Le Terre Rare. Questioni geopolitiche, economiche e ambientali

Journal title PRISMA Economia - Società - Lavoro
Author/s Marco Giovagnoli
Publishing Year 2017 Issue 2016/1
Language Italian Pages 47 P. 115-161 File size 1568 KB
DOI 10.3280/PRI2016-001009
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The problem of Rare Earth Elements (REE) is relevant in the discussion of the development scenarios in the medium to long term on a global scale. It is not their absolute scarcity to place them in a critical area but rather the peculiarity of their intended uses. The entire chain of ICT (smartphones, Internet, mass media, etc.), the energetic transition away from the carbon era, the new patterns of mobility, the technologically advanced lighting, the progressive miniaturization of devices critical to everyday life and much more - all this refers to the presence of REE in the contemporary life of great part of world population. Currently the sector of REE is dominated by the People’s Republic of China, both from the extraction side and from that of manufacturing. This article intends to present a preliminary overview of some of the issues related to the "shifting" of REE from a purely economic sphere to that of geopolitics and development strategies in the near future.

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  • Review of critical materials for the energy transition, an analysis of global resources and production databases and the state of material circularity Vitalii Lundaev, A.A. Solomon, Tien Le, Alena Lohrmann, Christian Breyer, in Minerals Engineering 108282/2023 pp.108282
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Marco Giovagnoli, Le Terre Rare. Questioni geopolitiche, economiche e ambientali in "PRISMA Economia - Società - Lavoro" 1/2016, pp 115-161, DOI: 10.3280/PRI2016-001009