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The US may have its own rare Earth element supply chain, and the very first in the Western Hemisphere at that. Could this end China’s dominance over the West’s renewable revolution?
Just across the border from Nevada resides the only large-scale rare-Earth element mine in the entire Western Hemisphere.
Named Mountain Pass, the 600-foot pit in the California sand is chock-full of precious rare-Earth ores which are essential for the formation of alloys and magnets used in consumer electronics, wind turbines, and electric vehicle batteries.
Owned by numerous organisations since the 1960s, the mine closed once in 2002 during a toxic waste spill, and was left vacant following the bankruptcy of Neo Performance Materials in 2016.
Since being saved by MP Materials in 2017, however, the mine has provided a huge boon for global rare-Earth production. In-fact, Mountain Pass was responsible for as much as 15.8% of the entire supply during 2020, exporting metals like cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, and europium.
Today, chunks of rock are lifted from the crevasse and liquefied into a sort of metallic soup. The refining process is then carried out by China – which accounts for around 63% of mining, 85% of processing, and 92% of rare Earth magnet production worldwide.
China’s domination of the supply chain represents a significant stumbling block, considering the US’ demand for rare Earth magnets could reportedly rise sixfold compared to 2020’s figures. Within that period, magnet production for the nascent offshore wind industry could also increase from zero to 10,000 tons.
