Materials

China is cracking down on the illegal trafficking of critical minerals while maintaining its official embargo.

The country has 39 university chemistry programs that specialize in rare earth elements.

For decades, wastewater was considered a problem to be contained, but now it’s set to become a resource.

Chinese control over the supply of rare earth elements isn’t just a logistical or economic vulnerability. It’s also a geostrategic challenge of the first order.

The U.S. and its allies are trying to reshape the supply chain of rare earth elements to relieve China’s pressure.

China will stop shipping gallium, germanium and antimony, among other critical minerals, to the U.S.

The export suspension aims to regulate the cobalt market due to global overproduction.

China dominates gallium production. In 2022, it accounted for 98% of the world’s raw gallium, and that figure likely hasn’t changed much since.

China currently produces 59.2% of germanium, 48% of antimony, and an astonishing 98.8% of gallium.

That old hard drive sitting in your drawer could be a treasure trove of these valuable materials.

Materials science is an exciting discipline.

Radiation grants quartz crystals self-repairing properties.