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In 2018, 175,000 tons of independent rubidium deposits were discovered in Heyuan, Guangdong, and after expert explanations, it was understood that this was the world's first independent rubidium deposit, which was "rare" and "priceless" for a time to attract the attention of various countries, especially Japan.
Xinhua News Agency, 175,000 tonnes of independent rubidium mine in Guangdong, April 17, 2018
You must know that 1 ton of rubidium is worth about 4.6 billion yuan, 175,000 tons, and the value is as high as trillions, which makes Japan, which relies on the import of rare materials, very anxious, why do good things appear frequently in China.
So, what kind of rare material is rubidium? What is it used for?
Discovery of independent rubidium deposits
There is a saying that can be used to describe China, "outstanding people, rich in products".
As a big country, China has a vast land area, and naturally there are many unknown resources, so China has made great efforts in this regard.
For resource exploitation, every country attaches more importance to it, on the one hand, resources can enhance national strength and economy, and on the other hand, improve international influence in foreign trade.
It is precisely because of this that today's oil and mineral resources are very competitive, and some countries have to rely on imports, take oil as an example, the Middle East is rich in oil resources, and it has always been a place for all countries to compete.
At the same time, developed countries such as the United States have abundant oil production, while China, although it has complete extraction technology, is very short of oil, and most of it is achieved through imports.
However, in terms of mineral resources, China is still relatively sufficient, and in 2018, the national mining department discovered a huge rubidium ore in Heyuan, Guangdong.
Of course, it is worth noting that this is an independent rubidium deposit, which means that in the past, when mining mineral resources, the main minerals would be mined along with other minerals.
At this time, the main mining minerals are very small in reserves, and this mining is different, in addition to more than 10 kinds of symbiotic elements, its rubidium reserves are also relatively large, reaching 175,000 tons.
According to experts, the discovery of independent rubidium deposits is a major breakthrough in China's mining industry, because at present, there are no resources like independent rubidium deposits found in the world.
Compared with doped rubidium ore, independent rubidium deposits are easier to mine and extract.
In fact, in 2013, the Guangdong geological exploration department found two rubidium minerals in the local area, and after they were discovered, relevant experts also estimated that the reserves reached millions of tons, with a total value of trillions of yuan.
However, because of the difficulty of mining, it is difficult to utilize, but independent rubidium deposits are different, easy to mine, and can be better used in the economy.
People's Daily Online, Guangdong discovered two rare giant rubidium ore resources of 3.6 million tons, July 20, 2013
It has to be said that after the discovery of independent rubidium deposits in China, it quickly attracted the attention of various countries, and even Japan began to be red and anxious.
Cause-effect
We all know that semiconductor materials are frequently used in developed countries such as Japan and the United States, and at the same time, developed countries such as the United States and Japan have a certain degree of control over semiconductor materials.
Take 2019 as an example, Japan has controlled South Korea's export of semiconductor materials, while the United States has also blocked China's semiconductor materials everywhere.
However, although Japan and the United States are well developed in semiconductor material technology, some rare materials have to be imported from other countries.
For example, Japan is very short of rare metals such as gallium, so it can only purchase from other countries, including China.
Nikkei Chinese, China Begins Rare Metals Export Controls, Japan Depends on 40%, August 3, 2023
According to data from the Japan Mineral Resources Agency, Japan is the world's largest consumer of gallium, with six percent of it being imported from abroad.
And 4 of the 6 achievements come from China, which can be seen from here that China still has a certain say in rare metals.
It is precisely for this reason that Japan has repeatedly cooperated with China in the procurement of these rare metals.
After the discovery of independent rubidium deposits in China, how could Japan not be blushing and anxious, because Japan understood that such a rare mineral material as rubidium was also very valuable.
This is mainly reflected in the price and application.
The rubidium deposit mined in 2018 was 175,000 tons, and if you understand the price in the international market today, the price of rubidium is not so cheap.
One ton has 4.6 billion yuan, what is the concept of 175,000 tons? Converted into a price of trillions of yuan, it is not an exaggeration to call it a "priceless treasure".
In Japan, on the other hand, mining is not optimistic, because the small land area has created a lack of natural resources, let alone rare materials.
Of course, if there is a rare resource, it is not easy to exploit, and natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur frequently, so Japan needs to consider this if it wants to exploit it.
Therefore, Japan can only achieve it through foreign imports, and for the discovery of independent rubidium deposits, I believe that Japan will definitely find ways to cooperate with China.
In addition to its high price, it is also used in many fields.
I believe that many people may not understand the properties of rubidium, which is actually an element with the characteristics of electropositivity and optoelectronics, which is linked to energy.
For example, rubidium can be used in our common new energy power generation conversion, and it can also be used in medicine, aerospace, military industry, etc.
However, it is very likely that most of such a rare and expensive elemental substance as rubidium will be used in the military industry, why do you say that?
This is because among the many characteristics of rubidium, there is one characteristic that is obvious, whether it absorbs or releases energy, the frequency is very smooth and stable, and it can be applied to GPS.
The reason why GPS positioning is so accurate is mainly because of the frequency, it can be said that the error can be accurate to a few seconds, and the stability of rubidium itself is very high, if it is applied to GPS, it may be a big breakthrough.
In short, there are many fields in which rubidium is used, and if China can make use of independent rubidium deposits, it may not be able to improve the economy of the whole field, which is one of the reasons why Japan is anxious and angry.
This can't help but make people wonder, what kind of element is rubidium? How was it discovered?
In the periodic table, we can see that metals or gases are very rare, depending on the order in which they are arranged.
Rubidium, on the other hand, is ranked 37th in the periodic table, and its properties are similar to those of sodium and potassium because they can produce hydrogen when they are put into water.
Of course, one of the most obvious characteristics is that it has the same characteristics as electricity, which also creates its application field.
As early as the 19th century, rubidium had been discovered, and a German chemist was doing experiments and undoubtedly discovered an unknown element from lepidolite ore through spectroscopic analysis.
Because this element appears red in the spectrum, it is named after rubidium. Later, scientists discovered that rubidium has an electrical effect, so it is used in many fields such as electromagnetic induction and power generation.
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