this post was submitted on 26 Apr 2025
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Didn't China halt all exports of rare earth minerals to the whole world?
The minerals aren't actually rare, they're just in low concentrations and difficult to extract. It's just a matter of time before thet set up mining and precessing somewhere else. It won't be in the US though. It'll be somewhere with super cheap labor and no regulations or environmental protections. Which is why it was in China in the first place.
They already mine rare earths in America and Australia, it's just production's slow because there's not much demand for gourmet rare earths.