A bigger picture is required if you want to give 'newcomers' an accurate view. Firstly, I fervently hope there is never a need for the spike in prices that occurred from 2010. Those prices were much too high, not sustainable and a big wake up call to the rest of the world regarding rare earth supply. Being very used to low cost supply from China for years, the world was using rare earths as if the supply was abundant and unlimited. When the price/supply shock hit, the world realised the low price and plentiful supply era was largely over. Uncertainty over supply, the scramble to buy and stockpile what they could, the use of substitutes and other ways of making a little rare earths go a longer way, led to demand destruction. Uncertain supply is still the major problem in the industry. How long can the world depend on illegal supply? What will happen when China uses most of its supply for its own use when it restructures its economy towards domestic consumption? It would be encouraging for the world to conserve these resources by using them wisely. Recycling and using sparingly, finding ways to balance the demand for magnet materials with La/Ce, would all be welcome, because the world, especially China, is going to use MORE, not less, over the next decades. In some cases, there are no suitable substitutes for rare earths. In other cases, a massive switch to using other commodities could well cause supply/demand imbalances in those commodities leading to price and supply shocks as well. The world may well research and develop alternatives and substitutes, but for applications where rare earths are the best solution, a sustainable price/supply situation is required to ensure availability and demand, which is why, even with the current low prices and seeming supply glut, China and others are seeking new supply sources, even to the extent of looking at mining under the sea and on the moon, etc. The world could do with a lot more Ree.
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