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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Race to Find Survivors as Death Toll Approaches 2,500; Kremlin: Kim Jong-Un to Visit Russia "In the coming days"; Schwartz: Some Roads to Mountains are not Passable; Putin's Party Wins in Criticized Regional Elections; U.S. Company Recycles Magnets, Helping Environment; Voters Set to Elect Female President for First Time. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired September 11, 2023 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN HOST, FIRST MOVE: A warm welcome to "First Move", great to be with you for the next hour. And coming up a desperate search
for survivors, rescuers in Morocco continue to battle both the terrain and the elements, searching the rubble after Friday's powerful earthquake, the
latest number of lost lives 2497.
We'll take you there for the very latest. Plus, Kim's trip to Russia, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un believed to be headed for the Eastern City of
Vladivostok aboard his armored train what might come of that trip coming up too and diplomatic dance in Asia. President Biden returns from his
whirlwind tour of India and Vietnam.
As he looks to bolster diplomatic ties and counter China's influence in the region, the details up next. It's also the first trading day of the week.
U.S. stock futures are pushing higher as you can see there as investors await the latest U.S. inflation report. Wall Street is certainly hoping I
think.
Wednesday's Consumer Price Index will continue its path of easing and not further complicate the outlook for the Federal Reserve in November. No rate
change, of course expected in September, but potential moves too, over at the Bank of Japan after its chief hinted a policy shift away from negative
interest rates.
The Japanese Yen jumping against the U.S. dollar by the most in two months on that news. The dollar index though has had its best run in fact, since
the winter of 2014. It registered an eighth straight week of gains against major currencies up 5 percent even just since mid-July.
Boosted of course by a slew of stronger U.S. data which of course, in hand complicating the picture for the Fed. But that's the performance. All right
lots to get to you as always, but first to the desperate search for survivors entering a third day in Morocco. It follows Friday's 6.8
magnitude earthquake.
The quake was the strongest to hit the central part of the country in more than a century, with the epicenter not far from the busy city of Marrakech.
But the situation is especially dire in remote mountain villages where families have been left without food, water and medicine and with roads
blocked by landslides.
Sam Kiley joins us now from a newly established camp at the base of the Atlas Mountain. Sam, they've certainly pulled this together incredibly
quickly. What can you tell us about what those facilities are now offering? I knew the bigger issues of course a higher up.
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're absolutely right as always, Julia, this is a field hospital that was opened at 8 am
this morning. It's now just passed 2 in the afternoon, local time. And they've got pretty much everything you would expect to see in a non-field
hospital.
They've even got surgical operating theatres, they've got laboratories, they've got a pediatric unit pharmacies, psychological counseling. People
are moving in and coming down and being treated here and then others being sent on to the mainstream hospitals elsewhere in the country, particularly
nearby, Marrakech.
But as you rightly point out, it's in those mountains in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, where the need is most dire and this is what it looks
like.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KILEY (voice-over): Another victim buried returned to the earth that killed when it shook. More than 2000 people have perished in the worst Moroccan
earthquake in over 100 years. Most of the deaths were in villages in the Atlas Mountains, where homes cracked and crumbled late on Friday night.
KILEY: The pancaking of these buildings down a side street here in Moulay Brahim killed 25 people, three or four are still missing believe buried in
the rubble. And this is a pattern that has been repeated throughout this province. And it looks very often like there's been some kind of airstrike
the collapsing buildings here actually leaving holes, as if they've been hit by Russian bombs in Ukraine. But this has been an all too natural
disaster.
KILEY (voice-over): At least three elderly people have been in tuned here in the remains of their hotel, and a fourth guest is missing. After the
quake Sami called his parents for a day and a half, it rang out until the battery died too.
[09:05:00]
SAMI SENSIS, PARENTS DIED IN EARTHQUAKE: I'm here just because they have lost two of my best thing that I have in this life. My parents, my father
and my mother, I have lost them here.
KILEY (voice-over): His grief turns to anger at the government as it does for so many here.
SENSIS: They have no planification only they have words. It's a balloon of words. Only that they have worth. That's all.
KILEY (voice-over): It is arriving but slowly in Asni nearby authorities He's telling me that 27 people were killed in the quake and 1200 lost their
homes.
KILEY: So -- husband have said that when they were in the house she was in the bath. When this series of explosions broke out, they said there was no
shaking of the ground. She's saying that it felt likely last from a Kalashnikov automatic rifle that this was like a sense.
That the place had been hit by a war they had no idea that they were suffering from an earthquake. Luckily for them, they evacuated their family
very rapidly. Nobody in their family was killed. But in the village, there was going to be and even said 27 people were killed.
KILEY (voice-over): The house is now abandoned. The Fatima led a team of local women to find food and shelter for the homeless before any aid
arrived. All the food here, they result to private donations. Many villages here remain isolated roads cut by landslides, relief operations will focus
on getting to them.
Firefighters consider searching for bodies beneath the hotel. Their conclusion is disappointing. Amidst shocks and shattered masonry, it's just
too dangerous to rescue the dead. So for now, Sami's parents will stay buried where they are.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: And Sam Kiley, reporting there. Now, another natural disaster this time in Northern Libya widespread damage and casualties reported after
a heavy storm deposited two thirds of the typical rainfall for a whole year in just one day. Streets were flooded and medics had to evacuate their
hospitals.
The same storm given the name Daniel already brought catastrophic flooding to Greece if you remember last week, too. It's now forecast to head slowly
east towards Egypt. Now, "it's not about containing China, it's about having a stable base in the Indo-Pacific", that's the message from U.S.
President Joe Biden, after his trip to the G 20 in India, and then Vietnam.
As we speak, President Biden heading home after attending that G 20 summit in New Delhi, followed by a stop in Vietnam, where he met the Prime
Minister and unveiled a strategic partnership agreement. Anna Coren joins us now from Hanoi.
President Biden on a number of occasions pushing back on that concept that this was an -- has any hostile intent towards China, but it's a shared
worry between Vietnam and the United States and therefore naturally brings them closer together, whether it's politically diplomatically or via trade.
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's a very good point, Julia, you know, obviously for Vietnam; China is its largest trading partner. It's its
northern neighbor, they share an 800 mile land border, but it's a problematic relationship, particularly in the South China Sea.
So America's presence in the Indo-Pacific, perhaps, you know, brings some reassurance that there is that counterbalance, if you like, but this has
been an incredibly productive trip for President Biden not only has it elevated America's partnership with Vietnam but their multibillion dollar
deals that have been signed here in Hanoi over the past day.
The biggest being Boeing $7.8 billion has a planes 737 max planes, 50 of them have been sold to Vietnam Airlines that's supporting something like
33,000 jobs back in the United States. Let me read to you some of the other companies that have made huge deals here in Hanoi today.
Boeing, as I mentioned, Amkor, Synopsys, Marvell, Microsoft, Nvidia, Meta. These are semiconductor AI cloud computing companies, and to think that
this is what Vietnam is doing these days. Julia, you know, 20 years ago, they were manufacturing T shirts and running shoes.
And now they are very, you know, entrenched in the semiconductor industry. So this is about trade and investment. It's also about America,
diversifying the global supply chain away from China.
[09:10:00]
The Reliance not being there, it's also about countering China's influence in the Indo-Pacific and its assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific and we heard
from President Biden last night addressing the press, saying that America is here to stay, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: All the effort we've advanced from day one of my administration to demonstrate to our Indo-
Pacific partners and to the world that the United States is a Pacific nation, and we're not going anywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Not going anywhere, it was obviously a message aimed at China and President Xi Jinping who President Biden has said he hopes to see sometime
later this year. But as he said, this is not about containing China even though obviously they're doing these big deals in China's backyard.
But about having that stable base in the Indo-Pacific, President Biden said this is a critical partnership at a critical time. He has now wrapped up
his visit here. He's aboard Air Force One flying back to the United States. He's heading straight to encourage, where he will be taking part in the
9/11 ceremony with troops in Alaska, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, busy few days, but it's interesting. That's the line I picked up from that press conference as well. The United States is a
Pacific nation, and we're not going anywhere, take note. Anna Coren, great to have you with us, Thank you for joining us there.
Meanwhile, Kim Jong-Un en-route to Russia, his armored train appears headed to the far eastern Russian City of Vladivostok according to South Korean
sources. The Kremlin also confirming that the two will meet in the coming days. It comes of course, after the White House's warning of a potential
arms deal between Pyongyang and Moscow.
Paula Hancocks joins us now. Paula you have been reporting on the possibility of this now for many days, and this, of course, is the fear.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Julia, this is a meeting quite frankly, that neither Washington nor Seoul wants to happen. They don't want
to see these two leaders getting together and trying to hammer out some kind of an arms deal. But this is what U.S. officials backed by South
Korean officials.
And intelligence on both sides has been assessing in recent days, the fact that they believe that an arms deal is in the making. Now back in July, the
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was in Pyongyang, he was given the red carpet treatment by Kim Jong-Un. And he was very much at military
events and military parade.
He went to a military expo with Kim Jong-Un and the capabilities of North Korea were very much on display for the Russian Defense Minister.
Significant meeting, as that was the first time a Defense Minister from Russia had been there since the fall of the Soviet Union.
So that was a very clear signal that the relationship was being cemented. And then according to South Korean intelligence, at the beginning of April,
there was a second Russian delegation that went to Pyongyang as well. So this appears to be the outcome of those preliminary meetings.
And of course, the question is what to both sides gets out of it. As far as we can tell, both sides stand to gain a fair bit when it comes to the
military technology. Russia, we know would like more ammunition, it would like more small arms to continue its war in Ukraine.
And this is something that according to analysts, North Korea has significant production capabilities of and would be able to supply those
ammunitions. And of course, there is a lot of interoperability between the two militaries, so they wouldn't have to be much modification, if any, for
that ammunition to then be used by Russian weapons.
And of course, when it comes to North Korea, what they would like is core nuclear and missile technology from Russia. They would like more satellite
technology. The past couple of satellites that they've tried to put into space have failed over recent months. So that is technology that they
needed and also nuclear submarine technology we heard from U.S. officials.
They believe that is something that North Korea would be looking for out of this kind of deal. So from Moscow and Pyongyang's point of view, there is a
great deal to be gained from this kind of meeting and any potential arms deal. And of course, politically, they also stand to gain as well as both
sides would like to see an alternative world order.
They would both like to see a world where the U.S. is less powerful. And they would both like to see a world where U.N. Security Council
resolutions, for example, would be less stringent. Russia, of course, signed on to many of those sanctions in the past but while they are friends
with North Korea.
And North Korea is able to continue to keep launching and testing without any worries of U.N. Security Council resolutions against it. So from the
point of view from North Korea and Russia, there is a great deal to be gained.
[09:15:00]
There is a lot of concern in the region from Seoul, from Tokyo also in Washington as well as what exactly this does mean for a start for the war
in Ukraine, what kind of benefit would this give to Russia but also in return, what would this do to the region? What would this give in terms of
capability to North Korea that it doesn't already have, Julia?
CHATTERLEY: Yes, a strategic alliance indeed, and certainly uncomfortable for others. Paula Hancocks, thank you for that. Now, the Spanish Football
Federation is planning elections to appoint a successor to Luis Rubiales, who resigned as the Organization's President at the weekend.
It followed weeks of criticism over the infamous kiss he gave star player Jennifer Hermoso after the Spanish women's victory in the Women's World Cup
final. On Friday, the National prosecutor filed a complaint against Rubiales accusing him of sexual assault and coercion.
Amanda Davies joins us now. Amanda, perhaps better late than never, we'll call it an unapologetic resignation. I think and on Piers Morgan show, no
less. What do we make of this and the reaction in Spain? I think because there does seem to be an effort just to move on as fast as possible.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, I think it's fair to say that, for a lot of people, three weeks has just been too long to wait for this moment.
And certainly the manner of this resignation from Luis Rubiales as has not won him any more fans, not only the headline grabbing television interview.
But the statement that was issued that makes no mention of that historic World Cup winning side, no mention of a journey and most so. No apology, no
admission of any wrongdoing and begs the question from a lot of people, why now? Was it pressure or was it actually football politics?
But so many people, the pressure that has mounted over the last few weeks would have just been too much, but that could very much have been the case,
you know, a day or two after the events of August the 20th. He was suspended by World football's governing body they were all the calls from
the Spanish Federation for him to resign.
He was investigated by the Spanish sporting tribunals and then as you rightly mentioned that Spanish prosecutor opening their criminal case into
allegations of sexual assaults and coercion. But interestingly, the only real reason mentioned in Luis Rubiales' statement was a World Cup bid for
2030.
Which we have talked about before a joint bed between Spain, Portugal and Morocco, which means so much not only for Spain, but for European football,
and African football as well. Our colleague, Atika Shubert was really saying the view from Spain up to this point has been one of relief.
Because this is something that has so overshadowed that incredible achievement of the Women's World Cup winning side, but it's by no means the
end of the story, is it the criminal prosecution investigation is ongoing that will not be brought to an end by the resignation.
And the players, the women's players involved in all of this have been talking about real structural and institutional change. That is what they
want to see. The removal of one individual is not going to do that and really, the talk or the reference to that to the World Cup absolutely plays
that out, doesn't it?
You know, there are much bigger footballing structures and politics at play. An interesting one to watch from this point is whether the
resignation of Rubiales on top of the sacking of Coach Jorge Vilda will be enough to encourage the Spanish women's team to play.
They are -- to be representing their country in a nation's league encounter on September the 22nd against Sweden. They of course up to this point have
refused to do that with the structures in place from what we're hearing from the Federation negotiations and discussions are very much ongoing.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, politics and priorities. Amanda, fingers crossed, we see them on that, was it September 22 back in action. Yep. Amanda Davis, there
in London. Thank you. OK, straight ahead, the scale of devastation in Morocco is clear and so is the need for support, will speak to a
humanitarian aid organization delivering essential aid, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:20:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move", Morocco's government and volunteers are handing out desperately needed supplies after Friday's
deadly earthquake. The race to deliver aid is especially critical to people living in remote villages, as Sam was saying earlier on the show.
Officials say destroyed roads into those hard hit regions are rendering their efforts to get aid to people more difficult, international aid coming
in with Morocco accepting support from U.K., Spain, the UAE and Qatar. And joining us now is Ethan Schwartz, Communications Director for the
Humanitarian Aid Organization, ISRAAAID.
His team is now in Marrakech. Ethan, thank you so much for your time. I know you're incredibly busy. I believe you arrived there Sunday afternoon,
just give us a sense of what you've seen already and what your priorities are?
ETHAN SCHWARTZ, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR OF ISRAAID: Sure, thank you for having me and for sharing this. So you are right, we arrived yesterday
afternoon into Marrakech in the sort of less than a day that we've been here, even inside the city, in some of the older areas, you can see
destruction, and you can see people sleeping out on the streets.
But the biggest needs and the biggest humanitarian crisis right now is outside the city in the mountain areas. And that's where we're trying to
deliver aid. So ISRAAID is a global non-governmental organization, we respond to emergencies as quickly as we can. And then we stay long term,
sort of to work together with local communities. So that's what we're doing here.
CHATTERLEY: I mean, part of the challenge when you're talking about those outside of the city and up into the mountains is you're battling a couple
of things, that the elements the fact that it's so hot out there, but also the terrain, and then the blockage of certain roads.
Have you worked out a way actually to get those supplies to the people? How easy is it even to achieve that at this stage?
SCHWARTZ: So you're right, that it's challenging, and we basically have to take care kind of case by case, place by place. So as soon as I got off
this call, we're actually getting in the car and driving up to a -- and villages in -- region, which is just outside the city.
And a lot of some roads are possible some roads aren't sort of seeing as it comes, in the main thing that we're doing is working together with local
community organizations. So everything we do is being led by community groups, volunteer organizations, charities that are local to Morocco into
the region.
[09:25:00]
So we're following their lead and they're taking us where the needs are greatest and we think that's the best way.
CHATTERLEY: So it's actually them that called you in, that called ISRAAID in. And so I guess you're coordinating with them in terms of how you can
help to provide essentials, shelter, and water.
SCHWARTZ: Exactly, so and this is something that ISRAAID doesn't every emergency response we do, whether it's an earthquake or a hurricane or a
refugee crisis, we work with local organizations. We're always invited in brought in by local community groups, because we think it's really crucial
for humanitarian aid and solutions to be driven by the community.
And that way, they can kind of build a stronger, more resilient future after crisis. So we're working together to deliver blankets, tents, water
filters that can serve households, hygiene items, toothpaste, so sanitary pads, all the essentials that you need, not just to survive, but to survive
with dignity after a crisis.
CHATTERLEY: What about medicines, Ethan as well, for people that perhaps that need those, and I've lost those too? Are you part of providing access
to those or at least getting those to people as well, it's always the shelter, the water, the basic things first, and then you start to worry
about sort of health care too?
SCHWARTZ: Now, absolutely and healthcare is something that a number of partner organizations here are working on. And we're assessing the
situation in terms of health care and seeing whether it's something we can be involved in or not. It's something that we do in a lot of different
countries around the world.
And one of our main areas of expertise is health care and medication, and especially kind of the medical logistics and public health getting
medication to crisis affected communities. So it's definitely a challenge. And it's also something that we're kind of letting local communities lead
from the front in terms of what are the needs, what can we do?
What can other partner organizations do? And how do we kind of bring the most aid to the people in the most need?
CHATTERLEY: And Ethan, I know, it's difficult to assess, and you've been there less than a day so far, but are you short of anything? If people are
watching and perhaps can provide, as you said, blankets, essentials, is there anything people can do to help?
SCHWARTZ: So the most important thing actually is to support organizations that are working on the ground locally, whoever they are, as long as
they're working on the ground locally, because the best way to bring aid is actually to buy as much aid in the country as possible.
That way we're supporting the local economy, supporting affected communities, not shipping things around the world, which is logistically
challenging and obviously has more carbon emissions, that actually trying to buy stuff in Morocco to bring to Moroccans.
So the best thing to do is to try and find any organization working locally on the ground to support. You can always go to ISRAAID.org if you want to
find out more about us. And we welcome all donations and old partnerships that anyone wants to bring.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it's such a great reminder support the local communities and the local businesses in this situation as best we can at the same time.
Ethan, how long do you plan to be there? Do you have any sense of that at this moment?
SCHWARTZ: So something we never set a time limit as soon as we answer a country after a crisis. And so sometimes we end up staying in countries for
up to 10 years after an emergency to work long term with communities. And sometimes we work for three months.
And at the end of three months, we say, OK, we will live in communities that are in a stronger, better place. So at the moment, we're not sure.
We'll definitely be here for the next while I would expect the next few months that I couldn't put any kind of time limit at this point. So we'll
see.
CHATTERLEY: Ethan, thank you so much for joining us. I know you're incredibly busy. Huge thanks to you and the team too. You're certainly
heroes going in there to help at this moment. Ethan Schwartz, there Communications Director for ISRAAID. Good to have you with us, stay safe
please.
Now for more information about how you can help victims of the Morocco earthquake, go to CNN.com/impact. All the information that you need is
there. More "First Move", after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:30:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move". U.S. stock markets are open for business this Monday, shares of Qualcomm jumping after the firm announced
it will supply apple with 5G modems for iPhones until 2026 and Tesla driving higher too often. Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock and hosts us
the maker of Twinkies is soaring as its being bought by J.M. Smucker in a $5.6 billion deal.
I can't believe I live in America and I still haven't tried a Twinkie. In the meantime, across the Atlantic European stocks are mostly higher as
investors await the central bank's rate decision later this week. Meanwhile, the EU has cut its growth forecast for this year in the euro
zone, its blaming weak domestic demand, China's slowing economy as well as the impact of climate change.
OK to Ukraine now, President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party is claiming a landslide victory in regional elections taking place over the
weekend in Russia and parts of occupied Ukraine. The international community is responding with condemnation, the EU calling it illegal. The
U.S. Secretary of State calling the voting a blatant disregard for UN Charter principles quote.
Melissa Bell joins us now from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. The problem for Ukrainians that might not have wanted to vote in these elections, not
voting exposes them too.
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These have been decried by Ukrainian officials and all of their allies. As you mentioned Julia as a sham from
the get goes held over a couple of days, it finished the voting yesterday. And little surprise what we're seeing across the rest of the Russian
Federation, because these were municipal regional elections that were held across the Russian territory is Vladimir Putin's party leading.
And in the case of the occupied territories are those candidates handpicked by the Kremlin, leading very much too. And there was little suggestion that
it was ever going to be anything else.
[09:35:00]
What we'd heard initially from parts of the occupied regions, Julia was that there were some fairly heavy handed tactics; we'd heard that people
were going door to door to get people to vote. And then we also heard from other people saying, look, we've seen very little sign of that,
essentially, we don't believe that this is anything other than a foregone conclusion.
So there have been reports of some attempts at sabotaging these occupied regions. And I think it's important to remember that beyond what the
European Union has, such as a Boral, you mentioned there a moment ago, his condemnation, which speaks specifically to the context in which these
elections happen, the lack of transparency, opposition candidate's freedom, anything that you would need to have a legitimate election held.
This is also happening; I think it's important in the context of forcible deportations. Allegations of systematic torture on the Russian held side of
the Ukrainian line. And I think it's important also to remember Julia that not a single one of these four regions, if you leave aside Crimea for a
moment, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, not a single one of them is entirely held by Russian forces, which adds another degree of
legitimacy to these elections being held.
But again, what we understand is that for the Ukrainians who've been urged not to vote in these elections from the other side of the line by Kyiv, I
think there's very little doubt about what is actually going on here. As to the presidential elections that are due to be held in Russia next year,
Julia.
We have been hearing today from the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov who said that whilst Vladimir Putin himself has not confirmed his candidacy for
certain, it's clear that there will be no one else who will be in a position to compete and I think that gives you a flavor what's to come when
it comes to those presidential elections to next March, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, said with a straight face. Melissa Bell, thank you for joining us there from Ukraine. Now to diplomatic tensions between the UK
and China, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says he met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the G20 Summit and told him he is very concerned about
potential Chinese efforts to interfere in Britain's democracy.
The conversation came after two men in the UK were arrested under the UK's Official Secrets Act. One of the men works as a researcher in Parliament
and has reportedly been accused of spying for Beijing. In a statement released by his attorney, the researchers said he is "Completely innocent".
Well, "First Move" after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move". And to Chris time, one to the following has in common a wind turbine, an MRI machine, a stereo speaker
and a washing machine. Well, the answer is they all rely on magnets to work. But there's a problem. The rare earths that make up magnets will come
under increasing demand as the world's population grows.
According to our next guest, demand is expected to outpace supply by 2025. And the United States is heavily dependent on China for production and that
causes volatility in pricing and of course, concerns about the supply chain. Plus, traditional mining methods aren't so good for the environment
too.
But one company has found a way to recycle used magnets, stripping them out of discarded products, melting them down and remanufacturing them. Texas
based Noveon says less than 1 percent of rare earth magnets are recovered and recycled. But it's aiming to tap into a 600,000 ton supply. To tell us
more, Scott Dunn is the CEO of Noveon Magnetics. And he joins us now, Scott, great to have you on the show.
I think what's clear is that we're all surrounded by these rare earth magnets. But probably for most of us, we don't actually understand it. What
is a rare earth magnet first and foremost?
SCOTT DUNN, CEO, NOVEON MAGNETICS: Well, Julia thanks for having us. And it's a pleasure to join. We like to usually try to create some sort of
direct connection between folks and magnets in their lives, their magnets are everywhere. They're all around us all the time, from your home, to your
car, to your workplace, to the factories, and industrial processes that make our standard of living possible.
So magnets are really how we use energy. Magnets, power electric motors, generators, and other are the most energy efficient technology in the world
today. You want to think of magnets in terms of how electrical energy actually becomes mechanical motion, or otherwise, how we harnessed
mechanical motion, and it becomes electrical energy. So this is really how we use energy.
I like to think of magnets as a really, really important piece of the energy tripod, so to speak, you have energy generation and transmission,
you have energy and energy storage, so think batteries. And then think about magnets as important as batteries as playing the energy conversion
role in our lives and in society.
And what's really unique about this, and kind of the inflection point that we set out today is that magnets are, after many decades now playing an
even more increasingly important role in electric vehicle technology, clean energy technology.
And so magnets are playing an even more important role, really, in the future and in our society and especially as we move towards energy
transition, and what I'll call kind of clean, low carbon, high tech, future technology. So that's, that's really what magnets do in our society, and
really how important they are to our way of life.
CHATTERLEY: And that's the key, I think we're suddenly focused on this far more than we have been in the past, because of the renewable energy
transition. And you mentioned it the use of these magnets in electric vehicles, if we're going to scale that up, we've got to have access to the
supply chain that gets us these rare earth minerals.
And here is the challenge. The world's greatest source of rare earth minerals is China. And the other challenge here is I believe less than 1
percent of the magnets that we use today are recycled. Why, because this is where you saw the opportunity.
DUNN: Yes, you're exactly right. You know, today, over 50 percent of the electricity we consume is already passing through an electric motor and
being converted into the energy that we use in our different ways of life, and again, in our homes in our factories.
So as we look out into the future, and as we become, basically as we come to rely more on these materials, that play an increasingly important role
in that future, we run into this issue as you described. The way that we can possibly sort of recapture redefine the supply chain, the way in which
we can do that, in order to reduce environmental impact is all very, very important to an overall, more sustainable outcome.
Now from a recycling standpoint, that's what's really unique about our business here at Noveon Magnetics. We in fact are going into magnet
manufacturing in a way that directly captures and employs these recycled resources right into our manufacturing route or manufacturing processes.
What's very unique about our technology to your comments earlier, the fact that so many of these materials are essentially lost to scrap or melt or
what have you, is borderline non-acceptable if you kind of consider the stakes.
[09:45:00]
And so, what we've done is really to focus on how much of our production can we support directly from recycled material, which is otherwise not
really recycled, create that marketplace, create that circular economy where opportunity exists, and then use that as much as we can to, in fact,
achieve those other key kind of goals and objectives.
You know, redefine the supply chain, remove supply chain risk, but also remove and reduce the environmental impact and the burden associated with
the manufacturing chain for these materials. And we've so far been reasonably successful at doing that at a certain scale. But the next
several years of our businesses life is really focused on how much can we scale that and bring that solution as much as we can bear on this market
and on this problem.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I mean, I call it completely unacceptable. I'll go that far to say that we're not recycling them, I guess, the fear perhaps would
be the potency of the magnet. But what you're saying is, you can be 90 percent more energy efficient than traditional manufacturing and actually
produce a stronger and a more durable magnet, which I think is key.
And maybe you can tell me how you're achieving that. Or it might be too complicated. But I think what you said about supply, I think what you said
about supply actually overrides that, because this is the important thing. It's got to be scalable, or it's no use to us.
And we've already got the U.S. government saying due to strategic security concerns that U.S. defense contractors, I believe, actually can't use China
produced magnets. So that obviously is great for you guys. But if you can't scale, or provide that until you've got this supply chain shored up, that
sounds like a problem to me.
DUNN: Yes, that's, that's correct. And that is the challenge. I mean, we are kind of pioneering that. But you know, in a, given some of the
geopolitical tension, and given a little bit of what I'll call the post COVID world and the way that we've observed supply chain risk, beginning
with semiconductor on down, it's critical that we do have a secure supply chain for these materials.
What's unique about our business is, in a lot of ways, the only way that you can recycle elements are to get back to the elements. You have to go
through typically, long chain of chemical and energy intensive process. You have to sort of, you know, create the elements all over again, before you
can move into finished products, which is what the market needs, which is what the customer needs.
In our case, we are taking these recycled materials, and we're moving those directly into a manufacturing process. And, you know, targeting, you know,
what I'll call the OEM requirement or the OEM spec, you know, direct to OEM, direct to the automotive, direct to the wind turbine manufacturer,
direct to the electric motor manufacturer, and providing that finished product to them, which is many, many, many steps and series of value chain.
And as long as we can, as long as we can do that effectively, while in parallel as we grow, also develop the supply chain for recycled material,
we believe we should be able to significantly offset what I'll call traditional demand for primary resources in the case of rare earths, and
that should help us to alleviate what I'll call supply chain risk, but also foreign dependency. And I think that that matters more and more all across
the globe, especially in this post COVID world, if you will.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and I have about a minute left, but I believe the U.S. government or the Department of Defense has invested $35 million in helping
you scale this. To your point, it's about knowing where the products are going and ensuring that part of the supply chain, but also a healthy supply
of EVs and scooters and things to take these rare earth magnets from. What next Scott? And you have half a minute to describe it.
DUNN: No, that's a great prop. Because we do want to understand this issue was beyond military, or defense. This is a very significant, broad
commercial issue. Our high tech low carbon future is essentially pinned on the availability of rare earth resources and specifically rare earth
magnets.
And so, I guess, in closing, our business is here to essentially, you know, deliver as much as we can, as far as the solution goes, in order that the
supply chain risk associated with these materials is reduced, that risk is mitigated, and that the supply that we offer to our customers is as
sustainable as possible.
And I think if we can deliver on those two angles, if you will, we will have significant impact on what the next 10,15, 20 years look like globally
as it relates to these materials and really the role that they play in our lives and the need for them.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, this is so much bigger than defense. This is about society in general and renewable energy future, an Achievable one, quite frankly,
Scott, great to chat to you. Thank you. Scott Dunn, the CEO of Noveon Magnetics, we'll speak again soon.
DUNN: Thanks, Julia.
[09:50:00]
CHATTERLEY: Thank you. OK, still to come. As people in Mexico look ahead to presidential elections, women are set to smash the country's political
glass ceiling. We like to expand on that, that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move" and of course to a somber anniversary here in the United States. You're about to see live pictures of
Ground Zero in New York as Americans pause to remember the deadly attacks on September the 11th, 22 years ago today. As we speak, the names of those
who were lost on that day are being read.
And another memorial service taking place now at the Pentagon as well. And later on this afternoon, First Lady Jill Biden will lay a wreath at the
National line 11 Memorial there. Now, something you don't hear every day, Mexico guaranteed a female president as the nation's next leader as both
leading political parties unveil their candidates. Raphael Romo has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAPHAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A ceremonial passing of the baton to the woman named by the governing party the day before as the
presidential candidate. Constitutionally barred from running for re- election, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador wanted to show in a very public way that Claudia Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old former Mexico City
Mayor has his blessing.
In thinking over lord -- for his support, Sheinbaum hit all the right notes by promising to continue the course of what she called the transformation
initiated by the president. This now means that when they go to the polls next June, Mexicans for the first time in the country's history will likely
choose between two women when voting for president.
Xochitl Galvez, the candidate from the main opposition coalition described the passing of the baton ceremony as a circus. The 60-year-old Senator
describe the ceremony is an act of authoritarianism of the Mexican we want to lead behind from a weakened president who urgently needs to inherit his
mandate due to lack of results.
ROMO: This is not the first time Mexico has seen a woman running for the presidency. In fact, before Sheinbaum and Galvez, there have been six other
female presidential candidates, but with the two major political coalition's naming women as their candidates, this is the first time it's
practically a given that starting in December 2024. Mexico, a country previously known for machismo will be ruled by a woman.
ROMO (voice-over): Sheinbaum, an environmental scientist with a doctorate in energy engineering and a protege of Lopez Obrador would be the first
president with Jewish heritage if she wins. Xochitl Galvez, the daughter of an indigenous father in a mixed race mother served as a top official for
indigenous affairs under President Vicente Fox and later as senator.
[09:55:00]
Unfiltered than irreverent, she described herself in an interview with CNN in Espanol, as an old terrain four by four kind of woman. Early in the
summer, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador made her a target of constant verbal attacks that backfired making the candidate from a tiny town in
central Mexico who rose to become a businesswoman, but still writes a bicycle even more popular.
But Claudia Sheinbaum will be a formidable opponent to beat not only because she has the full support of the governing party, but also because
as Mayor of Mexico's most important city for the last five years, until her resignation in June to run for the presidency, she has constantly been in
the spotlight. Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: And that just about wraps up the show. "Connect the World" is up next, I'll see you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
