The Evangelical Pope | The Path to a Fairer Society

Each week we let Saint Pope John Paul II share meaningful signposts to spark socio-economic resolves through justice and righteousness combined with mercy and compassion; in short, love.

               ¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp for my feet,
               A light on my path.

               __ Psalm 119:105 (New International Version)

Recognizing the Importance of Our Task

Aeropuerto Internacional «Eldorado» de Bogotá, Colombia – 1 de julio de 1986 | The task you've been given is really important. While it might take some time and steady effort, you'll start to see the positive results as you keep going. These efforts, even if they don't solve everything right away, set the stage for real progress toward a fairer society.

Working Towards Justice and Fairness

Even if we can't solve every material issue right away, we can start building a fairer, more just society. By exploring kinder and more balanced ways to share risks and sacrifices, we take a step closer to that goal. Making a list of priorities that put people first—rather than seeing individuals only through economic or political perspectives—helps us work together with more compassion on the challenges we face.

The Central Role of People

You hold the key to success in this mission. Remember, the most valuable resource any nation has is its people. By putting individuals at the heart of what we do, we create a strong foundation for all our future efforts.

Building a Resilient Community Through Empowerment

By promoting open communication and engaging all members of society, we ensure that every voice is heard and appreciated. Providing access to education and opportunities empowers individuals and helps build a strong, innovative community. A united and purpose-driven community is better prepared to tackle future challenges together.

Excerpted from:

PEREGRINACIÓN APOSTÓLICA A COLOMBIA
CEREMONIA DE BIENVENIDA, DISCURSO DEL SANTO PADRE JUAN PABLO II, Aeropuerto Internacional «Eldorado» de Bogotá. Martes 1 de julio de 1986

https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/es/speeches/1986/july/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19860701_arrivo-bogota.html

DR. JAMES TOUR | HOW THIS TECH CAN BREAK CHINA’S RARE EARTH MONOPOLY

In years to come, America might no longer need to buy critical minerals from China, says Prof. James Tour. This is due to flash Joule heating, a method he's studying at Rice University. China currently has a near-monopoly on global processing of critical minerals, including rare earths.

These resources are vital in electronics, defense, and medical devices. While the U.S. has significant reserves of rare earth elements, it lacks the capacity for large-scale processing. Rebuilding supply chains outside China is challenging, but Tour and his team devised an innovative method to extract rare earths from electronic waste and industrial byproducts. Prof. Tour explains that they can treat materials like fly ash to extract rare earths. This process also recovers rare earths from mine tailings, which were previously too expensive to process. Tour notes: metals are infinitely recyclable, and recycling these resources offers a considerable supply.

Tour is a professor of chemistry, materials science, and nanoengineering at Rice University. You can find him on X, YouTube, and other platforms: ‪@DrJamesTour‬‬

Watch the Video Here (44 minutes, 52 seconds)

Host: Jan Jekielek
Senior Editor
American Thought Leaders
The Epoch Times
22 November 2025

Solving the Critical Metals Crisis: Innovative Extraction from Electronic Waste and Mine Tailings

Jan Jekielek’s conversation with Prof. James Tour presents a method for extracting metals such as gold, platinum, palladium, and rhodium from electronic waste and catalytic converters, offering environmental and economic benefits.

• It reduces waste, recovers materials efficiently, and is modular and scalable, promoting independence in critical metals.
• With lower energy use and versatility, it helps resolve supply chain issues, supporting sustainability and industrial growth.

There's a growing need for quick, efficient extraction of valuable minerals from sources such as electronic waste. This innovative, cleaner, faster method also offers the potential to recover rare earth elements from mine tailings—leftover materials from old mines that were once deemed too costly to process. Recycling allows metals to be reused endlessly. Though scaling takes time, there's hope to tackle this challenge within five years.

Background: Export Controls and Manufacturing Challenges

In retaliation for the US's unilateral global trade disruptions, China has reciprocated with evenhanded export restrictions on rare earths and essential metals such as copper, indium, gallium, tantalum, and antimony. Over the past thirty years, much manufacturing capacity has moved to China, and even locally mined ores are frequently sent there for refinement, posing risks to sectors such as electric vehicles and chip manufacturing.

Flash Joule Heating Technology

A new approach called flash joule heating uses high voltage and current to rapidly heat materials with moderate conductivity, similar to a toaster coil. This method converts carbon-based waste and electronics into valuable products, such as graphene, or recovers rare earth elements and metals.

Process Details

Applying flash joule heating to waste like fly ash from coal and electronics offers an exciting possibility. It enables the gentle extraction of rare-earth elements and other metals, thereby improving efficiency. Introducing chlorine boosts recovery by converting metals into volatile chlorides, reducing boiling points by up to 3,000 degrees. This enables smooth separation based on reactivity and temperature stages.

Scaling and Implementation

Development started in 2020, initially on metals. Its strategic value grew as Chinese export controls emphasized its importance. The process involves placing waste or tailings between electrodes, passing a strong electric current, adding chlorine to lower temperatures, and collecting metal chlorides. Managing reaction and distillation temperatures enables selective metal extraction.

Comparison with Traditional Methods

Traditional rare-earth separation is lengthy and requires large plants with complex water and acid processes. Flash joule heating provides a faster, more compact, and more eco-friendly alternative by eliminating the need for water or acids, simplifying the process. Historically, conflicts over vital resources like water, oil, and minerals are common. This technology could enable local, sustainable extraction, helping to prevent conflicts and promote peace.

Deployment and Environmental Impact

Several US factories are opening in Texas, Massachusetts, and Virginia, supported by federal initiatives. These clean, easy-to-set-up facilities reduce reliance on imports, lower environmental pollution, and enable the US to become more self-reliant and secure global resources.

Leveraging Electronic Waste and Mine Tailings

Electronic waste, including data center circuit boards, contains valuable metals concentrated in one place. These are often discarded, creating large quantities of hazardous waste. Recycling is crucial because metals can be endlessly recycled, but traditional methods are costly, water- and acid-intensive, and produce waste. Melting processes, such as pyrometallurgy, are less effective at isolating metals.

Efficiency and Cost Advantages

Flash joule heating offers notable environmental and economic benefits. Life cycle assessments and techno-economic analyses show up to a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions, with total costs 50-80% lower than those of traditional methods. Additional savings stem from avoiding shipping costs, as conventional supply chains involve multiple international transfers. Setting up a flash joule heating plant costs about $40 million, compared to roughly $200 million for traditional mining.

Material Sources and Recycling Challenges

While most electronic waste remains with consumers, significant amounts are found in data centers and industries. Metals can be recycled endlessly without loss of quality, unlike plastics. Mine tailings, by-products of mining, are a valuable resource. Though they contain impurities and require careful management, the flash joule process can rapidly purify them and recover metals efficiently, using minimal water and primarily electricity.

Application to Various Waste Streams

This innovative technology efficiently recycles waste materials such as consumer electronics, data center components, mine tailings, and ores, especially electronic waste rich in metals. Tailings are ideal as they are partially purified and abundant. The process also recovers valuable materials from waste, such as red mud from aluminum production and fly ash from coal combustion, broadening the scope of resource recovery.

Patent Strategy and Intellectual Property

The university holds patents for this technology and licenses them to companies, facilitating innovation. These patents are registered across Europe and parts of Asia. Enforcement can be challenging in regions with frequent violations, but it offers strong protection in key markets, supporting the technology’s safety and growth.

Longevity of Waste Supplies

Large quantities of mine tailings and industrial waste provide a steady supply of feedstock. Waste sites seek solutions to clean and generate income. This process can also address lithium mining tailings and rare-earth phosphates, which are difficult to manage with traditional methods.

Patriotic and Economic Incentives

The process could rally support by framing electronic waste recycling as a patriotic effort that boosts national security. The U.S. government supports this industry by setting a minimum price for rare earth elements, preventing market manipulation by foreign competitors. This support sustains domestic operations and encourages manufacturing to return to the U.S.

Market Applications and Business Model

Gold, platinum, palladium, and rhodium are precious metals recoverable from electronic waste and catalytic converters. This eco-friendly approach enables jewelry artisans to source recycled gold, protecting the planet compared to traditional mining. Effective methods already reclaim materials from catalytic converters and refurbish electronics, enhancing sustainability. Additionally, recovering lithium from phone screens and converting plastic waste into fuels such as hydrogen and syngas offer promising avenues toward a greener future.

Waste Minimization and Environmental Benefits

The process reduces waste by recovering or transforming materials into valuable products, like plastics from printed circuit boards into gases for the chemical industry. It benefits both the country and the environment, with a publicly traded company poised for growth in military waste recycling.

Facility Operations and Safety

The layout includes shredders and grinders for waste, resistive heating chambers for fast processing with chlorine gas, and systems to handle and recycle chlorine safely. Metals are distilled and separated by boiling points and chloride formation for adequate recovery.

Modular and Scalable Implementation

With a modest investment, this technology enables flexible, localized manufacturing that can expand nationwide. Though complete independence from foreign critical metals may take years, a five-year path toward self-sufficiency looks promising, supported by licensing and government backing. Its lower energy needs, which make it suitable for sites near data centers or significant power sources, further enhance its viability.

Conclusion

This technology transforms electronic waste and mine tailings into valuable resources via a clean, scalable process. It can reinforce supply chains, promote sustainability, and boost economic growth. Embracing flash joule heating advances resource recovery and industry strategies.

EDITORIAL | DEPENDENCE, INDEPENDENCE, OR INTERDEPENDENCE

By Abraham A. van Kempen
24 November 2025

Where are we heading? Are we leaning toward a world of dependence, independence, or interdependence? Let's explore what each path could mean for us.

Electronic waste (e-waste) has become a significant environmental and economic concern. E-waste is any consumer electronic product–TVs, computers, phones, home entertainment systems, and household appliances–that becomes part of the waste stream when these items are discarded and replaced with newer, faster models.

Future Directions of Flash Joule Heating Technology: Dependence, Independence, or Interdependence?

Flash Joule Heating (FJH) uses high voltage and current to heat materials, similar to a toaster coil, quickly. It's gaining popularity for transforming carbon waste and electronic scrap into products such as graphene, as well as for recovering rare-earth and other metals. As this technology advances, society might become more dependent on FJH, more self-sufficient, or more interconnected, each with its own opportunities and challenges.

Dependence: Relying on Centralized Solutions

Relying on a few companies or countries for Flash Joule Heating development could lead to dependence, centralized waste processing, and resource recovery. While increasing efficiency, standards, and reducing costs, it risks supply chain vulnerabilities, limited opportunities for smaller players, and economic inequalities. Heavy reliance might also hinder innovation and responsiveness to new challenges.

Independence: Empowering Local and Individual Actors

Making Flash Joule Heating more accessible empowers communities and businesses by enabling them to manage waste and resource extraction independently, fostering resilience and innovation. However, ensuring safety, quality, and proper training is essential as access expands so that users can use the technology effectively and safely.

Interdependence: Building Collaborative Networks

Interdependence is about teamwork—sharing Flash Joule Heating tech among stakeholders via collaboration. Universities, industries, governments, and communities can work together to improve processes, exchange ideas, and share resources. This spirit taps into everyone's expertise, fosters responsible innovation, and boosts resilience. It strengthens supply chains, harmonizes regulations, and pools resources for R&D. The main challenge is coordinating efforts and interests, but by collaborating, we can maximize FJH benefits and minimize risks.

Implications for Society

The path with Flash Joule Heating impacts waste management, material development, and resource recovery. While it improves efficiency, it may cause inequalities. Building independence strengthens communities but requires support. Interdependence offers benefits but needs teamwork. Our choices shape the environment, economy, and the future of technology.

Conclusion

Flash Joule Heating (FJH) technology is at a crossroads. Its future as a dependent, independent, or interdependent system will shape its long-term impact in converting waste into valuable products and recovering elements. Exploring these options fosters the creation of innovative, inclusive, and sustainable solutions that benefit society as a whole.

If FJH works in the US, it will work everywhere, including China.

We’re entering a multipolar world of interdependence. Let’s work together, not against each other.

Have a wonderful day,

Abraham A. van Kempen

Building – not Burning – the Bridge Foundation, The Hague
A Way of Getting to Know Each Other and the Other