The US has a single rare earths mine. Chinese export limits are energizing a push for more

OMAHA Neb AP America s only rare earths mine heard from anxious companies soon after China responded to President Donald Trump s tariffs this month by limiting exports of those minerals used for military applications and in a multitude of high-tech devices Based on the number of phone calls we re receiving the effects have been immediate reported Matt Sloustcher a spokesperson for MP Materials the company that runs the Mountain Pass mine in California s Mojave Desert The arrangement war between the world s two biggest economies could lead to a critical shortage of rare earth elements if China maintains its export controls long-term or expands them to seek an advantage in any deal negotiations The California mine can t meet all of the U S demand for rare earths which is why Trump is trying to clear the way for new mines Rare earth elements are crucial ingredients in electric vehicles powerful magnets advanced fighter jets submarines smartphones television screens and numerous other products Despite their name the elements aren t literally rare but it s hard to find them in a high enough concentration to make a mine worth the expenditure Tariffs will impact ore supply and costs MP Materials which acquired the idle Mountain Pass site in noted Thursday it would stop sending its ore to China for processing because of the export restrictions and tariffs on U S imports China imposed The company declared it would continue processing nearly half of what it mines on site and store the rest while it works to expand its processing capability Selling our valuable critical minerals under tariffs is neither commercially rational nor aligned with America s national interests MP Materials announced in a comment Experts say the manufacturers that rely on rare earth elements and other critical minerals will see price increases but there is likely enough of a global supply available to keep factories operating for now The California mine yields neodymium and praseodymium the light rare earths that are the main components of the permanent rare earth magnets in EVs and wind turbines But small amounts of specific of the heavy rare earths that China has restricted such as terbium and dysprosium are key to helping the magnets withstand high temperatures Already the price of terbium has jumped since the end of March to reach per kilogram Our estimate suggests that there is enough stockpile in the industry to sustain demand for now Benchmark Mineral Intelligence rare earths analyst Neha Mukherjee disclosed adding that shortages may emerge later this year China holds power over the territory China has tremendous power over the rare earths territory The country has the biggest mines producing metric tons tons of minerals last year compared to the tons metric tons mined in the U S China supplies nearly of the world s rare earths because it also is home to majority of of the processing threshold The restrictions Beijing put in place on April require Chinese exporters of seven heavy rare earths and specific magnets to obtain special licenses The retaliatory controls reinforced what the Trump administration and manufacturers see as a dire need to build additional U S mines and reduce the nation s dependence on China Trump has tried so far unsuccessfully to strong-arm Greenland and Ukraine into providing more of their rare earths and other critical materials to the United States Last month he signed an executive order calling for the federal governing body to streamline permit approvals for new mines and encourage investments in the projects Two companies are trying to develop mines in Nebraska and Montana Personnel at NioCorp and U S Critical Materials disclosed they hoped the push from the White House would help them raise money and obtain the necessary approvals to start digging NioCorp has worked for years to raise billion to build a mine in southeast Nebraska As I sit and I think about how can we deal with this enormous leverage that China has over these minerals that nobody even knows how to pronounce for the largest part part we have to deal with this leverage situation NioCorp CEO Mark Smith mentioned And the best way I think is that we need to make our own heavy rare earths here in the United States And we can do that MP Materials is working to swiftly expand its processing capability partly with the help of a few million the company received coming out of the first Trump administration But after investing nearly billion since the company doesn t currently have the ability to process the heavy rare earths that China is restricting MP Materials explained it was working expeditiously to change that and it is building a factory in Texas to produce rare earth magnets for electric vehicles and other products domestically and chip away at China s dominance in that sector Big U S automakers declined to comment about how dependent they are on rare earths and the impact of China s export curbs Major defense contractors like Boeing and Lockheed Martin which were specifically targeted in China s restrictions along with more than a dozen other defense and aerospace companies also remained circumspect Military machinery is a smaller but key user of rare earths Trump issued an executive order on Tuesday calling for an probe into the national precaution implications of being so reliant on China for the elements A spokesperson for Lockheed which makes the F- fighter jet declared the company continuously assesses the global rare earth supply chain to ensure access to critical materials that aid our customers missions Manufacturers prepare for price increases Various battery makers could start to run short of key elements within weeks according to Steve Christensen executive director of the Responsible Battery Coalition an association representing battery and automakers and battery sellers Already manufacturers have seen the price of antimony an element used to extend the life of traditional lead-acid batteries more than double since China restricted exports of it last year The element isn t one of the rare earths but is among the critical minerals that Trump wants to see produced domestically Initially automakers will likely try to absorb any increase in the cost of their batteries without raising bicycle prices but that may not be sustainable if China s restrictions remain in place Christensen declared A tariff Trump put on all imported automobiles and auto parts cars already was expected to increase costs although the president hinted this week that he might give the industry a temporary reprieve The U S fulfilled its rare earths demands with domestic sources until the late s Production largely ended after low-cost Chinese ores flooded global markets Robots drones and other new technologies have rapidly increased demand for the raw materials NioCorp not long ago signed a contract to do more exploratory drilling on its site this summer to help prove to the Export-Import Bank that enough rare earth minerals rest underground near Elk Creek Nebraska to justify an million loan to help finance the project But a new rare earths mine is years away from operating in the U S NioCorp estimates if all goes well with its fundraising the site where it hopes to mine and process niobium scandium titanium and an assortment of rare earths possibly might be running by the end of Trump s presidency U S Critical Materials plans to dig up several tons of ore in Montana this summer so it can test out processing methods it has been progressing The Sheep Creek project isn t as far along as the Nebraska project but U S Critical Materials Director Harvey Kaye disclosed the site has promising ore deposits with high concentrations of rare earths This story corrects the name of U S Critical Materials company Updates Media Source