Rare earths in Australia must be about more than mining

Summary

• REEs are a group of 17 metals. Each has unique properties vital for a range of commercial and defence technologies—e.g. an F-35 fighter carries about 420 kilograms of REEs.
• China has monopolistic control of global REE supply chains and has shown it is willing to use this power to coerce and control other countries.
• Japan, the US, and Australia have each sought to improve their supply-chain resilience. However, unilateral efforts do not appear adequate to secure alternative supply chains.
• The Australian government needs to consider encouraging industry to move further along the REE value chain, possibly adjusting taxation to facilitate the extraction and delivery of rare earths.

References

Recent Runway Posts related to this topic:

• Australia has a key role to play in reducing China’s rare-earths dominance | The Runway (airforce.gov.au)

References from the Web:

• MAR 2022 Government commits $240 million to critical minerals projects in mission to end Australia's reliance on China—ABC  
• JUN 2022 The CCP’s information campaign targeting rare earths and Australian company Lynas—ASPI  

Source: Strategist (ASPI)

• Link to Source:| The Strategist | ASPI's analysis and commentary site (aspi.au)
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