Despite new sources

World remains dependent on China for rare earths

The dependence on the trading giant China will remain for a long time to come with regard to rare earths.(Bild: AFP/STR)

US President Donald Trump would like to mine them in Ukraine or Greenland in order to break China's dominance: rare earths, which are needed for electric car batteries, artificial intelligence and modern weapons systems. According to experts, however, dependence on China will remain for a long time to come. 

The main reason for this is the current low global market prices for rare earths. "All companies that currently mine or process rare earths are reporting economic problems," says Harald Elsner, co-author of the study by the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA).

This makes it difficult to develop new deposits in other countries. In addition, the necessary infrastructure for mining and processing the materials is often lacking outside China.

Trump is eyeing deposits in Greenland
According to the experts, this is likely to be one reason for Trump's interest in Greenland. The island is said to have the world's largest deposits of heavy rare earths. However, they have not yet been mined. A China-backed rare earth project in Greenland came to a standstill after the local government banned uranium mining in 2021.

Elsner has high hopes for a deposit in Australia. Several companies have announced their intention to extract heavy rare earths from Australian ores, either directly in Australia or in Malaysia or the USA.

Demand will increase
The demand for rare earths, which are used for e-car batteries and wind turbines, for example, is likely to increase significantly in the future.

Experts are particularly critical of the so-called heavy rare earths, which are not only used in car manufacturing, but also in the US arms industry. These continue to come 100 percent from China, where they are mined or at least refined.