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Rare earth metals are becoming increasingly important in the production of household, automotive and military equipment.
Everything from mobile phones, headphones, wind turbines to modern fighter jets depends on 17 rare earth elements (REE). The US has lagged far behind in the production and extraction of materials and has recently relied on countries such as China, which the US government considers a threat to its national security. Another country that has succeeded in extracting REE is Myanmar, it is inferior to China in the production of rare earth elements, but most of what it produces is exported to China.
China accounts for more than 90% of the production of REE and magnets created on their basis. This, to put it mildly, worries American officials, manufacturers and defense contractors. Last year, deliveries of the Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft were temporarily suspended after the Pentagon discovered a magnet made from so-called unauthorized materials from China. Each such aircraft uses about 420 kilograms of REE.
General Motors has signed a contract with the American company MP Materials, which produces rare earth metals, to supply powerful magnets for use in more than a dozen of its electric vehicles, including Hummer, Cadillac LYRIQ and Chevrolet Silverado.
Rare earth elements are 17 elements of the periodic table. The fields of application of these elements are extremely wide. Their list includes such areas as: aerospace components, lasers, television and computer displays, microwave filters, catalytic converters, equipment for oil refining, lens production. Without REE today it is difficult to imagine the production of hard drives for PCs, equipment for controlling nuclear reactors.
Despite what the name suggests, rare earth elements are actually not that scarce. For example, cerium, which is used to make a number of car parts, such as catalytic converters, is as common on the planet as copper and nickel.
The United States decided to increase the production of rare earth metals in order to reduce dependence on China in this regard. To this end, the new plant under construction in Fort Worth will serve as the main link in the restoration of the supply chain of rare earth elements in the United States. Initially, ore enrichment and processing will be carried out at the plant. The construction work is being carried out by MP Materials, which plans to launch the production of magnets based on rare earth metals by 2025. These products are going to be sold to both civilian companies and those engaged in the military-industrial complex.