# Does China Have a Monopoly on "Rare Earth" Elements? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2009, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-china-have-a-monopoly-on-rare-earth-elements/516541 "2009-11-06T08:26:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-china-have-a-monopoly-on-rare-earth-elements/516541/1 "2009-11-06T08:26:22Z")
I was reasing an investment report, that was talking about the commercial importance of the “rare earth” elements (lanthanum,hafnium,etc.)-which are used to make high power magnets optical components, etc. It seems that China is considering banning the export of these metals. Now comes word thatb there are major deposits of this stuff in greenland. My question: can China really monopolize these materials? And, wouldn’t this provide incentives to lokk elsewhere for other sources? ---
**Author:** ![FRDE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@FRDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FRDE)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-china-have-a-monopoly-on-rare-earth-elements/516541/2 "2009-11-06T09:53:56Z")
I saw that story, my reaction was the usual one, someone is trying to hype the price of a commodity or shares in an exploration company. It also got me thinking that when commodities get pricey, people tend to find a cheaper alternative - a Chinese electric auto company using ferrite batteries rather cancels the lithium hype. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-china-have-a-monopoly-on-rare-earth-elements/516541/3 "2009-11-06T11:27:34Z")
Despite the name, “Rare earths” are not rare at all. So I can’t see a ban from China having any major effect. ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-china-have-a-monopoly-on-rare-earth-elements/516541/4 "2009-11-06T12:39:02Z")
They tried, but failed, according to this [recent article in the Economist](http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14710643). ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-china-have-a-monopoly-on-rare-earth-elements/516541/5 "2009-11-06T13:02:26Z")
[A Newsweek article](http://www.newsweek.com/id/215544) on the subject. (That Economist article really only talks about the attempt to corner iron ore btw) > [@](#): > > All you have to know is that China has a near stranglehold on such ores, currently producing 95 percent of the world’s supply and claiming about 60 percent of known reserves within its borders, mostly in the region of Inner Mongolia. The region’s vice governor, Zhao Shuanglian, declared in early September that China planned to streamline the domestic rare-earth industry, impose export controls, and establish a national reserve mechanism. … > > … it takes up to a decade to develop a rare-earth mine on a commercial scale. Yet these 15 metallic elements happen to be essential in many emerging green technologies. They go into electric vehicles … China has already moved dramatically to curb export quotas for rare earths … In other words, rare earths are the sword of Damocles hanging over Beijing’s trading partners. If and when they anger China, the People’s Republic can cut them off on these essential elements. And nationalistic citizens will surely call on their government to play that card if China finds itself in a trade war like the one it is now spiraling toward with the United States. The effect would be felt across the developed world desperate for the technologies these metals enable. … Part of why I prefer the Chinese battery companies (like CBAK) for investment over say A123. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-china-have-a-monopoly-on-rare-earth-elements/516541/6 "2009-11-06T14:15:13Z")
Here’s another [article](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/26/business/energy-environment/26rare.html), this time from the New York Times. When other countries became aware of China’s interest in these minerals (and its threat to stop exports), they began to expand exploration of alternative sources. And the Australian government prevented a Chinese company from taking a controlling interest in a mine under development there. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-china-have-a-monopoly-on-rare-earth-elements/516541/7 "2009-11-06T16:28:34Z")
In addition to China, there are commercially viable deposits of gadolinite-Ce and gadolinite-Y (the two closely related minerals that are lanthanide ores, the hyphenated tags indicating whether they are richer in cerium or yttrium) at two locations in Sweden, one in Switzerland, one in Namibia, and over a dozen in the US, including Arizona (3 mines), Colorado (at least 8 mines), Virginia (one quarry), and apparently Texas (no extraction shown on the chart I consulted but gadolinite specimens shown as being from there). ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-china-have-a-monopoly-on-rare-earth-elements/516541/8 "2009-11-06T19:16:38Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Here’s another [article](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/26/business/energy-environment/26rare.html), this time from the New York Times. When other countries became aware of China’s interest in these minerals (and its threat to stop exports), they began to expand exploration of alternative sources. And the Australian government prevented a Chinese company from taking a controlling interest in a mine under development there. Indeed others are now investing in developing “rare earth” resources, but as that article points out > [@](#): > > China is likely to remain the dominant producer of rare earths for years to come because it takes up to 10 years to explore an ore discovery, obtain permits and build a mine. and these next ten years are highly significant ones for a potential infrastructure build out of wind turbines, EVs, etc etc etc. For the next decade anyway they will be able to wield the control of this resource to force companies to locate their actual factories in China and to give favored treatment to homegrown industries. A monopoly? No. Overwhelming control over? Yup. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-china-have-a-monopoly-on-rare-earth-elements/516541/9 "2009-11-06T22:33:02Z")
Don’t most of these things come from Florida beach sand? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-china-have-a-monopoly-on-rare-earth-elements/516541/10 "2009-11-06T23:41:56Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Don’t most of these things come from Florida beach sand? You may be thinking of quarters and dimes found by metal detectors. Common mistake. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-china-have-a-monopoly-on-rare-earth-elements/516541/11 "2023-01-13T23:11:49Z")
“Swedish mining company LKAB said it found a deposit in the Kiruna area of Sweden, above the Arctic Circle, that contains more than 1 million tons of rare-earth elements.” > **[Sweden claims largest discovery of 'crucial' rare-earth elements in Europe](https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2023/01/12/sweden-lkab-rare-earth-kiruna-geijer/5421673541543/)** > > Swedish mining company LKAB says China now dominates the rare-earth element market and the discovery will help ease the dependency on single suppliers. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-china-have-a-monopoly-on-rare-earth-elements/516541/12 "2023-01-13T23:41:59Z")
Beware of news releases from mining companies. They like to hype discoveries for stock price purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-china-have-a-monopoly-on-rare-earth-elements/516541/13 "2023-01-13T23:46:53Z")
I find it interesting that not all that much has changed in the last 13 years. China isn’t quite as dominant as it was, but that’s about all you can say. > **[Rare earths: production share by country 2021 | Statista](https://www.statista.com/statistics/270277/mining-of-rare-earths-by-country/)** > > As of 2021, China produced more than half of the total global rare earth mine production. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-china-have-a-monopoly-on-rare-earth-elements/516541/14 "2023-01-14T00:03:21Z")
The amount claimed found is about 5 years of China’s annual production. But… “If we look at how other permit processes have worked within our industry, it will be at least 10-15 years before we can actually begin mining and deliver raw materials to the market,” Mostrom said. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-china-have-a-monopoly-on-rare-earth-elements/516541/15 "2023-01-14T15:18:05Z")
“Rare earths” is a misnomer: They can be found pretty much anywhere on the planet. They’re only “rare” in so far as the concentrations are low (higher in some places than others, but still low compared to most mineral resources). Since they can be mined almost anywhere, in practice they end up being mined where the cost of labor is low. I.e., in China.