Will Malaysians Get #Cancer for Your #iPhone or Prius? | Mother Jones
http://motherjones.com/environment/2012/02/rare-earths-lynas-bukit-merah-malaysia
For the last few decades, China controlled the world’s market for rare earths, producing about 97 percent of the global supply. But in late 2010, China cut its exports by 35 percent to keep the valuable metals for its own manufacturers. The prices of rare earths shot up, and almost immediately mining outfits in other countries began cropping up.
One of the biggest to come on the scene is Lynas, an Australian company. Although the company will mine its materials in Australia, it hopes to build its refinery in Malaysia.
