Mining Rare Earth Metals Essay

I believe that Canada should be involved in the rare earth metals mining industry. Rare earth metals are an essential part of everyday modern life (and of growing importance). They are used from everything from cell phones to environmentally friendly technologies such as wind turbines and hybrid engines. The mining of these metals would provide many benefits to Canada. It makes great economic sense because right now China is a supply and demand crisis so they are exporting less metal every year. If Canada were to enter the mining not only would it create thousands of jobs in one area where unemployment is a little bit of a problem but we could also pick up the slack of Chinas export problem and make billions. Besides the obvious economic implications, I believe that mining these metals cold have serious political and environmental benefits for us. China uses dangerous chemical to melt the earth around it, which could potentially leave a lasting impression on the surrounding area and any vegetation that might grow there in the future. So if Canada were to mine these metals I think we would be more respectful of the landscape. In today’s society reducing your environmental footprint is huge and in terms of rare earth metals there are many ways in which we can reduce our own. It starts by properly recycling our reusable electronics so the metals can be extracted or re used. Other ways would be to buy used electronics and not get every new gadget that comew out so there is less of a demand for the mining of rare earth metals. Given the pros of mining and the fact that they outweigh the cons, I believe that Canada should be involved in rare earth metals mining.