Western governments need to support the biggest and best...

Western governments need to support the biggest and best companies to diversify RE supply, if not challenge China. ILU get's their monazite for free, either the large stockpiles at Eneabba or as bi-product from Victoria min sand mines where cost of production is entirely covered by zircon and TiO2 products. ILU's problem will be who buys their separated REO product? The west is not short of RE mineral 'feed', they are short of downstream processing. The best RE deposits are huge, +100 year mine life size and very low costs... there isn;t any shortage of RE feed, or by extension MREC even.

Subsidising RE-feed to China so they can maintain an over-supply and continue to choke out our large, low-cost champions like ILU, LYC is just so crazy I can't believe it's even being considered, regardless that those subsidies and cheap loans to high-cost skinny deposits like Yangi will end up bad debts. Never say never though when dumb, conflicted politicians fall under the spell of clever subsidy seeking private enterprises...