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U.S. Needs a Strong Defense Against China’s Rare-Earth Weapon

Beijing is sending mixed signals on its strategy to maintain a monopoly on increasingly vital metals.

You could be forgiven if you are confused about what’s going on with rare-earth elements. On the one hand, news reports indicate that China may increase production quotas of the minerals this quarter as a goodwill gesture to the Joe Biden administration. But other sources say that China may ultimately ban the export of the rare earths altogether on “security  concerns.”

What’s really going on here?

There are 17 elements considered rare earths — lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium — and while many aren’t actually rare in terms of global deposits, extracting them is difficult and expensive.

They are used across high-tech manufacturing, including smartphones, fighter aircraft and components in virtually all advanced electronics.

Of particular note, they are essential to many of the clean-energy technologies expected to come online in this decade.

The path to rare-earth independence for the U.S. must include: Ensuring supply chains of rare earths necessary for national security;  promoting the exploitation of the elements domestically (and removing barriers to responsibly doing so); mandating that defense contractors and other critical-infrastructure entities wean themselves off Chinese rare earths; sponsoring research and development to find alternative materials, especially for clean energy technology; and creating a substantial stockpile of the elements in case of a Chinese boycott.

This is a bipartisan agenda.

The Trump administration’s strategic assessment of what needs to be done (which goes beyond just 17 rare earths to include a total of 35 critical minerals) is thoughtful, and should serve as a basis for the Biden administration and Congress.

Such a national rare-earths strategy will be only one part of the administration’s complex calculus as it constructs a holistic strategy for dealing with China. Securing a lasting peace in Afghanistan may be part of the solution, although the near-term prospects are not promising.

Finally, rare earths are a perfect example of the nexus between national security and the environment.

The administration’s climate envoy, Former Secretary of State John Kerry, has a seat on the National Security Council.

It’s the perfect place from which to advocate for a sensible strategy on securing rare earths as they become increasingly vital in the years to come.





www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-03-04/u-s-needs-a-strong-defense-against-china-s-rare-earth-weapon?





Will Ionic follow in the footsteps of Lynas ? Only time will tell i guess

Food for thought

GLTAH's

Frank