The endangered elements are:
Cobalt is used for lithium-ion batteries, and most comes from DR Congo.
Lithium-ion batteries can be made without cobalt, but cobalt-based batteries
have more energy/mass.
Rare-earths, which appear throughout the electronics industry, especially for solar cells. Rare-earths
come mostly from China. America has a fine rare-earth mine that it declines to use. The chief rare-earth is
neodymium, for magnets.
Germanium is needed for fiber optics and most of it comes from China.
Tin is used for solder and bronze, and most comes from China.
Tungsten is used for superhard materials in the form of tungsten carbide, and most comes from China.
Scandium is is a great alloy metal, and it is produced in Ukraine, China, and Russia.
Elements that are not endangered include:
Lithium, for lithium-ion batteries. Most comes from Australia and Chile.
Catalysts, such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium. Most catalyst elements are
mined in metal asteroid craters, such as Sudbury, Canada, and Vredefort, South
Africa. Metal asteroids have trillions of dollars of catalyst
elements. Catalysts are vital for the chemical industry and for mufflers.
Rhenium is used for aircraft turbines, and it comes from Chile, USA, Peru, and Poland.
Beryllium, which is the metal with the best strength/mass. Beryllium is the only element that America
dominates production for.
Phosphorus and potassium, for fertilizer. The superpowers for these elements
are Israel, Canada, China, and Morocco. Biomass can solve many problems, and the limit on world
biomass is decided by phosphorus and potassium.
Tantalum is used for capacitors and is produced in Australia, Brazil, and Canada.
Nickel alloys well with steel. Nickel is found worldwide.
Caesium is used as a drilling lubricant in the form of caesium formate. Most caesium comes from Canada.
Gold is used for currency, and there is abundant gold in America, Canada, and Australia.
Silver is used for solar cells and most comes from Mexico and Peru.
Copper comes mostly from Chile and the rest comes from Peru, USA, Australia, and China.
Gallium is extracted from aluminum ore, and aluminum ore is abundant.
Uranium and thorium are used for nuclear power and they are abundant.
Platinum group elements jumped in price by a factor of 10 from 2016 to 2021.
China dominates production for most elements, and they do it with coal. China is obviously trying to corner as many elements as they can.
Mining: jaymaron.com/mining.html
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