Can America Break China’s Grip on Rare Earths?
China spent decades building a dominant position across rare-earth mining, processing and magnet manufacturing, leaving the US dependent on a foreign supply chain for materials essential to everything from vehicles and wind turbines to electronics and defense systems. MP Materials is now trying to rebuild that chain domestically, moving from its Mountain Pass mine in California into refining. But catching up will take more than finding minerals: the US still faces higher costs, limited processing capacity, opaque pricing and a Chinese lead that industry experts say took roughly 25 years to bui