The ability to refine rare earths is rare. And that’s the real problem. It’s a very complicated and very toxic process to get from monazite ore to industrial-grade purified neodymium and cerium, and China is the only country who has the combination of institutional knowledge and disregard of environmental standards to do it at scale.
So just saying “it has rare earths” is not a valid reason for anything.
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”Rare earths” are not actually rare.
The ability to refine rare earths is rare. And that’s the real problem. It’s a very complicated and very toxic process to get from monazite ore to industrial-grade purified neodymium and cerium, and China is the only country who has the combination of institutional knowledge and disregard of environmental standards to do it at scale.
So just saying “it has rare earths” is not a valid reason for anything.
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