The Little-Known Metals That Run the Modern World, and America's Plan to Break China's Grip
China mines most of the world's rare earths and processes even more. Last month's Trump-Xi state visit kept the truce alive, but shipments still lag. We argue Washington's price floors, stockpile and mine-to-magnet push are the smartest industrial bet in a generation.
By Clara Hughes
Altas World News Opinion Estimated read time: 7 minutes Key takeaways China produced about 270,000 of the world's 390,000 metric tons of rare earth mine output in 2025, and the United States, at about 51,000 tons, was the second-largest producer, according to the U.S. Geological Survey [1]. After last month's state visit by Xi Jinping, the White House said both sides would keep working on rare earth shortages "with the goal of ensuring shipment levels return to appropriate levels" [2]. Beijing has confirmed its trade arrangements with Washington now run to Jan. 10, 2027 [3]. In our view, President Trump's mix of tough bargaining and real investment, from a Pentagon price floor to a minerals stockpile backed by up to $10 billion in federal loans, is the right answer to a dangerous dependence. Small amounts, giant importance Most Americans have never heard of neodymium, dysprosium or yttrium. Yet these "rare earth" elements are inside fighter jets, missiles, electric motors, wind turbines, smartphones and hard drives. The name is misleading. Rare earths are not especially rare in the Earth's crust. What is rare is the ability to mine, separate and refine them into usable metals and magnets. That hard, dirty, expensive work is where China built its dominance. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, China mined about 270,000 metric tons of rare earth oxides in 2025, out of a world total of about 390,000 tons. China also has the largest reserves, an estimated 44 million tons [1]. The Bloomsbury Intelligence and Security Institute, a London research group, estimates China controls about 90% of global rare earth processing and magnet-making capacity [4]. America's comeback story Here is the part few people know. The United States is now the world's second-largest producer of rare earth ores, mining about 51,000 tons in 2025, according to the USGS [1]. Most of that comes from Mountain Pass, Calif., the second-largest rare earth mine in the world, run by MP Materials [5].…