A DPSIR-TODIM Model Security Evaluation of China’s Rare Earth Resources

Rare earth is an important strategic mineral resource for national economy and national security. As the largest producer and exporter of rare earth, China’s rare earth industry has problems associated with excessive production, mismatched pricing power and environmental pollution. Therefore, an in-...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yupei Du, Wenju Wang, Qian Lu, Ziyang Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-09-01
Series:International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/19/7179
Description
Summary:Rare earth is an important strategic mineral resource for national economy and national security. As the largest producer and exporter of rare earth, China’s rare earth industry has problems associated with excessive production, mismatched pricing power and environmental pollution. Therefore, an in-depth study of the rare earth industry security is necessary. Based on proposed definition for mineral resource security, this paper established a rare earth resource security evaluation model based on the “driver-pressure-state-impact-response” conceptual model using an extended TODIM (an acronym in Portuguese for interactive and multi-criteria decision-making) method combined with the E-DEMATEL (entropy and decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory) method. The model was then applied to Chinese rare earth data from 2006–2015 to assess the security, from which it was found that while the security level was not high, the overall trend was improving. Moreover, some critical response factors affecting REEs (rare earth elements) security are identified, including tariffs, research investment, etc. This paper not only introduces a new evaluation of REEs security but also explores the crucial indicators and the response mechanism.
ISSN:1661-7827
1660-4601