The West’s Bold Move to Crack China’s Rare Earth Monopoly

Since China restricted exports of rare earth elements early this year, Western countries have raced to create mine-to-magnet supply chains to reduce dependence on Chinese supply in the key military and automotive industries. The Trump Administration is ensuring funding through buying minority stakes in North American rare earth and lithium companies and projects, while companies in the U.S. and Europe are setting up alliances with miners and refiners to have magnet supply chains outside and independent of China. The West has realized it’s late to the party, considering that over the past two decades, China has built so much mining…