China Just Turned Off U.S. Supplies Of Minerals Critical For Defense & Cleantech - CleanTechnica
cleantechnica.com
In response to new Trump tariffs, China cut dysprosium, terbium, and tungsten exports—hitting U.S. EVs, wind, and military systems hard.
  • @Dead_or_Alive@lemmy.worldEnglish
    -4•23 hours ago

    It’s not a big deal. Rare earth minerals aren’t that rare.

    It’s the refining of rare earth minerals which is energy intensive and causes a great deal of pollution.

    It was nice that China was destroying their own environment and spending the capital to build power plants. Now we will have to invest the capital to do it ourselves.

    • A Wild Mimic appears!English
      2•15 hours ago

      they are not rare, but they are not concentrated enough to make mining worthwhile. that will change when the price starts approaching infinity, but it takes years to ramp up production. and while you are sifting through huge volumes of stone and rock for meager results, the rest of the world runs in circles around you.