Inside Australia's billion dollar bid to take on China's rare earth dominance
Summary
Australia is investing heavily to challenge China's dominance in the rare earth minerals market. Rare earths are important for making electric cars, wind turbines, and other technologies. Most of the world's supply is currently controlled by China, but Australia aims to change that with new mining efforts.Key Facts
- Rare earths are used in electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, and defense equipment.
- China controls over 50% of rare earth mining and nearly 90% of processing.
- The US gets 80% of its rare earth imports from China, while Europe relies on China for about 98%.
- Australia is developing new mining projects to reduce dependence on China's supply.
- Iluka Resources in Australia has a large stockpile of rare earths, valued at over $650 million.
- Beijing recently relaxed export controls on rare earths to the US, easing supply chain issues temporarily.
- Without stable trade agreements, there could be disruptions in the rare earth supply chain.
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