We used to have several companies in the US that mined and refined the materials. They shut down because they couldn't compete with China, but if supply became constrained over a long period of time they could restart operations.
It's one reason the Chinese threats of cutting off rare earths is not quite as scary as the media makes it out to be. They can't do it for too long before alternatives get spun up and they lose their leverage entirely.
Future generations will blame us for damning them out of rare earths to build yet another cellphone. This is like us today with severely diminished whale populations just so Victorians could read the bible for another 2 hours a night. Was it worth it? Most would say no, save for the people who made a fortune off of it I'm sure.
Mashimo|4 months ago
jpitz|4 months ago
jandrese|4 months ago
It's one reason the Chinese threats of cutting off rare earths is not quite as scary as the media makes it out to be. They can't do it for too long before alternatives get spun up and they lose their leverage entirely.
asdff|4 months ago