Critical Elements: U.S. Begins Forging Rare Earth Supply Chain.

• Author: Easley, Mikayla

MOUNTAIN PASS, California--From the smartphone in your pocket to magnets powering a growing number of electric vehicles on the road, rare earth elements are the foundational components for some of the most commonly used technologies today.

But over the last three decades, Beijing has held an iron grip on the world's supply chain for rare earth elements such that nearly all materials--no matter where in the world they are mined--travel to China for refinement before they can be used in technologies.

Currently, the country controls nearly 60 percent of rare earth mining operations, more than 85 percent of processing capacity and more than 90 percent of permanent magnet production, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

It's an issue that poses a vulnerability within the United States' supply chain and poses potential national security risks, considering Washington's strained relations with Beijing. As demand signals for technologies that rely on these elements are projected to skyrocket, both industry and government are investing in methods that aim to secure a domestic rare earth supply chain.

Despite being labeled as "rare," the 17 different elements known as rare earths are relatively abundant in the Earth's crust. The Biden administration considers them one of the strategic and critical materials and minerals for their use in several modern commercial and defense technologies--including smartphones, medical equipment and highly specialized magnets used in electric vehicles, jet fighters and drones.

But since the chemical properties of rare earth elements are nearly indistinguishable from one another, individually separating and refining them so they can be used to make magnets and other technologies is a complex process, said Linda Chrisey, program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

"Two different rare earth elements may be fractions of an angstrom different in diameter--that means it's very difficult to separate using physical means. The processes that are used right now... can be 100 steps," Chrisey said, also noting that the procedure can be very expensive and environmentally hazardous due to the chemicals used to separate and purify the metals.

"These are all reasons why it has been difficult to sustain that kind of operation in the United States," she added.

However, on top of a mountain in the Mojave Desert at the United States' largest rare earth mine, MP Materials is trying to reverse that trend.

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