In the midst of an uncertain future for America’s increasingly unstable relationship with Russia and China, some of the world’s largest exporters of rare-earth minerals, President Biden on Tuesday announced a multi-million dollar investment in a California-based rare earth facility, with the aim of creating a fully domestic supply chain for the magnets that power vehicle motors, wind turbines and more.
Serving as the building blocks for modern technology, rare earth elements, such as lithium and cobalt, are critical components in everything from household appliances to computers to aircraft to electric vehicles. Unfortunately, the bulk of America’s supply of these critical minerals is imported. China produces around 90% of the world’s supply of rare earth elements.
