The Rare Metals War

For decades, there has been talk of digital and environmental transition, transformations that continue unabated as the world becomes increasingly connected and, hopefully, more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Almost all of the innovations implemented, however, require intensive exploitation of the resources below the earth’s crust, in particular the so-called “rare-earth metals”, a group of 17 chemical elements central to the production of new technologies, from robotics to renewable energies and from artificial intelligence to consumer electronics. Control of these resources is a central issue for the geopolitical balance of the planet. French journalist Guillaume Pitron explains the risks involved in the intensive exploitation of these metals, the extraction and purification of which requires costly processes with a considerable environmental impact. It is a good read for exploring a topic that continues to raise burning questions, which require answers to prevent the dream of developing “green technologies” from turning into a nightmare.  

La guerra dei metalli rari
Guillaume Pitron
Luiss University Press, 2019