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“And there are clear, ongoing efforts, including by Chinese state-owned entities, to extend their nation’s monopoly by controlling Australia’s rare earth deposits,” he said.

“From Western Australia to Western Victoria, this is taking place via a number of binding offtake agreements with various companies; and via ownership – as in the well documented case of Northern Minerals, among others.

“Further still, China’s influence over the global rare earths market is pervasive, including through pricing indices such as the Asian Metals Index.

“This is different from the cyclical pricing dynamics associated with markets for other critical minerals, such as the nascent lithium market, or markets for Iluka’s titanium and zircon products. It is also different from the impact of technological shifts, such as that evidenced by Indonesia’s emergent dominance in nickel.

While China is a significant customer of all these commodities, they are all produced in material quantities in countries outside China.

For rare earth oxides, China accounts for approximately 90 per cent of all production, and for the key heavy rare earths effectively 100 per cent.

“It is this monopolistic production, combined with interference in pricing, that is resulting in market failure; and rare earths are among very few metals where China has demonstrated a preparedness to weaponise its control.”

Commentary on the development of western rare earths supply chains has lifted in recent weeks after Gina Rinehart took large stakes in both US-listed MP Materials and ASX-listed Lynas (ASX:LYC), raising the prospect plans to merge the two biggest non-Chinese suppliers could be revived.