Global shortage of important metals and minerals is now becoming more widely acknowledged. For example, “E.U. Faces Shortages of Key Minerals” by J. Kanter, New York Times, 16 June 2010, “The European Union is facing shortages of 14 ‘critical’ raw materials needed for mobile phones and emerging technologies like solar panels and synthetic fuels, according to a study by the European Commission . . .”
“The commission is ringing the alarm bell on raw materials as China again plans to tighten its control over its rare-earth minerals by allowing just a handful of state companies to oversee the mining of the scarce elements.”