Over the past several years, China’s powerful grip on rare earth elements has motivated action by Congress and multiple presidents. Millions in government funding went to an American rare earth and critical mineral refinery and a rare earth separation plant. Just last week, Reps. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Penn.) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) reintroduced a bill that…

Commentary China dominates global supply chains for nearly all critical mineral resources. Especially important are elements such as nickel, cobalt, lithium, copper, and the rare earths that power decarbonization technologies such as batteries, electric motors, and turbines. The rapidly increasing demand for these minerals has rekindled interest in extracting polymetallic nodules from the deep seabed….

News Analysis Washington’s recent move to limit semiconductor exports to China has raised concerns that Beijing might retaliate by cutting off rare earth supplies, similar to what it did to Japan in 2010. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (pdf), China has the world’s largest rare earth reserves, accounting for 78 percent of the U.S.’s…

Two Texas Republican lawmakers are expressing concerns that critical minerals tainted by forced labor in China could be imported into the United States. Rep. Michael McCaul, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. August Pfluger, ranking member of the Homeland Security subcommittee on intelligence and counterterrorism, outlined their concerns in a Sept….

News Analysis The battle for control of the global rare earths supply chain is heating up, with the U.S. Department of Defense investing in a new processing plant in a bid to challenge China’s chokehold over the critical minerals. The Pentagon has agreed to fund the entire $120 million cost of a heavy rare earths…

Kelly Tshibaka, the Republican candidate for Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) seat endorsed by Trump, claimed Murkowski’s vote confirming Deb Haaland as Interior Secretary has weakened Alaska, contributing to skyrocketing gas prices and foreign dependence by impeding the production of oil, gas, rare earths, and other vital commodities. “Who’s directing this assault on us? Joe Biden….

China is setting up an unprecedentedly large and wholly controlled global logistics group, with rare earths, the major export resource, at the core. This new layout would help the ruling regime enhance its dominance in the global supply chain and maintain a monopoly position inside and outside of China, an expert said. According to mouthpiece…

Risks related to energy security won’t become a thing of the past in the context of transitioning to renewables, they will merely be transferred to the sources and providers of the green energy technologies, says a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI). “What many people forget is that the risks to energy security do…

Republicans on the House Committee on Natural Resources held a forum Oct. 22 to discuss how President Biden’s exit from Afghanistan left massive, untapped reserves of rare-earth metals, lithium, and other vital minerals in Taliban hands, potentially opening them up to exploitation by China. Speakers said the Biden administration has simultaneously worked to hinder key…

News Analysis Global supply chain interruptions are exacerbated by China’s lock on chemical processing. In 1987, former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping said, “The Middle East has oil, China has rare earths.” It seems that decades ago, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had already recognized the importance of controlling raw materials. Beyond mining and extraction, China’s…