The Rare Metals War: the dark side of clean energy and digital technologies
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- Create Date：2021-08-10 09:56:28
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Guillame Pitron
- ISBN：1912854260
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Summary
The resources race is on。 Powering our digital lives and green technologies are some of the Earth’s most precious metals — but they are running out。 And what will happen when they do？
The green-tech revolution will reduce our dependency on nuclear power， coal， and oil， heralding a new era free of pollution， fossil-fuel shortages， and cross-border tensions。 But there is a hidden dark side to this seemingly utopian vision。
Drawing on six years of research across a dozen countries， award-winning journalist and documentarist Guillaume Pitron reveals that， by breaking free of fossil fuels， we are in fact setting ourselves up for a new dependence — on rare metals such as cobalt， gold， and palladium。
These are essential to electric vehicles， wind turbines， and solar panels， as well as our smartphones， computers， tablets， and other technologies。 But we know very little about how rare metals are mined and traded， or their environmental， economic， and geopolitical costs; meanwhile， China has captured the lion’s share of the market and is using it to consolidate its position as a leading global power。
The Rare Metals War is a vital exposé of the ticking time-bomb that lies beneath our new technological order。
The green-tech revolution will reduce our dependency on nuclear power， coal， and oil， heralding a new era free of pollution， fossil-fuel shortages， and cross-border tensions。 But there is a hidden dark side to this seemingly utopian vision。
Drawing on six years of research across a dozen countries， award-winning journalist and documentarist Guillaume Pitron reveals that， by breaking free of fossil fuels， we are in fact setting ourselves up for a new dependence — on rare metals such as cobalt， gold， and palladium。
These are essential to electric vehicles， wind turbines， and solar panels， as well as our smartphones， computers， tablets， and other technologies。 But we know very little about how rare metals are mined and traded， or their environmental， economic， and geopolitical costs; meanwhile， China has captured the lion’s share of the market and is using it to consolidate its position as a leading global power。
The Rare Metals War is a vital exposé of the ticking time-bomb that lies beneath our new technological order。
Reviews
Tallulah
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Bit depressing。
Danny
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Rare Metals， these are the 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 eithe Rare Metals， these are the 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 their advantage。 By controlling export quota， 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 enabled 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！ 。。。more
Arup
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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 whi 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。 。。。more
Richard Marney
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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。
George Siehl
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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 polluti 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。 。。。more
The Inquisitive Biologist
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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。。。 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。。。 。。。more
Frédéric Bonin
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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。
Matt Beaty
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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 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。 。。。more
Keith Sickle
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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 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。 。。。more
Emily Newton
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A very well researched book enlightening readers on the more challenging aspects of our worlds collective aspiration for a carbon-neutral and digitally-enhanced society。 If you're an environmentalist， do not fear the synopsis or the introduction chapter。 Guillaume Pitron is pro-renewables and agrees with climate science but is dubious about the lack of energy cycle calculations in the decisions driving the installation of this technology。 A very well researched book enlightening readers on the more challenging aspects of our worlds collective aspiration for a carbon-neutral and digitally-enhanced society。 If you're an environmentalist， do not fear the synopsis or the introduction chapter。 Guillaume Pitron is pro-renewables and agrees with climate science but is dubious about the lack of energy cycle calculations in the decisions driving the installation of this technology。 。。。more
Zeb Kantrowitz
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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 urani 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。 。。。more
Niraj Bedekar
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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 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。 。。。more
Scribe Publications
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