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☆ China, in Comic Strip, Warns of 'Overseas' Threats to Its Rare Earths
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Liz LeeBEIJING (Reuters) - China's chief intelligence agency posted on social media a comic strip featuring foreign-looking characters secretly extracting rare earths, in a story portraying the country's strategic metals under threat from covetous "overseas organisations". No foreign government or agencies were named in the comic strip, and the ministry did not specify any measures to counter foreign "interest" in China's rare earths. It also banned the export of technology to make rare earth magnets, in addition a ban on technology to extract and separate rare earths. The restrictions have fanned fears that the supply of rare earths might ignite tensions with the West, particularly the United States, which accuses China of using economic coercion to influence other countries. The newspaper said the United States, Japan and the European Union, among others, have for a long time "coveted China's rare earth mineral resources".

Persons: Liz Lee BEIJING, Li Baiyang, Liz Lee, Miral Fahmy Organizations: State Security, United, Mining, Times, European Union, Global Times, Nanjing University Locations: China, United States, Beijing, U.S, Japan

☆ China weighs options to blunt U.S. sanctions in a Taiwan conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

"In the context of intensified Sino-U.S. strategic competition and the Taiwan Strait conflict, we should be wary of the U.S. replicating this financial sanction model against China," wrote Chen Hongxiang, a researcher at a branch of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) in eastern Jiangsu province. Wang and several PBOC researchers wrote in articles that if the U.S. implemented Russia-style sanctions on China, Beijing should freeze U.S. investment and pension funds and seize the assets of U.S. companies. ENERGY AND ALLIANCESBesides financial sanctions, Russia's response to Western pressure on its oil, gas, metals, and chips industry has given food for thought to Chinese researchers. Chinese researchers also suggested Beijing exploit cracks within the European Union and between the U.S. and its allies. "The mutual penetration of the Chinese and American economies will inevitably weaken the willingness to impose financial sanctions," he wrote.

Persons: Thomas Peter, Chen Hongxiang, Xi Jinping, Yu Yongding, Yu, PBOC, Wang Yongli, Wang, Sun, Mou Lingzhi, Xia Fan, Ye Yan, Martin Chorzempa, Chorzempa, Chen, Eduardo Baptista, David Crawshaw Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Moscow, China, People's Bank of China, Reuters, Senior U.S, People's Liberation Army, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China International Futures, U.S ., China Center for International Economic, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, China Minmetals Corporation, London Metals Exchange, Oil and Gas Exploration, Development Company, European Union, Peterson Institute for International Economics, EU, Thomson Locations: Fuzhou, Taiwan, Matsu, China, Rights BEIJING, Russia, Ukraine, Jiangsu, Beijing, Russian, U.S, Hainan, Washington, United States

☆ Strategic Metals founder Louis O'Connor breaks down China-U.S. rare metal wars
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailStrategic Metals founder Louis O'Connor breaks down China-U.S. rare metal warsLouis O'Connor, Strategic Metals founder, joins 'Power Lunch' to discuss China's rare metals and its plan to restrict gallium and germanium.

Persons: Louis O'Connor Organizations: Strategic Metals Locations: China, U.S

☆ MP Materials profit beats, starts some rare earths refining
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) -Rare earths miner MP Materials posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday and said it has started refining small amounts of the strategic metals in California. A wheel loader operator fills a truck with ore at the MP Materials rare earth mine in Mountain Pass, California, U.S. January 30, 2020. China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of rare earths and rare earth magnets. For the past three years, MP has processed rock that it extracts from its California mine into rare earths concentrate. That concentrate is sent to Chinese partners where it is further processed into neodymium and other rare earth metals used to make magnets.

Persons: Steve Marcus, ” Michael Rosenthal, we’ll Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Las Locations: California, Pass , California, U.S, China, Las Vegas

REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File photoAug 2 (Reuters) - Refining rare earths for the green energy transition is hard. "The (rare earths) commissioning process is painstaking, with stops and starts," Jim Litinsky, MP's CEO and largest shareholder, told investors in May. Rare earths magnets turn power into motion and are the essential components in an electric vehicle's motor. Rare earths refining "is not really being addressed even by those who are developing magnet capacity," said Ryan Castilloux, a minerals consultant at Adamas Intelligence. American Rare Earths is working with U.S. government scientists at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory to develop bacteria that could process rare earths.

Persons: Steve Marcus, Lockheed Martin's, Lynas, Jim Litinsky, Kray Luxbacker, they've, Allan Walton, Ryan Castilloux, Castilloux, refines, Dysprosium, Tesla, Melissa Sanderson, Nathan Picarsic, Ernest Scheyder, Eric Onstad, Nick Carey, Melanie Burton, Veronica Brown, Susan Heavey Organizations: REUTERS, Lockheed, International Energy Agency, General Motors, University of, University of Birmingham, Adamas Intelligence, Trump, Reuters, Pentagon, Blue, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, Edge, Sweden's, U.S, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, Horizon Advisory, Thomson Locations: Pass , California, U.S, China, Apple's, Beijing, Texas, Western Australia, COVID, California, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia, Kuala Lumpur, United States, San Antonio , Texas, Sweden, South Africa, Karr

☆ Old Cold War tool could help in new era of tension
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The United States may soon expand its export controls to cover semiconductors used in artificial intelligence and access to cloud computing. The People’s Republic has responded with tit-for-tat export controls on gallium and germanium, two strategic metals used in chips and other technologies where it has a dominant position. This is what the U.S. and its allies did during the last Cold War, when they established the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (CoCom). The United States’ subsidies for green technologies via its Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) caused tension with its allies. Its premier, Li Qiang, travelled to Germany last month hoping to persuade it not to row in behind the United States.

Persons: Joe Biden, Hung Tran, Li Qiang, –, Biden, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Frances Burwell, Canada –, George Hay, Oliver Taslic, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Reuters, NATO, Soviet, Atlantic Council, Reuters Graphics Reuters, European Union, Multilateral Export Controls, United, Republican, Florida, EU, U.S, U.S . Trade, Technology Council, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, China, Republic, U.S, Netherlands, Japan, States, United States, People’s Republic, Germany, Beijing, ’, Russia, Britain, Canada, Australia, South Korea

☆ EU and Belgium invest $1.6 billion in chip technology firm Imec
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, July 7 (Reuters) - The European Union and Belgium's regional Flemish government will together invest 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in Belgian chip technology firm Imec, the Flemish government said on Friday. Imec will use the investment to expand its "clean room" test facility with the most advanced equipment and processes, the company said in a statement. Von der Leyen, who was visiting Imec, stressed the EU's stance that it should de-risk its supply chains for chips. While Von der Leyen did not directly address China's planned curbs on exports of strategic metals widely used in the semiconductor industry, she said the EU should reduce its dependency "on too few suppliers from East Asia". ($1 = 0.9195 euros)Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout; editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Imec, Jan Jambon, Ursula von der Leyen, Alexander De Croo, Von der Leyen, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Mark Potter Organizations: European Union, Flemish, European, Belgian, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, East Asia

☆ Beijing's curbs on niche metal exports threaten China supply glut
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Gallium prices in China have dropped 12% this year, pressured by its slowing economy. China's germanium ingot price has advanced only 1% to 7,250 yuan per kg since Monday. Overseas price offers are rising much faster, amid fears that Beijing may use the permitting system to restrict shipments. The Chinese government enforces export controls that do not target any particular country," spokesperson Shu Jueting told a weekly press conference. China produces around 60% of the world's germanium, and over 90% of the world's gallium.

Persons: Theo Ruas, Willis Thomas, Ruas, Shu Jueting, Amy Lv, Siyi Liu, Seher, Dominique Patton, Kim Coghill Organizations: China's Ministry of Commerce, Washington, Producers, Corporation, Shanghai Metal Exchange, CRU, Reuters, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Beijing, U.S, London, Bangalore

That followed the U.S. decision to impose export restrictions to curb China's access to key technologies used for artificial intelligence (AI). China has been the go-to for companies because it is able to export processed minerals at a lower cost than other countries. In Taiwan, a senior government official said China's restrictions on exports of gallium and germanium marked "a new wave of retaliation" in a "tit-for-tat approach." Some industry watchers believed China's metals restrictions could trigger short-term supply snags and higher prices. But Navitas Semiconductor Corp (NVTS.O), which makes chips that use a substance called gallium nitride, on Wednesday said it expects no adverse effects to its business from China's export controls.

Persons: China's, Stewart Randall, Janet Yellen, Roy Lee, John Strand, Supantha Mukherjee, Hakan Ersen, Ben Blanchard, Brenda Goh, Kanishka Singh, Anne Marie Roantree, David Gaffen, David Gregorio Our Organizations: U.S . Department of Commerce, EV, Sweden's Ericsson, Ericsson, U.S, Treasury, Navitas Semiconductor Corp, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, STOCKHOLM, WASHINGTON, Beijing, U.S, China, United States, Shanghai, Intralink, Netherlands, Australia, Europe, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Korea, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin, Taipei, Washington

☆ EU concerned over China export controls on metals used in chips
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, July 4 (Reuters) - The European Commission expressed concern on Tuesday over China's planned curbs on exports of strategic metals widely used in the semiconductor industry and doubt that the move was related to security. China said the control on exports of gallium and germanium products from Aug. 1 was aimed at protecting national security. "The Commission is concerned that these export restrictions are unrelated to the need to protect global peace and also stability and the implementation of China's non-proliferation obligations arising from international treaties," a Commission spokesperson told a daily briefing. The EU executive, which is assessing the potential impact on global supply chains and European industry, said it called on China to limit export restrictions to "clear security considerations" in line with World Trade Organization rules. The metals are used in semiconductors, electric vehicles and high-tech industries.

Persons: Philip Blenkinsop, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Estelle Shirbon, Mark Potter Organizations: European Commission, EU, World Trade Organization, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, China

☆ The U.S. Wants a Rare-Earths Supply Chain. Here’s Why It Won’t Come Easily.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +10 min

MP Materials efforts to build a local supply chain demonstrate the challenge for American producers. Challenging China’s dominanceWhile the 60% might not sound that concentrated, the dependence on China is even more pronounced further down the supply chain. James Litinsky, CEO of MP Materials, stands in front of the Mountain Pass mine in 2018. But if you miss one step then you do not have a supply chain that’s secure,” Mr. Litinsky said. Defense Metals’ Ms. Moreno said that little knowledge exists outside of China in building the whole supply chain.

China currently dominates the supply chain for many of the entries on Europe's list of "strategic" metals. By which time not more than 65% of any strategic metal's consumption will be able to come from a single third country. Europe has no strategic metal inventory, unlike the United States, China and South Korea. Given such a humble starting point, it seems unlikely EU strategic metal reserves are going to come any time soon, if they come at all. What started as a response to China's dominance of critical metals supply has been accelerated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Former SPAC exec pleads guilty to defrauding people of $5 million to trade crypto and meme stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The former chief financial officer for two SPACs pleaded guilty to wire fraud, the DOJ said Wednesday. Cooper Morgenthau was charged with embezzling $5 million to trade crypto and meme stocks. Morgenthau falsified bank statements to shield his losses to accountants and auditors, the DOJ said. Cooper Morgenthau used the funds to trade cryptocurrencies and meme stocks and later falsified bank statements to hide his losses of nearly the entire sum. Wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and Morgenthau agreed to make restitution on $5,111,335.

☆ Ex-CFO pleads guilty to stealing from SPACs to trade meme stocks, cryptocurrencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | Industry Insight | Saw Law Firms Move Past The Pandemic Into A More Client-Focused Service Environment | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies African Gold Acquisition Corp FollowNEW YORK, Jan 3 (Reuters) - A former chief financial officer of multiple special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $5 million from them, and losing almost all of it trading meme stocks and cryptocurrencies. Cooper Morgenthau, 35, of Fernandina Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan federal court. African Gold said at the time it terminated Morgenthau after learning about his "improper withdrawals" and attempts to conceal them. In pleading guilty, Morgenthau "admitted that he breached the trust that he owed to his public and private investors," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in Manhattan said in a statement. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ New electrification metals ETF gives investors another way to play the energy transition
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Investors have a new way to bet on the commodities that are critical to a green energy future: The KraneShares Electrification Metals Strategy ETF launched on Thursday. The new fund tracks the Bloomberg Electrification Metals index and buys futures contracts on metals like aluminum, copper, zinc and lithium. The KraneShares fund is not the only ETF on the market that gives investors exposure to these industries. For example, VanEck offers a Green Metals ETF (GMET) as well as a Rare Earth/Strategic Metals (REMX) fund, which hold individual stocks in these industries. There are also some funds available that can hold futures contracts for the underlying metals, such as the United States Copper Index Fund (CPER) or the Invesco DB Base Metals Fund (DBB) .

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