… on a theme of Benjamin del Vecchio’s Film
In 1886, Dysprosium, one of 17 rare earth elements (REE) was first time successfully separated. In California desert near Nevada, Mountain Pass mine was world’s largest REE mine 1940s-1990s, until China took over became 99% supplier of the whole world. It still belongs to the oldest Union Oil Company since 19th century.
In modern time most people don’t want to mine rare earth, even don’t bother to survey geologic deposit of it, because the mining and refinery of REE is inhumanly the dirtiest industrial process, more toxic and in greater scale than any others. Recently Wind Power and electric cars increased demands of the rare earth elements, for manufacturing magnetic pieces in large pieces and large quantities which is critically needed for building advanced generators.
Rare Earth Elements are used in man-made magnet (like used in generators) and vacuum devices (like light bulb, vacuum tubes and TV tubes). Mining them needs to destroy massive mountain lands and pollute the earth and atmosphere. This is a process to extract only a very tiny percentage of the substances from huge amounts of dirts.
Literally rare earth can become an analogy as nature resources to be massively sacrificed for a little human industrial value. Mining Rare Earth is becoming a modern oxymoron in multiple levels: for increasing consumer demands such as to make iPhone vibrate well; or for environmentalist who advocate building sustainable energy with windmill power generators and electric cars. By destroy earth for purpose of protecting the earth.
in 1890, our old man of west railroad said to his followers: French succeeded to separate dysprosium in a lab, but it is we in the new world will make uses of this new element. Some say the magic substance’s first use would be in every tungsten light that will double the device’s life in its vacuum bulb. The use will be more and more as radio and telegraphs are populated.
The pale white colored dirt embedded in this California desert land that I purchased with few pennies per acre now. But I envision in 50 years my grandsons will be mining here to supply the whole world. To separate the treasure out, Hydrofluoric Acid will flood the mountain land far beyond the scale of hydro-flush in gold mining now. Who can understand now this is the real gold of future?
But what is the value of this wasteland called Mountain Pass now? Let’s keep this as a metaphor: the real gold comes from industry should started with dirt’s cheap. What we have in railway construction is not the technology, it is cheap labors of the massive yellow slaves. Of the same philosophy in the new world, rare earth and yellow labor are the same real gold of white man’s.