US defence firms scrambling for rare earth minerals after China blocks exports

Telegraph

9 hours ago

The US is scrambling to get hold of the rare earth metals needed to make weapons after China slashed its supply to American defence firms.
Prices of some rare earths have increased more than 60-fold after Beijing restricted the export of the materials for defence purposes earlier this year, amid a trade war with the US.
Beijing controls around 90 per cent of the world's rare metal supply and dominates the production of many other critical minerals, giving the country a 'stranglehold' on the US defence industrial base, experts said.
A senior defence industry source told The Telegraph the 'light is turning from yellow to red' when it comes to American companies' ability to source the materials, that are needed for everything from fighter jets and drones, to missile-targeting and defensive satellites.
The strain on rare earths has exposed how reliant the US is on Chinese exports for its defence supply chain, giving Beijing leverage at a time of fraught trade discussions between the two rival powers.
A spokesman for the China select committee labelled the situation a 'wake-up call' that 'underscores just how dangerous our current dependencies are'.
'The United States cannot afford to have defence supply chains at the mercy of the Chinese Communist Party,' they said. 'Congress and the administration must now urgently work together to identify and mitigate these vulnerabilities before they cost American lives.'
'No quick and easy fix'
Michal Sobolick, a senior fellow specialising in United States–China relations at Hudson Institute, said: 'We've traded with this authoritarian, Marxist regime and they now have a stranglehold on our ability to make fighter jets.
'That's dangerous and there is no quick and easy fix for this.'
In addition to restrictions on rare earths, since December China has banned exports to the US of germanium, gallium and antimony, which are critical minerals used in the making of bullets and night vision goggles.
Some companies have warned of imminent cuts to production unless fresh supplies of minerals arrive soon.
On Wednesday, the chief executive of US-based Leonardo DRS said the firm has been forced to tap into its 'safety stock' of germanium.
'In order to sustain timely product deliveries, material flow must improve in the second half [of 2025],' Bill Lynn said on a conference call, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
The mineral is used in infrared sensors that guide missiles and other equipment.
Two-month delivery delays
Drone manufacturers are said to be among the most exposed defence firms as they are often small businesses that do not have the kind of stockpiles of rare earths that larger companies do.
'I can tell you…we talk about this daily and our companies talk about it daily,' Dak Hardwick, the vice-president of international affairs at the Aerospace Industries Association trade group, told the WSJ.
Since China introduced export licences for rare earths in April, defence firms have been required to fill out extensive paperwork, including providing sensitive information such as product images, to ensure the material is not used for military purposes, Western buyers told the WSJ.
This has led to delivery delays of up to two months, with one drone manufacturing company reporting that its Chinese magnet supplier had demanded drawings of products, a list of buyers and assurances they would not be used for military applications.
'Of course we are not going to provide the Chinese government with that information,' Chris Thompson, the vice-president of global sales for ePropelled, told the Journal.
The company builds motors for drones used in the Ukraine conflict.
DoD boosting production of minerals
Metal importers told the WSJ that Beijing's demands to know what rare earths are being used means that licences are not being approved for traders to stockpile supplies.
The department of defence has moved 'at warp speed' in recent months to boost production of critical minerals, according to Dr Gracelin Baskaran, the director of the critical minerals security programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies
This included a $400m investment earlier this month in MP Materials, which operates the largest rare earth mine in the Americas. As part of the deal, the company plans to scale its annual magnet manufacturing capacity from 1,000 metric tons in 2025 to 10,000 metric tons over the next decade.
Last year, the Pentagon also set up the Critical Minerals Forum, which helps metal miners secure funding for rare earth extraction and enables larger defence firms to purchase the materials directly rather than relying on smaller subsidiaries.
'The modern age is powered by rare earth elements, and if we don't move aggressively to solve this problem, we are always going to be playing catchup,' an industry source said.
Mr Sobolick warned that the US has 'sleepwalked into this situation' and that China's dominance of the rare metals supply chain will give them the upper hand in trade negotiations over the next few years.