Rare-earth elements (REEs) are essential to a range of high-tech applications, from electric vehicles and smartphones to radar and guided-missile systems. China controls some 70 percent of worldwide rare earth output and over 90 percent of refining capacity.
The U.S. imports nearly all its rare-earth elements, with China supplying 72 percent between 2019 and 2022, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Washington views Beijing’s dominance—and its willingness to ban exports of critical elements such as gallium amid the great tech war—as a critical threat to national security.
The high-volume reserve of rare-earth elements discovered in the Honghe region of Yunnan Province is estimated to contain 470,000 tons of rare earth elements, state media cited the China Geological Survey as saying last week.
The site is expected to become China’s largest deposit of medium-to-heavy REEs, which are relatively scarce. These elements are critical for EV, jet engine, and missile components due to their ability to retain magnetic properties at high temperatures.
This changes everything. With over 470,000 tons of rare earths, China is now even better positioned to control the global supply and meet skyrocketing demand.”
Julie Klinger, associate professor of geography and spatial sciences at the University of Delaware, told Newsweek: “The key question is whether developing this deposit aligns with China’s broader strategies of emphasizing value-added processing of rare-earth elements imported from elsewhere, instead of new primary extraction in socio-ecologically important areas within its borders.
“Another question I have is whether these and other rare-earth deposits under exploration are truly destined for renewable energy, security, and scientific technologies, or for truly non-critical, if amusing, toys.”
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has launched a working group tasked with drafting legislation to reduce U.S. reliance on China for critical minerals.
