How China beat out the US to become the top player in rare-earths refining
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump wants to secure the minerals the U.S. needs for everything from smartphones to jet fighters by striking deals in Ukraine, Greenland and even Russia.
But even if the Trump administration secures more mines for American companies through agreements like the mineral-rights deal being discussed with Ukraine, it may have to send much of the minerals to China—its main geopolitical rival—to be processed. A prime example of this conundrum is rare earths, a group of minerals used for defense systems that President Trump has said is the focus of his dealmaking in Ukraine. “We very much need rare earth.
They have great rare earth," Trump said ahead of a recent cabinet meeting. In truth, the U.S. already has abundant supplies of rare earths, but it relies on China to refine them.
That is because the U.S. has lost much of its capacity to process minerals, while China has become the world’s dominant refiner of rare earths, cobalt, copper and many other metals. “Drill baby drill is not the right focus," said John Ormerod, a consultant for the rare-earth industry.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Democratic Republic of Congo has offered the U.S. access to a trove of minerals, including cobalt and copper, in exchange for helping it defeat a rebel force in the country. But such a deal raises questions about where these minerals would be processed.
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