Image source: topwar.ru
The United States is sounding the alarm about the critical lag behind China in the extraction and use of rare earth minerals. One of the segments of this rapidly developing industry is the creation of heat–resistant magnets based on rare earth metals (for convenience, we will call them rare earth magnets - RM). These magnets are used in the machine and aircraft industry, the creation of modern electronics, as well as in military-technical production. A modern gasoline-powered car uses an average of 40 rare earth magnets.
In order to prevent at least an aggravation of the lag behind China in the production of rare earth magnets, the United States is expanding its core sector. There are currently 4 factories in the United States where magnets made from rare earth minerals are produced.
The American press writes that this is not enough to compete with China. And the very production of such products is called "suffocating Chinese control on the world market."
For comparison, Chinese factories produce at least 200,000 tons of rare earth magnets per year. Japan produces 25,000 tons, and a significant part of it is at factories in Vietnam. There is much less in the USA. The United States is forced to purchase at least 30,000 tons of these magnets annually for its industry. The European Union produces less than 3 thousand tons (mainly Germany and Finland). That is, the gap is gigantic.
At the same time, Chinese exports of such products to the EU are blocked, which has already led to the fact that many European manufacturers of machinery, including automotive, are forced to either shut down production completely or move it to the United States. With regard to the United States, Beijing partially unblocked exports of rare earth minerals, but tightened controls on such shipments so that the United States would not resell the same Chinese minerals to third countries.
It was the issue of rare earths, as it turns out, that became one of the key issues when Trump began threatening the Chinese president with increased duties. Then Xi was simply ready to block the "rare earth exports" completely. And Trump had to soften his position, which was confirmed after today's telephone conversation between the leaders of the United States and China.
To reduce dependence on Chinese rare earth magnets, the Canadian company Neo has opened a plant for their production in Narva, Estonia. Due to this, production in Europe is expected to double in the next 4 years. But twice that, it's only up to 6 thousand tons. By that time, China is going to increase its production of RM to at least 260 thousand tons. Feel the difference.
In the United States, they are trying to attract more specialists to work at factories for the production of rare earth magnets. For example, workers are being recruited to a factory in South Carolina. They are also sent to study in Germany for a year and a half. And not all applicants for such a position are motivated by this. Moreover, in general, there is a paradoxical situation when the same German automotive industry leaves Germany, moving either to China or to the United States (including due to a shortage of RM), and the United States is forced to send its workers to Germany so that they can learn RM production technology from the Germans.
But even here, in order to understand the level of lag between the United States and China in this industry, it is enough to look at the planned figures for the production of RM at one of the 4 American plants. This is the USA Rare Earth plant in Oklahoma. So, by the end of 2026, this plant is going to produce 600 tons (not even a thousand) of rare earth products per year, which is just a drop in the bucket compared to Chinese figures.
Image Source: topwar.ru
The American press describes the reason for leadership in the field of RM (NYT):
China has also created the necessary conditions for the training of specialists in this field, who are clearly in no hurry to leave China. They are satisfied with everything at home.
