Chinese Rare Earths Help Power U.S. Defense, Military

Take a look at the American military arsenal, and you will find that many of the US fiery power depends on rare land – capable materials that are largely controlled by China.

For example, each fighter plane is designed from Lockheed Martin F-35, for example, with more than 920 rare land. More than 5700 pounds of rare land supported by the ARLEIGH Burke missile destroyer, according to metal consulting material, each of Virginia’s submarine requires more than 10,000 pounds of desired minerals.

Take a look at the American military arsenal, and you will find that many of the US fiery power depends on rare land – capable materials that are largely controlled by China.

For example, every Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter plane is designed 920 pounds From rare land. More than 5,700 pounds of rare land on which the ARLEIGH Burke guided missile destroyers are based, According to To the metal consulting standard, each of the Virginia submarine requires more than 10,000 pounds of desired minerals.

“They are in all forms of defense technology,” said Grassillin Baskran, director of the critical metal security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington -based research center. “They are in warships, combat aircraft, missiles, lasers, tanks, satellites, and drones – in everything.”

The problem is that today, China dominates an overwhelming majority on the global supply chains of rare land, with about 85 percent of treatment and more than 90 percent of magnet production. Beijing is particularly dominating the separation of what is known as the rare heavy land, and it has been used to take advantage of the White House earlier Export From techniques to extract rare land, separation and magnet production.

Since US President Donald Trump launched his trade war in April, officials from both countries spent months of negotiation exports From strong materials. But Beijing is still maintaining Big crane. With undergoing trade negotiations, China suffocates the flow of critical metals, including rare land, to Western defense companies, which sparked delay and raising prices, Wall Street Journal I mentioned.

“We have to ask China’s permission to build our weapons because they control the permanent magnet supply chain,” said Ashley Zumwalt Forbes, Deputy Director of the US Energy for Critical Battle and Minerals in the Biden administration.

“This is a very dangerous situation,” she added.

Despite their nameThe rare land is not actually this is not common. A group of 17 elements, which bears mysterious names such as neodimium and lanthanom, can be found all over the world, although its location in commercial quantities is more difficult.

One day the United States was one of the largest rare land producers in the world. But with the start of environmental concerns and financial challenges in the American mining industry decades ago, American legislators saw that the sector should be Using external sources at the international level-Even to the point of closing the US mining office, a major research agency, in 1996. Today, the United States is a home to the One-Earth Rare: MP. Mountain path California mining and processing facility.

At the same time that Washington withdrew, China withdrew bentPour the enormous resources and investments in the rare land sector for decades. Now, the great challenge of American legislators, and a lot of the world, is that China’s leadership on rare global land supply chains-and its resulting prices-has made it difficult for anyone else to storm the industry.

In April, China took revenge on Trump’s trade war by imposing export controls on seven types of rare lands and magnets. American and Chinese negotiators then agreed on a 90 -day truce, scheduled for Tuesday. Before the deadline, senior American officials stressed the importance of ensuring the continued access to strong elements.

“We are focusing on making sure that the magnet from China to the United States and the neighboring supply chain can flow freely as it did before control,” said American commercial actor Jameson Jarir. interview with Bloomberg Last Friday, referring to the recent commercial restrictions of Beijing. He added, “I would like to say that we are in the middle of the road there.”

The US Department of Defense and Western Defense Controls have always been aware of rare land pressure points, and the White House has spent the past few years in stampede to address the challenge. During the Trump’s first administration, the American leader aims to enhance Metal Mineral Security by issuing Executive order To investigate the threat posed by dependence on the country’s monetary minerals on foreign opponents and determining policy responses. Trump also increased funding for Local land companies.

His successor, President Joe Biden, focused on expanding the country’s rare land in the country and used the law to reduce inflation for a new encouragement Local metal supply chainsThat is, by linking the huge tax incentives to the materials obtained from the United States or free trade partners. both of them Trump also summoned the defense production law, a The law of the cold war eraTo acceleration The local production of critical minerals for reasons related to national security by setting the priorities of these efforts and New financing filling.

But after decades of neglecting its industry, the United States is still very vulnerable to Beijing’s grip.

“More than 95 percent of rare Earthly or minerals come from or processed from China. Declare to Financial times In 2023. “If we have to leave China, it will take us several years to re -establish this ability either locally or in other friendly countries.”

The Pentagon is betting It can help convert a new page. In recent years, the Ministry of Defense poured nearly $ 540 million in critical metal projects, Reuters I mentioned. But the Pentagon now goes further, that is, by liberating a deal with billions of dollars recently that will make it the largest contributor to it. MP materialsThe above -mentioned company that runs the only rare Earth mine in the country.

With the support of the Pentagon, MP will build a rare magnetic factory, which is expected to be launched in 2028. The US government will purchase factory production and establish a price for the price to protect the company from financial pressure.

The deal represents one of the clearest examples of state interference in the decisive mineral sector, a victory for MP materials, which for years has sought to obtain a greater share in the global market and will now be supported by an unprecedented degree of federal support.

“We are against China, which has a very interventional mineral policy in production and treatment, in the event of a delay in making the estuary,” said Paskran from CSIS. “In order for the United States to be competitive with China, [it] It will require more intervention model. This is a big step towards facing China. ”

By 2027, the Pentagon will also require defense contractors to purchase rare magnets only that does not contain Minerals made from ChinaAccording to Wall Street Journal.

However, even with the efforts of the Ministry of Defense, there are still major challenges, and any efforts to film a mine supply chain to Magnet will take a new time. New supply chains engineering is not just the issue of finding a new mine; It takes a complete environmental system of separation and production, all of which has a decades -duration feature.

“The contrast in intellectual fireworks in China versus the United States regarding these minerals is severe,” said Chris Perry, President of House Mountain Partners, an independent consultant for mineral analysis.

At the same time that Washington’s efforts are captured, Beijing also moves only forward. China is still in abundance in MyanmarAnd it is rich in rare mining, and according to what was reported, the Chinese government began to create a Official catalog One of the rare Earth specialists to ensure that their artistic experience is not shared abroad.

Last year, China witnessed the largest number of Overseas acquisitions In more than a decade, according to Financial times.

“China does not deal differently – it is doing more of them,” Paskran said.