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Geochemistry

China, U.S. will likely compete for 11 minerals, study says

by Andrea Widener
April 9, 2018 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 96, Issue 15

 

Fuel has been the source of many past resource conflicts, but future wars may result from competition for minerals used in high-tech devices, especially those important for national security. Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Minerals Information Center looked at what minerals are currently imported by the U.S. and China to find out which may spur competition between the countries (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.USA 2018, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1717152115). The U.S. relies on net imports for 24 of 42 nonfuel minerals while China relies on imports for 19.

Conflict will most likely arise over these 11 minerals, which are in demand by both countries.

    Chromium

    Lithium

    Manganese

    Niobium

    Platinum

    Palladium

    Rhodium

    Rhenium

    Tantalum

    Titanium

    Zirconium

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