US: Tapping Rare Earths Aims To Counter China’s Mineral Power
November 5, 2025
1:57 pm
U.S. eyes vast untapped mineral reserves on federal lands to end reliance on China, tackling bureaucratic hurdles and environmental opposition in pursuit of critical supply chain independence.
The United States is renewing efforts to unlock vast deposits of rare earth elements buried beneath public lands, aiming to challenge China’s global dominance in the mining and processing of critical minerals.
Despite holding mineral reserves worth trillions of dollars, the US currently relies on foreign suppliers—especially China, which controls 80% of global rare earth mining and over 90% of processing. These materials are essential in everything from defense systems and medical technology …
