Rare Earths: The Superheroes of Modern Industry
Rare earth elements—17 in total, beginning with Lanthanum to Lutetium on the Periodic Table—are the unsung heroes of modern technology and defense. Their unique magnetic, chemical, and luminescent properties make them essential to stealth jets, electric vehicles, smartphones, wind turbines, solar panels, desktop, TVs and more. Add to that Gallium, Germanium and Lithium which are as valuable like the rare earths.
Today, China controls around 90% of the global rare earth supply. It exports close to 55,000 tons every year. This dominance stems from critical missteps by Western economic planners decades ago, who outsourced mining and refining to China for cost and environmental reasons. While the West failed to scale up its limited production, China aggressively expanded, leveraging Western investment and technology—despite being a strategic rival. That possibility was not foreseen when outsourcing to China was done.
Now, the consequences are clear. Under trade pressures, China has imposed export controls and licensing, effectively deciding who gets access—and who doesn’t. The West, especially the U.S., faces a major supply crisis with no immediate alternatives. New sources may take 3–5 years to develop, leaving countries dependent on Chinese goodwill in the meantime. Bad job by the U.S. planners of nineties.
Though rare earths are not truly rare, they are rarely found in concentrations rich enough for cost-effective extraction. Moreover, their processing is environmentally harmful, another reason production was outsourced to China, where environmental regulations are lax.
The U.S. is now racing to secure domestic and allied sources—in places like Greenland, Canada, Australia, Brazil, and India. Some progress has been made, but meaningful output is still years away. Until then, the West must either rely on China—or go without it.
India has a huge reserve of monazite sand, which is the source for rare earth production in India. It can be scaled up with money and effort. Internationally no money has been committed to expand production. Political implications and benefits had to be sorted out before production is expanded.
Right now China is in control and caution is the word dealing on this issue.
