The EU must find a way to get hold of rare minerals. Otherwise, say 'goodbye' to iPods, mobile phones and flat screens! And what will happen to me?

A-Z: R for Rare Minerals

14 rare minerals are at the centre  of an intense economic war.

What's to become of me, your iPods,  mobile phones and other gadgets?

The EU needs a strategy  for obtaining them. It's urgent.

metals of the platinum group,  rare earth elements,

Did you get them?  These 14 tricky names are rare minerals.

Production of these raw materials  is concentrated in China.

It supplies almost all the world's needs.

they could endanger the hi-tech industry

as most hi-tech products  use these materials.

Without them, it'd be hard  to produce iPods or mobiles,

it would be goodbye to hard disks,  solar panels and satellites.

There are rare earth elements  in my nanocircuits and my antenna,

indium in my flat screen,  antimony in my semiconductors,

germanium in my fibre optics, gallium  in my photovoltaic paint and solar panels,

tungsten in my superalloys,  fluorine in my body,

How far is Europe ready to go  to obtain them for me?

Western countries and other  rare-earth-consuming countries

will have to find new sources  to diversify the sources.

We should have  a very ambitious innovation strategy

on recycling,  on re-use and substitution schemes.

There are two solutions  to obtaining more supplies:

1. Reach an agreement with China -  that'll take a while -

2. Negotiate with  other producing countries.

In spite of their name, rare earth elements  aren't that rare,

except in Europe  where there are none at all.

There are resources  that can be found outside China.

In Australia,  South Africa and Central Africa,

and these reserves will only  be accessible from 2014.

Yeah, it'll take ages. In the meantime,  the only source of rare materials in Europe

Recycling them to be less dependent on  producing countries could be a solution.

There's pressure on MEPs,  but the pressure isn't coming from me.

It's from the growing needs  of EU hi-tech industry.

It wants to avoid being  at the mercy of foreign suppliers.

Industrialists expect the EU to take action.

Anyway, we'll need to find new materials  for our hi-tech products

as global consumption of rare minerals  is doubling every five years.

At this rate, reserves could be exhausted  in 15-20 years.