By Josh Funk, business writer AP
Omaha, neb. (AP) – The only mine of rare land in America heard anxious companies shortly after China responded to President Donald Trump’s prices this month by limiting exports of these minerals used for military applications and in many high -tech devices.
“Based on the number of telephone calls we receive, the effects have been immediate,” said Matt Sloustcher, spokesperson for MP Materials, the company that runs the Mountain Pass mine in the Mojave desert in California.
The trade war between the two largest economies in the world could lead to a criticism of rare land elements if China maintains its long -term export controls or widens them to seek an advantage in any commercial negotiation. The California mine cannot meet the whole American demand for rare land, which is why Trump is trying to pave the way for new mines.
Rare earth elements are important ingredients in electric vehicles, powerful magnets, advanced fighter planes, submarines, smartphones, television screens and many other products. Despite their name, the 17 elements are not really rare, but it is difficult to find them in a concentration high enough to mine by worth the investment.
Prices will have an impact on the ore supply and costs
MP Materials, who acquired the site of the inactive pass in 2017, said Thursday that he would stop sending his ore in China for treatment due to export restrictions and 125% prices on American imports that China has imposed. The company said that it would continue to treat almost half of what it is mine on the site and store the rest while it strives to develop its treatment capacity.
“The sale of our precious critical minerals of less than 125% of prices is neither commercially rational nor aligned with the national interests of America,” MP Materials said in a press release.
Experts say that manufacturers relying on rare earth elements and other critical minerals will see price increases, but there is probably enough global offer to maintain operational factories for the moment.
The California mine gives neodymium and praseodymium, rare light earths which are the main components of permanent magnets of rare earths in electric vehicles and wind turbines. But small quantities of some of the rare earths that China have limited, such as terbium and dysprosium, are essential to help magnets resist high temperatures.
Already, the price of the terbium has jumped 24% since the end of March to reach $ 933 per kilogram.
“Our estimate suggests that there are enough stocks on the market to maintain demand for the moment,” said Neha Mukherjee, benchmark analyst Mineral Rare Earths, adding that shortages could emerge later this year.
China holds power on the market
China has enormous power on the rare land market. The country has the largest mines, producing 270,000 metric tonnes (297,624 tonnes) of minerals last year, compared to 45,000 tonnes (40,823 metric tonnes) in American China provides almost 90% of rare land in the world, as it also houses most of the transformation capacity.
The restrictions that Beijing implemented on April 4 require Chinese exporters of seven rare land and some magnets to obtain special licenses. Reprisal checks have strengthened what Trump administration and manufacturers consider a terrible need to build additional US mines and reduce the country’s dependence on China.
Trump has so far tried without success in Greenland and Ukraine with a strong arm to provide more of their rare land and other critical materials in the United States. Last month, he signed an executive decree calling for the federal government to rationalize license approvals for new mines and encourage investments in projects.
Two companies are trying to develop mines in Nebraska and Montana. Niocorp officials and American critical documents said they hoped that the White House’s push would help them collect funds and get the necessary approvals to start digging. Niocorp has worked for years to raise $ 1.1 billion to build a mine in southeast Nebraska.
“While I sit down and I think of how we can manage this huge lever effect that China has on these minerals that nobody even knows how to pronounce for the most part, we have to face this lever situation,” said the CEO of Niocorp, Mark Smith. “And the best way, I think, is that we have to make our own rare heavy land here in the United States. And we can do it. “
MP MATERIALS strives to quickly expand its treatment capacity, in part with some $ 45 million that the company received from the first Trump administration. But after having invested nearly a billion dollars since 2020, the company does not currently have the capacity to treat the strong rare land that China restricts. MP MATERIALS said he was working quickly to change this, and he built a factory in Texas to produce rare earth magnets for electric vehicles and other products at the national level and distance the domination of China in this market.
The major American car manufacturers have refused to comment how dependent on rare land and the impact of the export borders of China. The main defense entrepreneurs such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, who were specifically targeted in Chinese restrictions as well as more than a dozen other defense and aerospace companies, have also remained circumspect.
Military technology is a smaller but important user of rare land. Trump on Tuesday published an executive decree calling for an investigation into national security implications to be so dependent on China for the elements.
A Lockheed spokesperson, who makes the F-22 Fighter Jet, said that the company continuously assesses “the global supply chain to guarantee access to critical materials that support the missions of our customers”.
Manufacturers are preparing for price increases
Some battery manufacturers could start running in key elements in a few weeks, according to Steve Christensen, executive director of the Battery Coalition manager, an association representing batteries and car manufacturers and battery sellers.
Already, manufacturers have seen the price of antimony, an element used to extend the lifespan of traditional lead batteries, more than double since China restricted exports last year. The element is not one of the 17 rare land but is one of the critical minerals that Trump wants to see products at the national level.
Initially, car manufacturers will probably try to absorb any increase in the cost of their batteries without increasing vehicle prices, but this may not be durable if China restrictions remain in place, said Christensen. A 25% price that Trump put on all imported cars and car cars had already increased costs, although the president has hinted this week that he could give the industry a temporary stay.
The United States has met its rare earth needs with domestic sources until the late 1990s. Production ended widely after low-cost Chinese ores flooded world markets. Robots, drones and other new technologies have quickly increased the demand for raw materials.
Niocorp recently signed a contract to make more exploratory drilling on its site this summer to prove to the export-important bank that enough rare minerals rest under the ground near Elk Creek, Nebraska, to justify a loan of $ 800 million to help finance the project.
But a new rare Earths mine is for years to operate in the American estimates of Niocorp if everything goes well with its fundraising, the site where it hopes to exploit and treat niobium, scandium, titanium and an assortment of rare earths could be executed by the end of the presidency of Trump.
American critical materials plan to dig up several tonnes of ore in Montana this summer so that he can test the treatment methods she has developed. The Sheep Creek project is not as far as the Nebraska project, but the director of American critical materials, Harvey Kaye, said the site had promising ore deposits with high rare concentrations.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
