2006-03-27 16:51:26 the news of the world
News special correspondent Luo Shanai an end of the world
According to the Agence France-Presse reports, MITI's agency for natural resources and energy recently revealed, day to plan to have maintained a metal resources security policy 20 years of correction, to expand the rare metal reserves to maintain local varieties, the high-tech industry competitiveness.
Worry about to hit the Japanese economy
Rare metal refers to the content in the crust is few, more scattered distribution, the more difficult the metal refining. Rare metal and its alloy is the raw materials necessary for atomic energy, aerospace, semiconductor, special steel and heat-resistant alloy production.
Because Japan is a country short of resources, the national crisis consciousness is very strong, Japan on important goods and materials of all the implementation of the reserve system. The rare mineral strategic reserve its current implementation in 1983, reserve for nickel, chromium, tungsten target, cobalt, molybdenum, vanadium, manganese and other 7 kinds of rare metals, its dependence on imports of more than 90%.
And the selection of the new platinum, indium and rare earth three resources, is Japan's top auto, electronics, information industry, much-needed supplies: Platinum should be used in the manufacture of automotive exhaust emission purification device, fuel cell; indium used in LCD panel LCD TV; rare earth is a hybrid car is not the lack of materials. In the industrial international competition, Japanese manufacturers are in the dominant position. Once the resource supply disruption, economic and national security will be a serious blow to japan.
It is worth noting, will be the first Japanese indium metal as strategic materials. Indium has the extremely important position in the high-tech weapons manufacturing. Such as Japan and America joint missile defense project, it needs a lot of indium metal seeker to manufacture high sensitivity; and Japan actively seeking to introduce the production of American F-22 stealth fighter, remote detection radar and stealth cockpit of the machine cover are in need of indium as raw material.
National and folk also reserve
At present, rare metal reserves system of Japan is divided into state reserve and civilian reserve two: National Reserve is to ensure the long-term supply and cope with possible emergencies; civilian reserve is to hedge against short-term supply problem. The two reserve approach to the reserve target is domestic consumption for 60 days, the state reserve account for 42 days, civil reserve accounts for 18 days.
A large number of rare metal reserves needs huge fund. To this end, the Japanese built reserve special funds through a variety of ways, and had been for rare metals imports used about 60000000000 yen in the national budget. The Japanese government also encourages its enterprises to invest overseas mineral resources in large scale, from the National Central Bank and the export import bank loans of Japanese enterprises in overseas mining, metal mining cause group to do the guarantor, the guarantee fee charged only 0.4%.
In addition, according to the American "global security" magazine said, Japan in recent years in the name of imports of scrap metal, waste to buy return from Eastern European countries the Russian MIG aircraft, the main purpose is to extract indium, titanium, zirconium, iridium, cesium, lithium, tungsten and other rare metal materials, and then re manufacture products sold abroad.
Rare earth resources from 83% Chinese import
Rare metal origin mostly in Africa, the region of the former Soviet Union and China. Among them, the rare earth resources is 79% of the reserves in the Chinese. According to the statistics of Japanese "rare metal" database, Japan imports of rare metals, half rely on China, rare earth resources is 83% from the China import.
Recently, Japan not only in military spending on so-called Chinese attack, but in the rare metal problem, also stressed that "China threat". Therefore, Japan advocated: Chinese economic growth caused by surging demand for rare metals. Japan international future representative Hamada Kazumiyuki Science Institute said: "Chinese has the world's rare earth resources 88%, barium, antimony and indium reserves are also very rich, grabbed the Japan us by the throat, Japan and America without these rare metals, do not produce precision guidance weapons."
Japan's own strengthen strategic reserves of rare metals, but with Chinese as a "shield", to cover up the real purpose of its military. You know, rare metal is an indispensable raw material for manufacture of sophisticated weapons. Such as titanium, is the main raw material for the manufacture of aircraft; steel as long as add 1/1000 zirconium, hardness and strength will dramatically improve, are important materials for manufacturing armored vehicles, tanks, artillery and other weapons. A large number of Japanese strategic reserves of rare metals, its military purpose self-evident.