earths

Trump has determined to obtain a piece of the rare earths of Ukraine. The only problem is that they may not exist

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Trump has begun this new legislature under an idea of ​​appropriating everything that can get an economic revenue and is not under his jurisdiction. It started with Greenland And now he wants to do it with Ukraine, but as happened with the first, in the Eastern country he will not find anything he thinks. Short. Donald Trump has declared that Ukraine has vast reserves of rare earths, but is far from reality. In fact, This statement is disassembled with the American geological service that does not include the East country as a significant deposit holder of these minerals. But why this obsession? As soon as he assumes the position as president, Trump He established that he wanted to “buy” Greenland as a strategic zone within the geopolitical framework and for its mineral wealth, which according to energy experts Javier Blas and Richard Milne It was not as the current president of the United States states, despite being an area with a large extension capacity. However, all this obsession behind rare earths is to ensure access to strategic resources that, for the most part, They are dominated by China. Control of these resources It is crucial For advanced technological applications and weapons production. Ensuring rare earth supply could have significant geopolitical implications, and in a context of rivalry with China, it could be part of its strategy to diversify the sources of these elements. And why now Ukraine? The analyst Javier Blas details it well for Bloombergsince the issue began when the Ukrainians presented to Trump a “Victoria Plan” highlighting the country’s mineral potential. This led Trump to speak publicly about the rare earths of Ukraine on several occasions, even mentioning a surprisingly high amount in dollars that the US could obtain from these resources, without basis on geological reality. The energy expert considers that the confusion probably arises from a misunderstanding or error of Trump by linking Ukraine with rare earths, when in reality the country does not have large deposits of these minerals. It could also have been confused with other mineral resources that Ukraine does, such as titanium and Gallium, which are valuable but not of the same strategic magnitude as rare earths. The misinformation is everywhere. However, it should be noted that this confusion by President Trump has also been fed by erroneous reports or conspiracy theories that circulate in the political sphere, which mention minerals such as lithium, beryllium or even uranium, which sometimes They are wrongly included in “rare earth” lists. In fact, this report It was published in December last year by the NATO Energy Security Excellence Center, a Autonomous organism Affiliated with the Military Alliance and that uses its name and logo. However, as Blas details, if these are the source used by Trump’s advisors, it is an important problem for global policy. The strategic point. Although Ukraine does not have vast mineral reserves, the country is in a very important geopolitical location, since it is a country of containment against Russia. For years, Ukrainian gas pipelines They have been essential For Russian gas supply to Europe, becoming a constant source of tension. The European Russian Gas Dependency has generated energy crisis and geopolitical disputeswhich further reinforces the relevance of Ukraine on the international board. In this context, the obsession with its mineral resources is not only an economic issue, but also an attempt to reinforce the geopolitical and energy security of the western bloc. Under threat. Before all this situation, in recent statements, Trump has attacked Zelensky calling it “dictator” And warning that, if he doesn’t act quickly, Ukraine could disappear. In addition, he has criticized the lack of previous agreements to avoid war and the high cost of the conflict for the United States. Within these recent statements, he also suggested that Europe should assume a majority of military spending, since it considers that war affects Europe more than the United States. Image | The White House and Unspash Xataka | Trump wants to apply tariffs of more than 25% to chips and that means one thing: much more expensive laptops

The treasure desired by all nations that China dominates with iron fist can be key in Ukraine: its rare earths

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Trump has had to get there An unexpected negotiating element In the war in Ukraine. Moscow and Kyiv have been waiting for the new administration with respect to the conflict for weeks. The answer, unexpected for the majority, is about to see if it is as it seems. If affirmative, the United States would enter fully into the contest to help Ukraine, although in exchange for very precious minerals with incalculable geopolitical value. Rare lands in exchange for support. Donald Trump’s recent statement on a possible agreement with Ukraine, in which The United States would receive rare minerals in exchange for military assistancehas shaken the geopolitical panorama and generated international mixed reactions. The proposal, presented by Trump himself in the Oval office, seeks to condition Kyiv aid, linking it with strategic resources such as lithium, uranium and titanium, fundamental to the technological and military industry. This strategy, which reflects its transactional approach in foreign policy, represents a significant change regarding the unconditional military assistance that the American nation has provided so far, where it was practically reduced to money and weapons. A turn in the relationship. Since Trump’s re -election, uncertainty about American commitment to Ukraine has been a matter of concern for Kyiv. Everything changes, a priori (and being real), with this offer, since Ukraine could ensure Washington’s support when a “strategic interest” In his future. In fact, the answer has not been expected, and Ukrainian officials have explained that The administration of Volodymyr Zelensky would be willing to sign joint agreements with the United States To guarantee the collaboration in the exploitation of these resources, in an attempt to consolidate military support in the middle of the wear of the conflict with Russia. Moreover, Zelensky has warned that Without American intervention, these resources could end up in the hands of adversaries As Iran or North Korea, in case of a Russian victory. Geopolitical impact As we said, the international reaction to Trump’s words has not been waiting. In Europe, the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz harshly criticized the proposaldescribing it as selfish and stressing that minerals should be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine instead of being exchanged for weapons. A European diplomat expressed doubts about the viability of the plansuggesting that it is not yet clear if it is a negotiation strategy or a firm demand. In addition, he stressed that European countries have already considered more transactional approaches with the United States, although without compromising essential resources of Ukraine. And from Russia? From Moscow, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov interpreted Trump’s proposal as a sign that the United States will no longer deliver free helpwhat Russia sees as an opportunity to weaken Western support to Kyiv. This perspective coincides with Russian military advances in eastern Ukraine, where many of the rare mineral reserves are found. The minerals. It We have counted before. In the case at hand, the elements of rare earths that Donald Trump seeks to ensure through an agreement with Ukraine in exchange for military aid They are essential strategic metals for key industriesfrom advanced technology to defense. Despite its name, these 17 elements are not particularly scarce, since There are large deposits in China, Brazil, Vietnam and Russia. However, its extraction implies highly polluting and expensive processes, which has limited its production outside of Chinawho dominates the global market thanks to massive investments in refinement and more lax environmental regulation. The importance of rare earths. These metals They are practically irreplaceable in many industrial applications. Neodimium and Disposio, for example, allow to manufacture ultra -policy magnets essential for wind turbines and electric motors, while the Europium is crucial for television screens and the hill is used in oil refining. Besides, They play a key role in the development of modern armamentincluding in the equation guided missiles. Since production is concentrated in China (and therefore, The dependence of most countries), we have the best of the clues for which United States and EU seek to reduce its dependencepromoting new sources of supply and recycling of materials. Trump’s interest. Linking with the above, Trump possibly sees in Ukrainian deposits An opportunity to strengthen US supply and reduce that Chinese influence In the sector, more convulsed than ever with The war of tariffs imposed. In this sense, one of the greatest attractions of the agreement for Washington is Access to lithium deposits of Ukraine, essential for the manufacture of microchips and batteries for electric vehiclesstrategic sectors where the United States competes directly with China. Within the framework of its transactional policy, the tycoon proposes that Ukraine guarantees access to these resources in exchange for military support, An idea previously suggested by Volodymyr Zelensky. The geopolitics of these materials, therefore, is key, since a greater dependence on China could represent strategic risks, as happened in 2010 when Beijing blocked exports to Japan in a territorial conflict. Difference with other critical minerals. Rare earths are just a part of The so -called critical mineralsa broader category that includes tungsten, tellurium and Indian, essential for clean energy and advanced technologies. In fact, China has already imposed export controls of some of these materials In response to American tariffs, reinforcing the need to diversify the global supply. Paradigm change. Be that as it may, Trump’s interest in convert military assistance into an agreement based on resources It represents a fundamental change in the way in which the United States could handle its relationship with Ukraine (or other nations in conflict). While Kyiv sees this as an opportunity to maintain American support, the proposal It has also generated tensions with Europe and criticism about ethics to condition aid to an exchange of strategic goods. On the other hand, and at least publicly, Russia does not see it either bad, but as a chance. In a context of prolonged war and with Moscow gaining ground, this new approach could define the future of the conflict and remodel geopolitical balance in the coming years. Of course, it is about to see if Trumop’s … Read more

The earth’s crust is disappearing under California. The test is in its earthquakes

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The border between the mantle and the land cortex is a region that attracts interest of numerous geologists. Being so close and so far from the reach of the instruments that these scientists use perhaps a certain mysticism to this region, but above all, because the dynamism of The interactions Among the outermost layers of our planet makes this border a specially active region at the geological level. Scratching the bark. Now, a new study He has revealed A new aspect of this interaction. He has done it in the Sierra Nevada Californiana, or rather under this Sierra, where they have found evidence of how the mantle “pela” the earth’s crust. Delamination Geologists believe that, from time to time, fragments of the lithosphere end up detaching themselves and sinking into the upper layers of the terrestrial mantle. This process is known as alamination or sinking of the lithosphere and could be responsible for the notable differences in the thickness of the oceanic crust in contrast to the continental cortex, among other characteristics of the geology and geography of the planet. Generally, this process is seen as a “drip”: the heaviest rock of the cortex loses consistency and ends up detaching from the lithosphere to sink into the mantle, composed of less dense materials. However, Maybe this delamination is more abruptsomething like the terrestrial mantle “pelara” the cortex. Seismic waves. As usual in this type of studies, the team analyzed the way in which seismic waves move through the interior layers of the Earth in order to study factors such as the composition and density of these layers. Sierra Nevada is a seismically active region, which implies a greater ease to compile data in this way. The researchers responsible for the study They combined various sources of seismic data in their study, starting with this analysis, called the receiving function. The team combined it with the exhaustive catalog data of the Advanced National Seismic System (COMCAT). In this catalog they detected the presence of a “band of seismicity” in the region, located from 40 kilometers under the surface, which concentrated small earthquakes of magnitudes between 1.9 and 3.2. Break, I don’t drip. Thanks to the differences detected through the receiving functions, the equipment was able to find a differentiated layer in the mantle, a not so differentiated layer as it extends to the north and that is consistent with the hypothesis that part of the lithosphere in the South Zone broke out of the cortex several million years ago. The small earthquakes on the other hand, could be indicative that this detachment was made for breakage instead of drip, according to the authors of the study. The details of this analysis were published In an article In the magazine Geophysical Research Letters. Strengthening the hypothesis. The evidence is not yet conclusive as the team admits, but they add to the already numerous that support the hypothesis that the discontinuity of Mohorovičić (the border between the cortex and the upper mantle of the earth) is not abrupt under the mountain range from Sierra Nevada, but rather gradual. In Xataka | We knew that Yellowstone hid an immense volcano but not the place he would explode. Until now Image | Arttower

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