A medida que empeoran las relaciones entre China y EUA, este \u00faltimo y muchos otros pa\u00edses, resultan cada vez m\u00e1s vulnerables en un \u00e1rea fundamental para la industria, como el de las denominadas \u201cElementos de Tierras Raras\u201d (REE). China tiene el monopolio en la producci\u00f3n y procesamiento de estos materiales, incluidos el Cobalto, Litio y Niquel. En forma progresiva, este pa\u00eds ha decidido restringir la comercializaci\u00f3n de Galio y Germanio desde el pasado 01Ago .Estos materiales resultan vitales para su empleo en tecnolog\u00edas tan variadas como los semiconductores, los misiles y las c\u00e9lulas necesarias para la energ\u00eda solar. Dado que resulta inevitable para EUA y otros pa\u00edses que la demanda interna de REE se incremente con el tiempo, expertos afirman que EUA debe trabajar muy r\u00e1pidamente para asegurar el acceso a estos materiales indispensables. De lo contrario, quedar\u00e1 dependiendo peligrosamente de un competidor estrat\u00e9gico para obtener recursos cr\u00edticos.<\/p>\n
As relations between the United States and China worsen, Washington is left vulnerable in one industry, namely rare-earth elements (REE). China has a commanding monopoly<\/a>\u00a0in producing and processing these minerals, including cobalt, lithium, and nickel. In escalatory fashion, China has decided to\u00a0restrict gallium and germanium<\/a>\u00a0starting August 1. These materials are\u00a0critical to producing<\/a>\u00a0technologies as varied and vital as semiconductors, missile systems, and solar cells. Given the inevitability that domestic demand for REE\u00a0will increase over time<\/a>, the United States must work quickly to secure access to them or else remain dangerously dependent on a strategic competitor for critical resources.<\/p>\n The United States Must Further Exploit Domestic Resources<\/b><\/p>\n The good news is that the United States has plentiful natural reserves of many of these minerals. The only problem is that they are not adequately exploited. Even though the country was once a leader in mining and refining REE into finished products, the United States is saddled with stringent regulations that make these practices exponentially more expensive.<\/p>\n The United States, while wholly reliant on foreign sources,\u00a0was once the leader<\/a>\u00a0in mining and refining rare-earth minerals from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. Environmental concerns, including the leakage of toxic chemicals, led to onerous regulations on mining operations. The new laws\u00a0made it unprofitable<\/a>\u00a0for companies to mine REE, and as a result, domestic production floundered. Currently, the Mountain Pass mine, a 400-foot pit in the foothills of California\u2019s Clark Mountain Range,\u00a0is the only remaining<\/a>\u00a0rare earth mine in the United States. Despite this, the federal government is starting to make extraction a priority.<\/p>\n In September 2022, the Department of Energy (DOE)\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0up to $156 million in funding from President Joe Biden\u2019s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for a first-of-a-kind facility to extract and separate REE from unconventional sources like mining waste. The DOE built on this in April 2023 by\u00a0allocating<\/a>\u00a0$16 million in funding to reshore critical mineral supply chains to America and reduce reliance on competitors like China. As part of President Biden\u2019s Investing in America agenda, DOE has allocated $32 million for projects to\u00a0help build facilities that produce REE<\/a>\u00a0and other critical minerals and materials from domestic coal-based resources. While these are positive and necessary developments, given the importance of economic independence from China, more resources must be devoted to these projects.<\/p>\n Expanding domestic REE projects will become more critical in a multipolar world. China has\u00a0recently lashed out<\/a>\u00a0at the United States and its partners Japan and Australia, threatening to cut them off from mineral exports. China has mainly aimed to\u00a0impose a chokehold<\/a>\u00a0on the U.S. defense industry by emphasizing its monopoly over REE. Through its actions, Beijing has shown that it is willing to apply maximum pressure on American access to these crucial commodities.<\/p>\n To ensure the expansion of REE excavation and processing, Washington must work to make these processes as environmentally friendly as possible to comply with regulations. While China has\u00a0struggled to find clean methods<\/a>\u00a0to acquire these materials, the United States can do so by leaning more heavily on partners with developed expertise in advanced excavation and processing techniques via the U.S.-led\u00a0Minerals Security Partnership<\/a>\u00a0(MSP), a multilateral initiative to bolster critical mineral supply chains.<\/p>\n Partners Provide Effective Examples<\/b><\/p>\n France, in particular, has rightly recognized the importance of reducing REE dependence on China and the need to find alternative supply sources. French geologists have been\u00a0steadily finding<\/a>\u00a0more environmentally friendly approaches to extracting minerals through bacteria that digest mine slag heaps. France has\u00a0also devoted billions of dollars<\/a>\u00a0to its innovative mining research. Washington should follow suit.<\/p>\n German companies are leading the charge in\u00a0reopening mines<\/a>\u00a0to extract valuable materials like fluorspar for steel and gasoline production. German expertise and mining technology have advanced to the point where German companies like ThyssenKrupp Materials were\u00a0able to snatch a REE deal<\/a>\u00a0from a Chinese company in Australia.<\/p>\n In terms of incentive structures, South Korea has shown its commitment to achieving mineral independence by\u00a0providing its battery industry<\/a>\u00a0with tax credits on investments, augmented credit lines, interest rate reductions, and decreased insurance premiums. Seoul also aims to\u00a0support research projects<\/a>\u00a0and offer tax incentives for businesses engaged in the rare metal industry, with a target of involving 100 firms by 2025.<\/p>\n Adopting partners’ practices should be independent of relying on them as sources for REE. While friend-shoring may appear to be an appealing strategy for the United States, overreliance on other countries for resources is playing with fire, even if these countries are allies. Collaboration with partners will be necessary, but self-sufficiency will be essential for the United States to gain true independence from China in the REE arena.<\/p>\n Excavation and processing operations at the United States\u2019 only existing rare earth mine, the Mountain Pass, should be expanded further. Companies capable of leading expansion efforts, like\u00a0MP Materials<\/a>, should benefit from incentives that improve the profitability of operations. Additionally, new mines can be opened in states like Wyoming, home to the\u00a0Bear Lodge mountain range<\/a>, which holds one of the country’s richest and highest-grade rare earth deposits.<\/p>\n Now is the time for the United States to increase investment in cleaner extraction and processing methods. Learning what has worked in allied countries, including investing in research, expanding mining projects, and setting up profitable incentive structures, will be necessary for the national rare earth industry to flourish. Implementing these strategies will take time. However, the sooner the United States adopts these measures, the more likely it can gain more independence from China\u2019s stranglehold on these strategic minerals.<\/p>\n