Highlights
- Rare earth elements are crucial for advanced technologies but are concentrated in limited global locations.
- China primarily controls the global supply of rare earth elements.
- Geological formations from ancient supercontinents determine rare earth mineral deposits, creating complex supply chain challenges.
- U.S. efforts to restore domestic rare earth production are underway.
- Rebuilding a complete supply chain in the U.S. could take over a decade.
New Tufts University feature highlights the strategic, economic, and tectonic realities shaping rare earth element availability—and why China’s dominance poses a growing threat.
In a timely analysis (opens in a new tab) of the rare earth crisis by Mike Silver, Dr. Jill VanTongeren, (opens in a new tab) Chair of the Department of Earth and Climate Sciences at Tufts University (opens in a new tab), links ancient geologic forces to modern geopolitical friction, warning that global access to critical minerals is shaped not just by science, but by territorial power, trade wars, and military strategy.
Published April 15, 2025, the article explains that rare earth elements (REEs)—despite their name—are not geologically rare, but are sparsely distributed in mineable concentrations. These elements power technologies ranging from smartphones and EVs to missile guidance and MRI machines. And control over their production, particularly China’s command of more than 70% of the global supply, has made them a powerful economic weapon, now center stage in the U.S.-China trade standoff and even discussed in the context of Ukrainian battlefield leverage.
VanTongeren traces the dispersed nature of REE deposits to the breakup of ancient supercontinents and early rifting events in Earth’s crust, which created deep, localized pockets of rare earth-rich magma. Yet only a handful of these deposits—such as China’s Bayan Obo or California’s Mountain Pass—are accessible with current technology. “Political boundaries and the desire to obtain access to mineral resources have been the source of economic and military conflicts throughout human history,” she notes, warning this tension will only intensify with the global push for green energy.
The piece notes U.S. efforts to restore domestic REE production via the Mountain Pass mine, aided by the Department of Defense and 2021 infrastructure legislation—but acknowledges that reestablishing a full supply chain may take a decade or more. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s untapped rare earth deposits could become a geopolitical bargaining chip, though their viability remains uncertain.
Implications
The Tufts report underscores that while Western policymakers focus on tariffs and subsidies, the deeper challenge is geological: rare earth resources are not easily democratized. Supply security depends not just on mining, but on understanding the complex science of crustal formation, and building midstream processing and magnet manufacturing capabilities—areas still dominated by China.
The other point that needs to be emphasized are the midstream and downstream supply chains, forming part of a system more akin to petroleum refining and related production than traditional mining.
Rare Earth Exchanges continues to emphasize the need for coordinated action among Five Eyes and other traditionally allied nations, investment in allied midstream and downstream infrastructure, and transparent resource mapping to overcome both natural and political constraints.
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