amounted to 430,000 tons last year. Compare that to the global production of 2.75 billion tons of iron ore, 79 million tons of aluminum, and 25 million tons of copper. Global rare earths production has more than
doubled in the past decade. Their unique abili- ties to strengthen magnetic devices and with- stand high temperatures make them absolutely essential for high-tech applications. But producers first must discover deposits
rich enough to justify the extraordinary invest- ment required to mine and process them. The United States was the world’s dominant
Global rare earths production has more than doubled in the past decade. Their unique abilities to strengthen magnetic devices and withstand high temperatures make them absolutely essential for high-tech applications.
CHINA DOMINANCE
Savit notes that in 1992, then-Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping declared, “The Middle East has oil, China has rare earths.” Since then, China has cornered the global market on many high- tech minerals. The first thing to understand about rare
earths is they aren’t really rare. Traces can be found virtually throughout the Earth’s crust. What is “rare,” however, are concentrations rich enough to justify mining and processing. The rare earth element praseodymium, for
example, is used to manufacture powerful mag- nets and lasers. Its average abundance is 8,700 parts per billion — and that makes it rare indeed. As that suggests, rare earth mining and pro-
cessing operations render only small amounts. Total global production of rare earths only
producer of rare earths through the mid-1980s. But the advent of globalism and the environmen- tal movement, along with rising regulatory and economic challenges, gave China’s state-funded enterprises a huge competitive advantage. According to data collected by the U.S. Geo-
logical Survey as reported by Statista and oth- ers, the United States imported 80% of its rare earths last year. About 70% of those imports come from China. For several vital elements, America has
zero domestic production and is 100% reliant on imports. The strategic, long-term impact of an outright
Chinese embargo would be stunning, affect- ing Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines, Tomahawk missiles, advanced radar systems, Predator drones, and Joint Direct Attack Muni- tion smart bombs. All of them are heavily dependent on the pow-
erful magnets and electronics made possible by rare earths. Indeed, according to the Defense Depart-
ment, each F-35 fifth-generation fighter jet uses over 900 pounds of rare earth materials, and a single Arleigh Burke-class DDG-51 destroyer uses 5,200 pounds of them.
RARE EARTHS REPORT
Under Trump, however, there are clear signs that America’s reliance on imports could change. In April, Trump issued an executive order —
Ensuring National Security and Economic Re- silience Through Processed Critical Minerals — declaring that rare earths represent “a serious
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