this post was submitted on 13 Apr 2025
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Beijing has suspended exports of certain rare earth minerals and magnets that are crucial for the world’s car, semiconductor and aerospace industries.

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[–] MisterMoo@lemmy.world 23 points 1 day ago

Donald Trump is a self-inflicted wound.

[–] Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca 88 points 1 day ago (4 children)

I WANT OFF MR BONES WILD RIDE

[–] llii@discuss.tchncs.de 26 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I WANT OFF MR BONES WILD RIDE

For the lucky 10,000:

Part 1:

Part 2:

[–] Shortstack@reddthat.com 6 points 1 day ago

Holy hell, thank you for posting that

I've never seen that one before. My sides hurt

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 31 points 1 day ago

Wow!

That's good world building.

[–] CosmoNova@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago

Wait until you hear about a little game called Fallout…

[–] TransplantedSconie@lemm.ee 16 points 1 day ago

Holy shit.

Life imitates art.

Usually it's the other way around.

[–] metaStatic@kbin.earth 65 points 1 day ago (2 children)

The fact they where supplying foreign militaries in the first place is hilarious.

as far as magnets are concerned there are better designs out there that are not being pursued because neodymium is so much easier.

So much of the modern world is built on what is easiest not what could be better if we put in the least little bit of effort.

[–] AfricanExpansionist@lemmy.ml 52 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Because anything that isn't easiest isn't profitable

[–] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 27 points 1 day ago (1 children)

and profit is more important than everything; including quality of life and national security!

[–] AfricanExpansionist@lemmy.ml 13 points 1 day ago

Now you're catching on!

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Not always isn't profitable, just isn't as profitable.

[–] AfricanExpansionist@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Well sure.

But when the lowest-hanging fruit is all harvested, reaching for the next available thing requires investment and so quarterly profits start dropping. Once the investments have been paid for, profits will never come back to where they were previously so it's always diminishing returns

[–] SynopsisTantilize@lemm.ee 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yes and since the advent of the smart phone I haven't seen any tangible evidence the next "thing" is here for them to dump money into. (Tangible, not software based)

[–] AfricanExpansionist@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago

Exactly this!

They're pretending it's AI, or cryptocurrency, but neither has any use case that anybody wants or needs aside from money laundering and homework cheating

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

as far as magnets are concerned there are better designs out there that are not being pursued because neodymium is so much easier.

Like what?

[–] metaStatic@kbin.earth 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

yeah, I noticed I just said magnets like other permanent magnets could be better or something ...

Thanks for calling me on this.

I was talking about motors and Induction isn't in fact explicitly better. I think they could be if we have no other choice but to throw research at them but for right now there have fairly equal trade offs.

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Well, i hoped there were more effective materials/mixes around with less reliance on rare earth, since i'm not that into magnetic science.

[–] simbico@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 day ago

Would you say you ate not attracted to magnetism?

[–] qx128@lemmy.world 46 points 1 day ago

That’s what Xi said.

[–] 52fighters@lemmy.sdf.org 13 points 1 day ago (2 children)

From what I understand, China's exports of rare earths have been largely a part of finished components and that's not been suspended.

[–] Kroxx@lemm.ee 10 points 1 day ago

Work in an industry that uses raw RE oxides to produce medical equipment.

We are fucking toast if these tariffs and restrictions are kept.

You literally can't get some of these REs anywhere else in the world as in the natural abundance is literally only in china.

What you said is correct I imagine but some of the REs are utilized in a raw format in us based plants.

[–] themurphy@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

True, but this changes the world dynamic much more than we'd think.

Before China would sell materials and other countries would have factories to produce products from them.

Now, China can move the production into their own country, selling their products without the middleman, but still keep the prices up.

Factories shut down in the rest of the world and open in China. They now control the full product from material to the product sale.

[–] 52fighters@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 23 hours ago

I could be wrong but my impression was that this is how it already is for goods containing rare earths. That they are already manufactured largely in China and China exports them and that there's no ban on finished products containing rare earths.

More like "Fart and Then Squeal" amirite?