We have some history with these seventeen elements.
From The Lowy Interpreter, June 11:
Rare earths vs rarer resources: Global ripples from Australia’s divestment decision
Climate change is a challenge China and the United States are fighting together, making technological cooperation key.
The Australian government has issued a directive for five foreign companies with links to China to divest their stakes in Northern Minerals Limited within two months. The mining consortium is seeking to produce dysprosium, a heavy rare earth element used in powerful magnets for electric vehicles, industrial robotics and wind turbines, as well as advanced weapons systems. Treasurer Jim Chalmers made this decision on “national interest” grounds following advice from the Foreign Investment Review Board.
Australia’s move is part of a growing trend prioritising national interests over global economic integration. In 2022, Canada ordered Chinese investors to divest their stakes in lithium mines, citing national security concerns.
The risk, however, is that such moves could curb efforts to accelerate a green energy transition.
Rare earths, encompassing 17 elements, are not scarce, despite being termed “rare”. What is rare is low-cost and low-pollution processing capacity of these elements. According to the International Energy Agency, China holds a significant portion of rare earth reserves, accounting for 33.8% of global total as of 2022. However, it dominates nearly 70% of upstream mining and extraction, almost 90% of midstream processing and refining, and at least 50% of downstream applications, from electronics and electric vehicles to renewable energy technologies.
Rare earth elements, though required in very small quantities, are integral for various industrial and defence applications. China’s dominance across the supply chain has caused concerns, with former defence minister Kim Beazley highlighting that around “3,400 American weapons systems have Chinese rare earth components.”
Multinational partnerships are forming to counter China’s influence. Australia’s divestment decision signals its alignment with global allies. These efforts assume that China will use its dominance in the rare earth supply chain as a “lever” to gain an advantage in geopolitical competition.
In 2010, China imposed export quotas on rare earth elements, citing “environmental concerns and resource conservation”. This move led to a significant surge in global prices and prompted an appeal by Japan and the United States at the World Trade Organisation, which subsequently ruled against China’s export restrictions, concluding that the measures were designed to achieve “industrial policy goals” rather than environmental or conservation goals. As a result, China was forced to relax these limits.
In December 2023, China introduced the “Export Control Law” and “Rare Earth Management Regulations,” implementing strict export measures on rare earth separating technologies. These regulations are part of China’s broader strategy to tighten its grip on rare earth supplies, contributing to a recent rise in rare earth prices after years of price stagnation.
Australia is one of the world’s major rare earth producers, contributing 5.14% of global rare earth products, ranking fourth after China, the United States, and Myanmar. Northern Minerals Limited, notable for its Browns Range project in Western Australia's East Kimberley, is seeking to become the first producer of dysprosium outside of China.
Australia can probably scale up its rare earth metal and magnet operations without China’s technological inputs, but at considerable cost and over a long time. China has clear structural advantages over its competitors for at least the next 10 years....
....MUCH MORE
