On 31 March 2022, the global Rare Earths Industry Association (REIA) facilitated the first ever Online Global Rare Earths Summit 2022, in collaboration with London’s City & Financial Global Ltd.
During this event, various stakeholders connected to the Rare Earths Value Chain participated and listened in to relevant panel discussions on Security of Supply, Project Financing, ESG (Environment, Social and Governance), and the Green Energy Revolution. Key players from industry, financing, government, as well as academic institutions and NGOs took the chance to share about their achievements and views, capitalising on the international online platform all day. Discussions were chaired by Dr. Gareth Hatch, a well-known expert and consultant on Rare Earths processing.
It was extremely interesting to see that this year, besides the upstream and midstream players (rare earths exploration, mining and processing companies), more downstream companies (magnet, electronics and car manufacturers, such as Vacuumschmelze, Magneti, Carpenter, Bosch, Mercedes, BMW and Stellantis), were also present at the online event.
The issue of high E-tech related demand growth, combined with the perceived elevated geopolitical market risk, a looming long-term rare earths material deficit and related increased pricing levels, seems to put the strategic supply of Rare Earths high on the industrial agenda.
The online conference was fittingly closed off by a virtual “Fireside Chat” with Guillaume Pitron, author of the book “The Rare Metals War: The Dark Side of Clean Energy and Digital Technologies”, which highlights the consequences of irresponsible development and use of resources.
At the end of the day, this important and successful event was concluded with an appeal to global investors and governments around the world to realise the secure, transparent and safe supply of Rare Earth materials from independent sources, sooner rather than later.
