Latest news with #CriticalMineralsSecurityProgram
CNBC
2 days ago
- Automotive
- CNBC
How China could shut down auto factories around the world
China's dominance of the global supply chain is starting to hurt automakers. On April 4, the country cut off exports of a class of minerals called "heavy rare earth elements," and it sent the global auto industry into a panic. Rare earths are a class of 17 elements that have become indispensable in all kinds of applications — everything from fighter jets and submarines, to smartphones and appliances. You can even find them in sports equipment, like tennis rackets and baseball bats. They are also, of course, essential to the modern automobile. Gas burning cars use them to filter pollution through the vehicle's catalytic converter. Electric vehicles use them in motors and batteries. "Rare earths are really critical, and not just for electric vehicles," said Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "They are in your seat belt, your steering wheels, various parts of your electrical components. You are not going to manufacture a car without rare earths." Rare earths are split into further categories, based on their atomic weight. Light rare earths are easier to source. It's the medium and heavy ones that China has totally monopolized. China controls about 70% of the world's rare earth mines. But where it really dominates is in processing. The name "rare earth elements" is a bit misleading — the elements themselves are not that rare in nature. What makes them "rare" is the complex and difficult process of separating them from the rock they are embedded in, and from each other. China controls about 90% of the world's rare earth processing, and has a total monopoly on the processing of heavy rare earths. Since at least 2023, China has been tightening its grip on several of the key critical minerals it provides for the world, Baskaran said. Still, the April 4 export restrictions shocked the automotive world. "It came out of nowhere," said Dan Hearsch, managing director at AlixPartners. "Nobody had any time to react to it. I mean, within a matter of weeks, all of the material in the pipeline was out." European automakers shut down factories. Ford had to idle production of its popular Explorer SUV. This month, China started permitting some access to companies that supply parts to some automakers. And this week the Trump administration said it had reached a deal to expedite rare earth and magnet shipments to the U.S. Still it is unclear how durable these deals will be. "We're not out of the woods yet," Baskaran said. "There is a lot of volatility in the U.S.-China relationship in between tariffs and mineral restrictions. We've seen China ramp up restrictions over two years. Rare earths are just the newest one." There are longer-term solutions if China cuts off access again: recycling, developing other sources and innovation, for example. This crisis may even spur the industry to take action that reduces dependence on China. But this rare earths crisis is just the latest in a series of supply disruptions over the last several years. Hearsch said it will likely get worse. "Today it's rare earths," Hearsch said. "But tomorrow it can and will be something else that maybe we're not thinking about, that maybe isn't even all that valuable and suddenly will be." Watch the video to learn more
India.com
5 days ago
- Business
- India.com
China is eyeing a treasure in Myanmar that may make it 'Global leader' in..., India can also...
Chinese President Xi Jinping (File) China's rising dependence on Myanmar: Behind the massive growth in China's industrial sector, more specifically in the electronics and communication technology in the last few decades, rare heavy metals have played a very critical role. Although China is the world's top producer of rare earths, it still continues to import massive quantities of rare earth minerals from various countries across the world and one of its biggest import source is Myanmar. Here are all the details you need to know about China's rising dependence on Myanmar. China's rising dependence on Myanmar As per a report by CNBC, Myanmar accounted for about 57% of China's total rare earth imports last year and Beijing has been stepping up controls on rare earth exports in the country. 'Myanmar's production has significantly strengthened China's dominant position, effectively giving Beijing a de facto monopoly over the global heavy rare earths supply chain — and much of the leverage it wields today', Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, was quoted as saying in a report carried by CNBC. 'This dynamic has given rise to a supply chain in which extraction is concentrated in Myanmar, while downstream processing and value addition are predominantly carried out in China,' Baskaran added. 'If Myanmar were to cease all exports of rare earth feed stocks to China, China would struggle to meet its demand for heavy rare earths in the short term,' said Project Blue's Merriman. India can also take several actions and be a superpower in the critical mineral resources industry. Myanmar military government helping China? The CNBC report also quotes the Chinese Customs data as saying that Myanmar's rare earth exports to China significantly picked up in 2018 and reached a peak of nearly 42,000 metric tons by 2023, indicating a massive rise in imports after the military coup in Myanmar. As a result of the China's massive mineral 'invasion' into Myanmar, there have also been several protests against China and the Military junta.
NBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- NBC News
How a war-torn Myanmar plays a critical role in China's rare earth dominance
Beijing has been stepping up controls on rare earth exports, triggering global shortages and exposing industries' dependence on Chinese supply chains. However, over recent years, China itself has become reliant on rare earth supplies from an unexpected source: the relatively small and war-torn economy of Myanmar. While China is the world's top producer of rare earths, it still imports raw materials containing the coveted metals from abroad. Myanmar accounted for about 57% of China's total rare earth imports last year, Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CNBC. According to Chinese Customs data, Myanmar's rare earth exports to China significantly picked up in 2018 and reached a peak of nearly 42,000 metric tons by 2023. Baskaran added that the imports from Myanmar are also particularly high in heavy rare earth element contents, which are generally less abundant in the earth's crust, elevating their value and scarcity. 'Myanmar's production has significantly strengthened China's dominant position, effectively giving Beijing a de facto monopoly over the global heavy rare earths supply chain — and much of the leverage it wields today.' The country has become a key source of two highly sought-after heavy rare earths, dysprosium and terbium, that play crucial roles in high-tech manufacturing, including in defense and the military, aerospace and renewables sectors. 'This dynamic has given rise to a supply chain in which extraction is concentrated in Myanmar, while downstream processing and value addition are predominantly carried out in China,' said Baskaran. Why Myanmar? Myanmar is home to deposits that tend to have higher heavy rare earth content, David Merriman, research director at Project Blue, told CNBC. These 'ionic adsorption clay,' or IAC, deposits are exploited through leaching methods that apply chemical reagents to the clay — and that comes with high environmental costs. According to Merriman, the vast majority of the world's IAC operations were in Southern China in the early to mid-2010s. But, as Beijing began implementing new environmental controls and standards in the rare earths industry, many of these projects began to close down. 'Myanmar, particularly the north of the country, was seen as a key region which had similar geology to many of the IAC deposit areas within China,' Merriman said. 'You started to see quite a rapid buildout of new IAC-type mines within Myanmar, essentially replacing the domestic Chinese production. There was a lot of Chinese business involvement in the development of these new IAC projects.' The rare earths extracted by these IAC miners in Myanmar are then shipped to China mostly in the form of 'rare earth oxides' for further processing and refining, Yue Wang, a senior consultant of rare earths at Wood Mackenzie, told CNBC. In 2024, a report from Global Witness, a nonprofit focused on environmental and human rights abuses, said that China had effectively outsourced much of its rare earth extraction to Myanmar 'at a terrible cost to the environment and local communities.' China's rare earth risks China's reliance on Myanmar for rare earths has also opened it up to supply chain risks, experts said. According to Global Witness's research, most of the heavy rare earths from Myanmar originate from the Northern Kachin State, which borders China. However, following Myanmar's violent military coup in 2021, the military junta has struggled to maintain control of the territory amid opposition from the public and armed groups. 'Myanmar is a risky jurisdiction to rely on, given the ongoing civil war. In 2024, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), a group of armed rebels, seized sites responsible for half the world's heavy rare earths production,' said CSIS' Baskaran. Since the seizure, there have been reports of supply disruptions causing spikes in the prices of some heavy rare earths. According to a Reuters report, the KIA was seeking to use the resources as leverage against Beijing. Chinese customs data shows imports of rare earth oxides from Myanmar fell by over a third in the first five months of the year compared with the same period last year. 'If Myanmar were to cease all exports of rare earth feed stocks to China, China would struggle to meet its demand for heavy rare earths in the short term,' said Project Blue's Merriman. Not surprisingly, Beijing has been looking to diversify its sources of heavy rare earths. According to Merriman, there are IAC deposits in nearby countries, including Malaysia and Laos, where some projects have been set up with Chinese involvement. Still, he notes that environmental standards are expected to be higher in those countries, which will present challenges for rare earth miners. China's decision to cut back on its own extraction of heavy rare earth elements may serve as a warning to other countries about the costs of developing such projects. A report by Chinese media group Caixin in 2022 documented how former IAC operation sites in Southern China had left behind toxic water and contaminated soil, hurting local farmers' livelihoods.
CNBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
How a war-torn Myanmar plays a critical role in China's rare earth dominance
Beijing has been stepping up controls on rare earth exports, triggering global shortages and exposing industries' dependence on Chinese supply chains. However, over recent years, China itself has become reliant on rare earth supplies from an unexpected source: the relatively small and war-torn economy of Myanmar. While China is the world's top producer of rare earths, it still imports raw materials containing the coveted metals from abroad. Myanmar accounted for about 57% of China's total rare earth imports last year, Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CNBC. According to Chinese Customs data, Myanmar's rare earth exports to China significantly picked up in 2018 and reached a peak of nearly 42,000 metric tons by 2023. Baskaran added that the imports from Myanmar are also particularly high in heavy rare earth element contents, which are generally less abundant in the earth's crust, elevating their value and scarcity. "Myanmar's production has significantly strengthened China's dominant position, effectively giving Beijing a de facto monopoly over the global heavy rare earths supply chain — and much of the leverage it wields today." The country has become a key source of two highly sought-after heavy rare earths, dysprosium and terbium, that play crucial roles in high-tech manufacturing, including in defense and military, aerospace and renewables sector. "This dynamic has given rise to a supply chain in which extraction is concentrated in Myanmar, while downstream processing and value addition are predominantly carried out in China," said Baskaran. Myanmar is home to deposits that tend to have higher heavy rare earth content, David Merriman, research director at Project Blue, told CNBC. These "ionic adsorption clay" or IAC deposits are exploited through leaching methods that apply chemical reagents to the clay — and that comes with high environmental costs. According to Merriman, the vast majority of the world's IAC operations were in Southern China in the early to mid-2010s. But, as Beijing began implementing new environmental controls and standards in the rare earths industry, a lot of these projects began to close down. "Myanmar, particularly the North of the country, was seen as a key region which had similar geology to many of the IAC deposit areas within China," Merriman said. "You started to see quite a rapid build out of new IAC type mines within Myanmar, essentially replacing the domestic Chinese production. There was a lot of Chinese business involvement in the development of these new IAC projects." The rare earths extracted by these IAC miners in Myanmar are then shipped to China mostly in the form of "rare earth oxides" for further processing and refining, Yue Wang, a senior consultant of rare earths at Wood Mackenzie, told CNBC. In 2024, a report from Global Witness, a nonprofit focused on environmental and human rights abuses, said that China had effectively outsourced much of its rare earth extraction to Myanmar "at a terrible cost to the environment and local communities." China's reliance on Myanmar for rare earths has also opened it up to supply chain risks, experts said. According to Global Witness's research, most of the heavy rare earths from Myanmar originate from the Northern Kachin State, which borders China. However, following Myanmar's violent military coup in 2021, the military junta has struggled to maintain control of the territory amid opposition from the public and armed groups. "Myanmar is a risky jurisdiction to rely on, given the ongoing Civil War. In 2024, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), a group of armed rebels, seized sites responsible for half the world's heavy rare earths production," said CSIS' Baskaran. Since the seizure, there have been reports of supply disruptions causing spikes in the prices of some heavy rare earths. According a Reuters report, the KIA was seeking to use the resources as leverage against Beijing. Chinese customs data shows, imports of rare earth oxides from Myanmar fell by over a third in the first five months of the year compared to the same period last year. "If Myanmar were to cease all exports of rare earth feed stocks to China, China would struggle to meet its demand for heavy rare earths in the short term," said Project Blue's Merriman. Not surprisingly, Beijing has been looking to diversify its sources of heavy rare earths. According to Merriman, there are IAC deposits in nearby countries, including Malaysia and Laos, where some projects have been set up with Chinese involvement. Still, he notes that environmental standards are expected to be higher in those countries, which will present challenges for rare earth miners. China's decision to cut back on its own extraction of heavy rare earth elements may serve as a warning to other countries about the costs of developing such projects. A report by Chinese media group Caixin in 2022 documented how former IAC operation sites in Southern China had left behind toxic water and contaminated soil, hurting local farmers' livelihoods.
Business Insider
14-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Rare earth minerals are the biggest card China can play in its negotiations with Trump
China has a significant card to play in its trade negotiations with the US, which could not only put the Trump administration in a bind but also impact a wide range of consumer goods. Rare earth minerals, namely scandium, yttrium, and 15 types of lanthanides, usually sit unnoticed at the bottom of the periodic table. But experts in rare earths have told Business Insider that a shortage of these minerals — which mainly come from China — could induce a shortage in everything from aircraft parts to TV remotes. "It's not industry agnostic because rare earths are used in everything from TVs and laptops and phones to cancer treatments and MRI scanners to automotives to defense," said Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Especially as a bedrock to the automotive industry, it is really critical because our automotive manufacturing industry was getting to a point where it had to halt operations and close manufacturing plants without access to these rare earths," Baskaran added. The importance of critical minerals came into focus when China cut off its supply to the US after Trump imposed tariffs, as high as 245% for some goods, on the manufacturing hub in a trade war that escalated between February and May. The two countries have since de-escalated tensions through trade talks after Trump agreed to lower duties on China to 30% for 90 days starting from May 14. After the latest trade talks in London in mid-June, China has agreed to reopen export channels of its critical minerals to the US — at least for now. "China built up its industry in a cheap and not necessarily ecologically refined manner, and the US said, 'That's very inexpensive, so we do not need to have this kind of industry in our country,'" Laura Lewis, professor of chemical engineering at the Northwestern University College of Engineering, saud. "And that was the case for many years." Bilateral relations with China remain fragile According to data from the 2024 US Geological Survey, 70% of critical mineral imports to the US came from China, followed by 13% from Malaysia. China also processes nearly 90% of the world's rare earth minerals, according to the International Energy Agency. Though the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, did not directly confirm how long rare earth licenses will remain issued to US manufacturers, a spokesperson told BI in a statement that "China has reviewed and approved a certain number of export license applications for rare-earth-related items." "Rare-earth-related items have dual-use attributes, with both military and civilian purposes, imposing export controls on such items is in line with international practices," the spokesperson added. Drew DeLong, lead in geopolitical dynamics practice at Kearney, a global strategy and management consulting firm, told BI that manufacturers are going to stockpile as much rare earth material as possible during the brief reprieve in US-China relations, in anticipation of more supply chain disruptions. DeLong said that by August, when the tariff suspension expires, the US-China relation would reach a critical decision point where it "must either coalesce or collapse." "Markets now wait to see whether Beijing actually resumes outbound shipments, and whether Washington delivers on its part of the rollback, " DeLong added. "There already appears to be hedging on trade tensions flaring up again." America may need to work with what it has The US once had a single operating rare earth mine in Mountain Pass, California, but it went bankrupt in 2015. Molycorp, its operator, filed for bankruptcy protection due to slumping rare earth prices and ballooning costs. Meanwhile, China has spent decades building its capacity to process rare earths. Other countries, like Japan, have diversified where they get their rare earth metals to avoid relying on China. Lewis, of Northwestern University, told BI that the US not only has a long way to go, but it may simply lack certain types of metals, even if it could extract others. Lewis said that the US lacks a category of heavy rare earths necessary for magnets to endure hot environments like motors. "We're going to have to work with our allies and nature to get what we need," said Lewis, "Because I cannot possibly imagine that the investment it would take to get our rare minerals from asteroids is going to be less than what we can already achieve on earth through recycling and a thoughtful use of resources." "The philosophy in Silicon Valley is just throw enough time and money at it, and you'll get it and fast, but nothing that we can do to get the rare earth industry healthy is going to happen fast," Lewis added. "Nature's smarter than we are."
