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Godfree Roberts's avatar

It would take the combined efforts of at least three Administrations, six Congresses, thousands of geologists/geochemists, 15 years and $100 billion to match what China has today.

What China has today is 42,000 REM patents (covering extraction to recycling), four geological universities and 500,000 geologists. One of those 500,000 was Prime Minister of China who cleaned up the chaotic RE mess and turned it into the powerhouse it is today, then went back to teaching geology..

Meanwhile, while we fantasize about building an RE supply chain, we're still shipping industries like naval maintenance(!) offshore.

Practically speaking, the RE gap between us and China is unbridgeable. Checkmate?

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Sanjay Mehta's avatar

> But in May, China sent shockwaves through America’s defense industry and the automotive business when it abruptly blocked magnet exports.

Abruptly blocked? That’s a little disingenuous, as if China inexplicably and unfairly blocked exports; nothing to do with Trump’s sanctions, tariffs and warmongering.

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