Australia may have spotted a lucrative hole in the market for rare-earth metals, which are crucial for the defence industry and for manufacturing products necessary for the development of artificial intelligence (AI), such as semiconductors.
Last week, China, which has a stranglehold on the supply of these critical minerals, tightened its export controls over its rare-earth metals. It now restricts exports of 12 of the 17 rare-earth metals on the periodic table. Seventy percent of rare earths are mined in China, and 90 percent are processed there.
The United States is among many nations that urgently require these materials, and analysts have suggested that China is using access to them as leverage for its ongoing trade talks with the US. The announcement of the new restrictions came just weeks ahead of an expected meeting between Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, later this month.
But on Thursday, Australia appeared to be stepping into the breach, when Canberra’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers told reporters in Washington that “Australia is very well placed” to service the global need for rare earths instead.
“We will engage with our partners to make sure that we can be a ve
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