Rare Earth Supply Chains Are In Chaos – by Ag Metal Miner (Oil Price.com – December 5, 2022)

https://oilprice.com/

The December Rare Earths MMI (Monthly MetalMiner Index) traded sideways for the second month in a row. The index dropped 1.55% and MetalMiner anticipates it will continue sideways, most definitely for the short term and possibly in the long term.

This is mostly thanks to the supply of global rare earth magnets being interrupted by the current events within China, the world’s #1 supplier of rare earth elements.

Contrary to its name, rare earths are not rare. However, they are rare in concentrated amounts. This makes mining and extraction difficult. So with China being in an uncertain geopolitical place, along with trade being disrupted from zero-COVID, rare earth supply chains felt the effects in the past couple of months. It’s entirely possible that prices could switch upward.

As the world pushes towards green energy, so does its reliance on rare earth materials. This makes having a single source for rare earths a vulnerability for any country. The need for more sources outside of China for rare earths is vital.

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