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Capacitor Requirements on the Rise Due to Shortage of Rare Earth Elements?

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Capacitors, here we go again.....is it 1999 all over again? We were seeing so many new Kemet, Vishay and AVX requirements it made us wonder why. Then we found this article that might help explain:

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Shortage of Rare Earth Elements Could Thwart Innovation
By Jeremy Hsu, TechNewsDaily Contributor
12 February 2010 1:10 PM ET
Share Silicon may represent one of Earth's more common elements, but it transformed Silicon Valley into a high-tech corridor and helped usher the world into the Information Age...Rare earth elements, called "rare earths" by those who use and study them, often prove irreplaceable in green technologies and high-tech consumer products.

Yet the world's production of rare minerals relies mainly upon China, and the Chinese government warned last year that its own rising demand will soon force it to stop exporting the precious elements.

"Countries and companies that have or plan to develop industries that need rare earth minerals to make products are concerned about China's growing consumption, which they fear will eliminate China's exports of rare earths," said W. David Menzie, chief of the international minerals section at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

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The article goes on to identify and discuss these rare earth elements: Europium, Lanthanum, and Neodymium. What does your experience or insight tell you in this reagard? Please post a comment and we'll pick up on hot topics in our next post. Click here to read the rest of the article.