Omaha, Neb.China respondedTo President DonaldTrump’s tariffThis month by reducing exports to those minerals used in military applications and in many high -tech devices.

“Based on the number of phone calls we receive, the effects were immediate,” said Matt Slastcher, his spokesman.MP materialsThe company that runs the Mountain Pass mine in the Mojave Desert in California.

The trade war between the largest economy in the world can lead to a decisive shortage of rare Earth elements if China maintains its long -term export or expanded to search for an advantage inAny commercial negotiations. The California mine cannot fulfill all American demand on rare Earth, which is why Trump is trying to wipe the road to the new mines.

Rare ground elements are important ingredients in electric cars, strong magnets, advanced combat aircraft, submarines, smartphones, television screens and many other products. Despite its name, the 17 elements are not actually rare, but it is difficult to find it with a high concentration enough to make a mine worth investing.

The customs tariff will affect raw supply and costs

On Thursday, MP Mateials, who got the Idle Mountain Pass website in 2017, said on Thursday that she would stop sending her crude to China for treatment due to export restrictions and 125 % of the customs tariff for US imports. The company said that it will continue to treat nearly half of what it is doing on the site and store the rest while it is working to expand its treatment.

MP MATERIALS said in cstatement.

Experts say that manufacturers that rely on rare ground elements and other critical minerals will witness an increase in prices, but there is possible that there is enough global supply available to maintain factories at the present time.

California mine is caused by neodimium and Prasyodymium, rare light ground that are the main components of the rare ever -terrain in EVS and wind turbines. But small quantities of some heavy lands restricted by China, such as Turbium and Dysprosium are the key to helping high temperatures.

Indeed, the Turbium price jumped by 24 % since the end of March to $ 933 per kilogram.

“Our estimation is that there is enough inventory in the market to maintain demand at the present time,” said Niha Moskiji, a metal hanging analyst, adding that the shortage may appear later this year.

China holds power on the market

China has a tremendous power on the rare land market. The country has the largest mines, producing 270,000 metric tons (297,624 tons) of minerals last year compared to 45,000 tons (40823 metric tons) abolished in China, providing nearly 90 % of the rare land in the world because it is also the home of most processing capabilities.

RestrictionsOn April 4 of the Chinese exporters, Beijing requires seven heavy and some magnets to obtain special licenses. Revenge controls have strengthened what the Trump administration and its manufacturers see as an urgent need to build additional American mines and reduce the nation’s dependence on China.

Trump has tried, so far unprecedented, to a strong armGreenlandandUkraineIn providing more rare land and other critical materials for the United States. Last month, he signed an executive order calling the federal government to simplify approvals for permits for new mines and encourage investment in projects.

Two companies are trying to develop mines inNebraskaMontana. Niocorp officials and US Critical Mateials said they hope that the payment from the White House will help collect money and obtain the necessary approvals to start drilling. Niocorp has worked for years to raise $ 1.1 billion to build a mine in southeast Nebraska.

“While I sit and think about how we can deal with this tremendous financial lever that China has on these minerals that no one knows how to pronounce it mostly, we have to deal with this high situation,” said Mark Smith, CEO of Niocorp. “I think the best way is that we need to make our rare heavy land here in the United States. We can do so.”

MP MATERIALS expands its ability quickly, partly with the help of about $ 45 million that the company obtained from the Trump administration’s first. But after investing nearly a billion dollars since 2020, the company is not currently the ability to treat the rare heavy land restricted by China. MP MATERIALS said it was working urgently to change this.

The large American auto manufacturers refused to comment on itHow to dependThey are on the rare ground and the effect of China’s restrictions in China. Like the main defense contractors Boeing and Lockheed MartinAnd that was specifically targeted in China’s restrictions alongside more than ten defense companies and other space, was also cautious.

Military technology is a smaller but important user for rare land. Trump issued an executive order on Tuesday calling for an investigation into the effects of national security of relying on China on elements.

A Lockheed spokesman, which makes the FGHter Jet, said that the company is constantly evaluating the “rare global land supply chain to ensure access to the critical materials that support our customers.”

Manufacturers are preparing to increase prices

Some battery makers can start working less than the main elements within weeks, according to Steve Christing, Executive Director of the responsible battery coalition, an association representing the battery, auto industries and battery sellers.

Indeed, manufacturers have witnessed the price of Antimony, an element used to extend the life of traditional acid batteries, and more than twice the Chinese exports restricted last year. The element is not one of the 17 rare land, but it is among the critical minerals that Trump wants to see its production locally.

Initially, car manufacturers are likely to try to absorb any increase in the cost of their batteries without raising vehicle prices, but this may not be sustainable if China’s restrictions remain in place. Trump definition by 25 % to all imported cars and auto parts, it was already expected to increase costs, although the president hinted this week that he might give industryTemporary decrease.

The United States has fulfilled its rare ground needs with local sources until the late 1990s. Production has greatly ended after the low -cost Chinese materials flooded by global markets. Robots, drones and other new technologies have rapidly increased demand for raw materials.

Niocorp has recently signed a contract to make more exploratory drilling this summer to help proveExport and Import BankThe sufficient rare Earth’s minerals fall under the ground near Ellak Kreik, Nebraska, to justify a loan of $ 800 million to help finance the project.

But the new rare land mine is years of work in American Niocorp estimates if things go well with donations, the site in which you hope to wander and treat nebium, scan -andstenem and a variety of rare land that may be at the end of Trump’s presidency.

Important materials in the United States are planning to dig several tons of crude in Montana this summer so that you can test the treatment methods that develop it. The Sheep Creek project was not as much as the NEBRASKA project, but the critical material manager in the United States said Harvey Kai said that the site has promising raw deposits with high concentrations of rare land.

This story was originally shown on Fortune.com

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2025-04-18 17:18:00