Metal is dominating the global economy around the U.S.-China trade war. China, which responded by co..

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[UNSPLASH]

Metal is dominating the global economy around the U.S.-China trade war. China, which responded by controlling exports of seven rare earths after the U.S. imposed high tariffs in April, began to control exports of battery cathode material manufacturing technology and lithium production-related technologies on the 15th. The reason was that these technologies are increasingly being used in sensitive fields.

The metal is also in the middle of the U.S. Donald Trump administration’s all-round tariff strategy. Earlier this month, the U.S. announced a 50% tariff on imported copper from August 1. Immediately, copper futures surged 17% in September on the New York Mercantile Exchange. If you add steel and aluminum, which has already been 50% tariffed, cars and related parts subject to 25% tariffs, copper and semiconductors, and home appliances, which are steel derivatives, half of the exports to the U.S. will face a tariff bomb.

The world is reeling from the trade war over metals because the influence of metals is greater than ever in the digital age. In addition to making home appliances used in everyday life, it takes a huge amount of metal to realize advanced artificial intelligence (AI) that will determine future hegemony, and to realize eco-friendly technologies such as electric vehicles that are increasingly demanded. For example, batteries are made of lithium, cobalt, and nickel, and electronic circuits contain gold and tin. In smartphones, indium helps the screen to recognize finger touches sensitively, europium improves the color of the screen, and neodymium is used for vibration.

The new book Power Metal is a book that delves into the world of core metals that will determine our future and the uncomfortable truth behind it. The author, a journalist and writer based in Vancouver, Canada, traveled the world to meet people ranging from scrap metal collectors to billionaires, and recorded what he learned in the process in the form of essays.

The book vividly shows what leads people to persistently metal and what changes and threats this huge flow has brought to mining sites and other parts of the world. Among them, the author paid particular attention to the environment destroyed while the world pursued metals today. Rainforests were destroyed and toxic substances spilled into rivers or land, polluting the environment. It is pointed out that the demand for metals continues to explode, and the more you mine, the greater the scale and scope of the damage will be.

In a mine in California, the process of exploding rocks into stone blocks and then separating and concentrating only ore grains containing rare earth elements is repeated. Naturally, huge amounts of wastewater and ore waste are generated. Chile’s Atacama Desert is being devastated as people pump vast amounts of salt water from underground to mine lithium.

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Meanwhile, China’s recent export ban has added fuel to its move to diversify rare earth supplies. Indonesia, which is expanding the nickel industry despite acid waste, air pollution, and enormous energy consumption generated during the mining process, is a representative example.

Human rights violations and criminal problems have also reached serious levels. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which accounts for 70% of the world’s cobalt supply, even children are mobilized for labor. Miners who risk their lives to work in small mines can also meet without difficulty. As copper prices rise, thefts of copper used on wires are already openly taking place in South Africa. It is also common for power line guards to be killed or power is cut off, paralyzing cities.

But you can’t help but use metal. The book proposes to think together about sustainable solutions beyond simple recycling. For example, slowing the increase in demand for metals can be one way. Pointing to the fact that most cars are abandoned with only 5% of their maximum lifespan consumed, the author argues that transportation such as shared bicycles and shared cars should be further expanded. He said, “Our future depends simply on metal. We need a lot of metal to get out of the most serious crisis of climate change, he said, but emphasized, “But the less metal we use, the more prosperous our lives will become.”