China halts rare earth exports, Australia may fill the gap
Anthony Albanese, Australia’s prime minister, has pledged to invest A$1.2bn in a strategic reserve for critical minerals if he wins next month’s election, as trade tensions escalate. The announcement came after China imposed export restrictions on seven rare earth elements, essential to the production of advanced technologies – including electric vehicles, fighter jets, and robots.
China’s controls apply to all countries but were widely seen as retaliation to US President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Albanese said Australia would prioritise minerals that are key to its security, and that of its partners, including rare earths.
Rare earths are a group of 17 elements – named “rare” because they are notoriously difficult to extract and refine. Rare earths, like samarium and terbium, are critical to the production of technologies set to shape the world in the coming decades – including electric vehicles and highly advanced weapons systems.
Albanese’s proposed reserve includes rare earths as well as other critical minerals of which Australia is a top producer – like lithium and cobalt. Both China and Australia have rare earth reserves. But 90% of rare earth refining – which makes them usable in technology – takes place in China, giving the country significant control over supply.
Beijing said its restrictions on rare earths were in response to Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Chinese imports to the US, currently at 145%. But analysts say Washington’s inability to secure the supply of rare earths has become one of the Trump administration’s chief anxieties, especially as diplomatic tensions with Beijing have deepened.
Around 75% of US rare earth imports came from China, according to the US Geological Survey. Philip Kirchlechner, director of Iron Ore Research in Perth, Western Australia, told the BBC that the US and EU had “dropped the ball” on recognising the importance of the rare earths over recent decades, as China swiftly developed a monopoly over refinement.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, this week said that China halting exports of rare earths used in advanced magnets was affecting the company’s ability to develop humanoid robots, in an early symbol of the pain Beijing has the power to inflict on US companies.
