceable role, China's rare earth deposits, the monopoly of the world, is the only country that can provide 17 kinds of rare earths, China has been proved that the rare earth reserves accounted for nearly 40% of the world.
China has the world's leading rare earth mining and smelting separation technology, thus becoming the world's only country with a rare earth industry chain. Jiangxi Province, executive deputy secretary-general of the Society of Rare Earths Meng Qingjiang said: ? Rare earths mined abroad can only be sent to China.
So the vast majority of rare earths from other countries are shipped to China for smelting and separation, and a significant portion of China's rare earths are imported from foreign countries to import rare earth ores, and then refined and finally exported rare earth products.
China imported roughly 25,000 tons of rare earths and oxides from the U.S. in 2018, jumping to become the largest importer of rare earths. This ensures that China's rare earth stockpiles are not over-consumed and prevents rare earth companies in Europe and the United States from making a comeback.
Many people say that one of China's three trump cards against the United States is to control rare earth exports to the United States.
Among the materials and equipment made from rare earths, China has a monopoly on rare-earth permanent magnets, which, as the name implies, contain rare-earth metals as alloying elements.
Rare-earth permanent magnet material is an important material in the communication of electronic technology, mainly used in artificial satellites, radar and other aspects of the traveling wave tube, loopers, as well as miniature motors, miniature tape recorders, aviation instruments, electronic watches, seismometers and some other electronic instruments.
In addition, rare earth permanent magnet applications have penetrated into the automobile, household appliances, electronic instruments, nuclear magnetic **** vibration imager, audio equipment, microelectric motors, cell phones and other aspects.
Mainland China's magnet exports last year totaled as much as 1.7 billion U.S. dollars (about 11.78 billion yuan), of which the United States imported a total of about 395 million U.S. dollars, of which 257 million U.S. dollars came from mainland China.
It is worth mentioning that rare earth magnet processing plants outside China are mainly in Japan and Germany, but these two countries also rely on China's imports of rare earths, and even if the other countries also have rare earth mines, the processing of their rare earths is still inextricably linked to China.
Citigroup reported that: If China is only on the export of rare earth metals and rare earth alloys to the United States to make restrictions, and outside of China's processing capacity quickly built, the United States can still cope. However, if the restrictions are extended to manufactured products such as magnets and permanent magnet motors, the situation will be much more serious, and some U.S. specialty industries may be caught in a supply disruption.
In order to obtain China's rare-earth permanent magnet materials, the United States and even rhenium in exchange, rhenium is a rare refractory metal, its content in the earth's crust is only one billionth, melting point 3180 ℃, boiling point 5627 ℃, pure rhenium soft, appearance and platinum, it not only has good plasticity, mechanical and creep resistance, but also has a good resistance to wear and corrosion resistance, except oxygen, most gas can maintain a relatively good Most of the gas can maintain a relatively good chemical inertia.
Rhenium and its alloys are widely used in aerospace, electronics industry, petrochemical and other fields. Especially rhenium in the jet engine and rocket engine has an important role, rhenium can make the engine life has been doubled, it can improve the engine turbofan blade high temperature resistance, rhenium melting point of up to 3100 degrees, and very high strength. Apply it to the hollow single-crystal turbine blade, you can make the engine accelerated combustion chamber, work longer, and not easy to damage, to enhance the engine thrust has a huge role.
So about 80% of the world's rhenium used in the production of aero-engines, in the military strategy has an important significance, is one of the countries of the strategic reserve must.
But it is more difficult to obtain than diamonds. According to the U.S. Geological Survey report, the world's proven rhenium reserves of only about 2,500 tons, of which the U.S. rhenium reserves occupy the world's first, in order to maintain the dominant position in the aviation industry, the U.S. and a number of other Western countries perennial target of China's materials and technology blockade. Britain's aero-engine giant Rolls-Royce has invested in factories in China, but it is guarded by Chinese employees.
In 2010, the southern foot of Huashan mine, staff accidentally explored the rare metal rhenium, reserves reached 176 tons, accounting for about 7% of global reserves, Chengdu Aero realized the purification of rhenium, the production of qualified monocrystalline blades, but China's rhenium production is far from enough.
This time China took advantage of its rare earth advantage, through the embargo on rare earth permanent magnet materials, so that the United States with rhenium in exchange for rare earth permanent magnet materials. Currently, China's J-20 engine is said to use rhenium material.
But we should not be too happy too early, in many of the core technologies and materials, China is still behind the United States. China still needs to continue to work hard.