cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/7562103
In China, accounting for roughly 90 per cent of global rare earth refining capacity, a typical rare earth processing plant employs hundreds of workers moving through networks of large chemical tanks which is often hazardous work. In the Canadian facility, this process will instead be controlled by an AI-based operating system.
…
Since 2020, the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC), a government-supported research organisation, has been building a rare earth processing facility funded by the provincial government of Saskatchewan and the federal government of Canada.
The plant covers the entire chain from mineral concentrate to finished metal. It includes hydrometallurgy, chemical separation and metal smelting – all based on proprietary technologies developed in-house. The system was designed with a focus on operator safety and reduced environmental exposure to hazardous substances.
The facility is expected to be substantially completed in September 2026 and commissioned by December of the same year. After a ramp-up period, full operations are planned for 2027.
…
One of the most technically demanding parts of rare earth production is separating up to 17 chemically similar elements.
In many Chinese plants, this work involves more than 200 workers manually adjusting valves and chemical flows across large separation systems.
At the Saskatchewan facility, much of the process will instead be controlled by an AI-based operating system. The system continuously analyses thousands of data points and adjusts the process in real time.
The goal is to reduce waste, limit worker exposure to hazardous chemicals, and improve metal purity.
The facility is intentionally smaller than major Chinese plants, with roughly 25 to 30 per cent of the capacity of a full-scale refinery. For now, it functions largely as a demonstration plant for new processing technology.
Despite its size, developers say it can already produce high-purity rare earth metals.
…
I’ll call it what it is actually called: “Industrial Automation”… and I am not arguing it’s a bad thing, I am just arguing against peddling AI which is complete bullshit
I am just wondering why they don’t do it in China where hundreds of workers in each plant are exposed to hazardous substances while manually adjusting valves and chemical flows, while the Canadian plant makes the process safer the workers and the environment.
Seems Canada makes a major step in the right direction.
It definitely is a step in the right direction…
Why China doesn’t? Well, I can’t know for certain but China has a “strategy” of keeping costs down by disregarding labour and environmental risks… this is why we exported most manufacturing there so we can enjoy the cheap price and pretend not to know we are fucking people and the environment (easier to do it far from home)
The other reason is that the world wants to keep China “in its place” so we have all embargo them so they cannot access high end chips to use in their own endeavors; these would be needed for anything that runs automation.