Prices have surged for these minerals, used in everything from iPods to fluorescent light bulbs, since authorities in Beijing slashed their rare earth exports by 40 percent this summer, saying China needed them for its own economic development. Miners outside China, including Molycorp nike tn requin Inc in the United States and Lynas Corp in Australia, are scrambling to increase production of the elements. But big U.S. users of rare earth said the surge in price serves as an important wake-up call on the importance of efficient use of raw materials. Any number of resources, from oil to copper, could get scarcer in coming decades as the rapidly developing economies of China and India require more. "The fact is a lot of (products) have been designed and the manufacturing processes have been designed at times when the material was not at risk," said Steven Duclos, chief scientist at General Electric Co's nike air max tn 3 global research center. The largest U.S. conglomerate, for instance, is working on a project partly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy that aims to reduce the amount of rare earths in its electricity-generating wind turbines by up to 80 percent. That's a significant number, given that a commercial wind turbine contains about a ton of rare earth. "An 80 percent reduction goes a long way to solving the problems," Duclos said. CHINA HOLDS BACK Although rare earth minerals are quite common, they are expensive to produce in a form that industry can use. China, which currently produces about air max tn shoes 97 percent of the world's supply, began cornering that market a decade ago, when low prices made mining for these minerals unappealing financially for Western companies. That was the reason behind the 2002 closure of the Mountain Pass, California-based mine that Molycorp is spending a half-billion dollars to restart, for example. The situation has changed dramatically since China's crackdown on exports. Molycorp, which went public in the summer, said earlier this week that its average selling prices had tripled in the past year. "Global supply and demand will remain out of balance for the foreseeable future," said Chief Executive Officer Mark Smith. Metals experts say there's little reason to expect that China will ease its restrictions on rare earths
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