There are also existing options outside of China, that have been...

There are also existing options outside of China, that have been smothered by Chinese dominance and price control, but yes, China has a more sophisticated supply chain, decades in the making, which controls 90% of the worlds refining, although RE extraction has dropped off to 60%.

How long can the west survive without China, and will ASM be asked to build more than one plant in the US if the trade war continues. This whole mine to metals rhetoric we've been hearing endlessly repeated, has never sounded so good.

https://www.neomaterials.com/

Neo Performance Materials sources its rare earth feedstock from multiple locations. One key source is natural monazite sands, which are a byproduct of heavy mineral sands mining in the southeastern United States. These sands are processed into mixed rare earth carbonate at Energy Fuels' White Mesa Mill in Utah. The carbonate is then shipped to Neo's rare earth separations facility in Sillamäe, Estonia, where it is further processed into separated rare earth oxides and other advanced materials.

Neo also collaborates with Hudson Resources on the Greenland Sarfartoq Rare Earth Project, which provides additional rare earth materials for its operations. This diversification helps Neo maintain a robust supply chain for rare earth elements used in applications like permanent magnets and specialized motors.