The US is scrambling to resume production of raw materials vital for defence equipment and green technology in response to rising fears about Chinese dominance of the sector.
The push follows moves by Beijing, which controls more than 90 per cent of production, to restrict exports of “rare earths” – which have a range of sophisticated uses from precision-guided weapons, night vision and radar systems to green technologies such as hybrid cars and wind turbines.
Rare earths are 17 chemically similar metallic elements – such as europium, yttrium and lanthanum – that have unique magnetic, optical and other properties crucial for miniaturisation, lasers and energy efficiency.
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