With China providing over 95% of the earth’s supply of “rare earth” minerals to the rest of the world, they’re in a very good supply-control position. They effectively control the flow of resources needed to create conductors, magnets, capacitors, and other crucial electronics components.Most kinds of rare earth materials are—despite the name—not very rare. China however can mine them relatively freely, with environmental regulations making the process very expensive for other industrial bases in the US and Europe. Right now the Chinese are happy to maximize this advantage, effectively selling rare earth for use by other countries and foreign-based companies [...]Post from: The Gadget Blog
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