00:00 Speaker a
The United States and China reached a deal this week, a tentative deal on trade, once again providing U.S. companies with much-needed rare earth minerals in China. China’s dominant global mining and production of materials is crucial, uh, which essentially means that if Beijing cuts access, the United States may face shortages again. Join me now to dig into this rare mineral supply chain, and we have David Klanaski, CEO of Cirba Solutions, a lithium battery recycling company. I’m glad to be with us today. So first, David just takes us into China’s dominance over rare earths, and deals with the United States will eventually send a signal.
01:49 David Klanaski
Yes, good morning, Brad. Thank you for having me. Well, yes, it’s a fun opportunity. I think, obviously, the United States and China have been working to come up with some kind of trade deal there. As you mentioned, in fact, more than 70% of rare earth minerals are processed and produced in China, and in fact 90% of the rare earths used in the world are processed in China, but many of these minerals can be used in China. So, reaching an agreement with China, I think it is a short-term solution, and using almost everything on these key minerals and rare earths can alleviate tensions there. That’s why they are called key minerals. Well, but in the long run, I think the country continues to think about domestic supply chains, domestic manufacturing and how we can reduce our dependence on other countries that provide us with these minerals.
03:17 Speaker a
This part of the deal is crucial to the remaining agreement between the United States and China, knowing a lot of where technology is purchased, knowing other elements in a multifaceted approach, the two largest countries in the world also want to have a broader stage or a larger stage in this broader stage, which is a broader checklist.
04:17 David Klanaski
Yes. Yes. I mean, for the government, it’s a major achievement in at least reaching some kind of agreement there. If you look at where key minerals are used, the question is where they are used, right? Everything we encounter almost every day has a critical mineral, both in our homes and in the kitchen, you know a car, but you know that many of our defense systems and defense industries rely on rare earths and critical minerals. So when you think about this in a broader context, it can have a huge impact on everyone in the United States’ lives. I think that’s why it gets a lot of attention is because it’s big, and it’s a big problem. You know, we need these key minerals. We need to access them. Well, there are a lot of people in our country today that can obviously be recycled and restored. That’s another matter. I think as you think about this, when I talk to the government, it’s like with their minds, we also make sure once we have these minerals, and the rare earth in our country, how can we continue to recycle them and recover them? It’s a huge game, and we know that our Cirba Solutions is developing Cirba Solutions and other companies in the United States are trying to domesticate and localize the country’s supply chain.
06:15 Speaker a
Therefore, Bloomberg now reports that the Trump administration prioritizes rare earth projects. That’s the plan. What is the typical timeline for these projects to get up and running?
06:51 David Klanaski
Yes. I mean, I think it depends on the scale, obviously it’s um, but usually, you know, you’re talking about, you’re in the operation of recycling, restoring or processing these minerals, for example, those schedules depend on where you are. If you are just restoring and recycling materials, it is a little easier because you don’t have to get a permit for mining and similar. You really only need to build a facility. Typically, the buildings of these facilities range from 18 months to two years. Well, so it does take a little time because you have to build a manufacturing plan. Obviously, if you’re talking about mining things, the government does focus on simplifying the process of obtaining mining licenses and things like that, I think that will help, but these processes can take longer. So you know, I know, a lot of my statements about it is that we are on the road now, now or in our homes now. Let’s make sure we recover them immediately and then put these plants into use to use the critical minerals that are already in use, rather than the ground to be recycled.
08:27 Speaker a
Where do these minerals usually use further? If you want, that secondary market?
08:45 David Klanaski
Well, once you recover and recycle them, the benefit is that they are brand new again, right? So you restore them to a quality, like they are basically the beginning of life again. So you know, for example, when you think about electric cars, you get something like lithium and lithium cobalt. Once these materials are recycled from the battery, or it can be a phone or laptop, whatever it is, these minerals are recycled and basically restored to their original purity state, so they can go straight back to another battery, another phone, another laptop, whatever it is. However, there are other applications out there, they use this metal for pipes and so on. We have to build many factories, many manufacturing facilities. Therefore, you also have the opportunity to use it in assistive applications.
09:51 Speaker a
Thank you very much for spending time with us today, David.
10:00 David Klanaski
Thanks, Brad. Thanks for the time.
