U.S. Accelerates Efforts to Acquire Rare Earths Alternatives

Mountain Pass Mine in California

Under the leadership of the Trump administration, the United States may be turning the tide in the battle to break China’s stranglehold on rare earth elements.

China’s dominance of the rare earth market is one of the greatest national security risks facing the United States today. As of January 2025, China controlled more than 69 percent of global rare earth production and more than 90 percent of the world’s processing capacity.

Rare earth elements are used in everything from magnets in electric motors to smartphone cameras, medical equipment, and aerospace alloys, making them indispensable to modern life. They are also of crucial importance to the U.S. power grid and military equipment – meaning that Beijing effectively has a monopoly over the materials necessary to build America’s weapons of war.

President Trump made bolstering U.S. rare earth mining and processing capacity a point of emphasis during his campaign last year. Dr. Xing Guang, who advised the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party on natural resource policy, told me that leaving China’s control over the global rare earth supply unaddressed “is not an option for the United States – the CCP will exploit it every chance they get to choke you.”

To combat this concern, last month the U.S. Department of Defense awarded a $245 million contract to the United States Antimony Corporation, securing its position as the sole supplier of antimony for the Department of Defense. Antimony is used in various applications, including bearings, storage batteries, and ordnance, with its derivatives serving as primers in ammunition. The company, which operates the only two antimony smelters in the United States, has been processing antimony since the early 1980s.

In July, the Pentagon also announced an equity stake in MP Materials, the country’s largest rare earth miner. James Litinsky, the company’s CEO, said that the investment will help shield the U.S. from disruptions by China and support the domestic growth of the industry.

“We certainly feel very, very confident that the Department of Defense’s needs will be met,” he said.

According to CNBC, the Trump administration may be looking to replicate its partnership with MP Materials to help further develop alternatives to China’s rare earths industry. The stock of Energy Fuels, another rare earths company that some industry leaders believe could forge a deal with the U.S. government, has surged nearly 200 percent since the MP deal on July 10. Energy Fuels has successfully produced its first kilogram of dysprosium oxide, used in wind turbines and electric vehicles, claiming that its production quality and purity are unmatched in the United States.

The Trump administration has also proposed an equity stake in Lithium Americas, a Canadian company that operates mines in the United States. Lithium Americas’ Thacker Pass mine in northern Nevada is scheduled to become one of the largest sources of lithium on the continent.

At the same time, the State Department is working with U.S. allies to find other foreign alternatives to Chinese rare earths. This summer, the administration announced the launch of a “Quad Critical Minerals Initiative” with Australia, India, and Japan, which it describes as “an ambitious expansion of our partnership to strengthen economic security and collective resilience by collaborating on securing and diversifying critical mineral supply chains.”

Australia in particular has valuable mineral resources and a robust mining sector, while Japan effectively diversifies its supply chains. India has invested in mineral-rich Ghana. Together, these partners aim to develop new rare earth projects in Africa and reduce dependence on China.

These efforts to diversify away from China have come at a critical time as Beijing has exerted greater control over the rare earths market, leading to price volatility and supply chain concerns. In recent months, China has restricted exports on more than a dozen rare earth elements as leverage in trade talks with the United States.

As a result, prices have soared. Costs for dysprosium, a metal used in everything from wind turbines to missile interceptors, have increased by 120 percent since last year. The price of terbium, another metal necessary for jet engines and hard drives, has surged by 32 percent.

These price hikes have led to record profits for Chinese rare earth companies like China Rare Earth Resources and Technology, which reported a net profit of 161.71 million yuan in the first half of 2025, compared to a net loss of 244.42 million yuan a year ago. Shenghe Resources Holding achieved a net profit of 376.90 million yuan. China Northern Rare Earth High-Tech said its net profit surged more than 20 times.

The rebounding prices and earnings have buoyed the companies’ stocks, raising their prices between 36 and 60 percent, especially since the end of June. Still, if the United States can increase its mining and processing capacity, that could reverse the equation, as China imports at least 30 percent of its rare minerals, according to estimates by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Since China withholds information, the actual amount may be higher.

By moving decisively to secure domestic production and forge critical alliances abroad, the United States is finally challenging Beijing’s dangerous monopoly. The success of these efforts will determine whether America controls its own destiny – or remains at the mercy of China’s grip on the materials of modern power.

Ben Solis is the pen name of an international affairs journalist, historian, and researcher.