Highlights
- China is implementing strict controls on rare earth exports, including personnel monitoring and passport restrictions to prevent trade secret leaks.
- The U.S. faces significant challenges in developing an independent rare earth supply chain due to a critical shortage of specialized technical expertise currently concentrated in China.
- Developing a comprehensive rare earth supply chain requires acquiring or cultivating 16 key categories of technical, scientific, and operational talent across upstream, midstream, and downstream segments.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal (opens in a new tab) (WSJ), China’s Ministry of Commerce (opens in a new tab) has requested that rare earth companies submit detailed personnel lists of employees with technical expertise, including their educational background, research experience, and areas of specialization. The purpose: build a government database to monitor the movement of rare earth scientists and engineers and prevent trade secrets from leaking abroad.
The report says some experts have been ordered to surrender their passports to companies or local authorities. While this is standard for government workers and employees of state-owned enterprises, extending this policy to rare earth specialists marks a sharp escalation in control amid U.S.-China trade tensions.
Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx) has continued to emphasize the need to poach expertise from China for the U.S. and “ex-China” markets. Experts have informed REEx that the U.S. has limited expertise remaining in the scientific and technical areas necessary to establish a robust and independent rare earth element supply chain.
Apparently, according to Jon Emont writing for WSJ, the move comes months after China implemented new export licensing rules in April, restricting shipments of rare earth magnets. These magnets are critical for fighter jets, EVs, drones, and wind turbines. China currently produces about 90% of the world’s supply.
Efforts to develop rare earth capacity in countries like the U.S. and France have long been stymied by China’s pricing dominance and technological lead. Experts say China’s mineral processing know-how—once imported from abroad—is now unmatched, and in December 2023, regulations banned the export of rare earth processing technology. REEx can attest, based on our ongoing monitoring and network, including in China, the Middle Kingdom, that it is currently the king of rare earth supply chain talent.
Beijing’s latest measures underscore the strategic role of personnel in maintaining China’s industrial edge. For Western rare earth projects, the bottleneck may no longer be just material—it’s human capital.
So, what is that human capital?
To build a comprehensive and independent rare earth supply chain, the United States would need to acquire or cultivate a deep bench of specialized technical, scientific, and operational talent, much of which currently resides in China due to decades of centralized industrial policy, low-cost scaling, and protected technology development. Below is a categorized list of key roles and technical expertise the U.S. would need to “poach” (or develop domestically) across the upstream, midstream, and downstream segments:
Upstream: Mining & Separation
1. Rare Earth Geologists & Mineralogists
- Experts in bastnäsite, monazite, xenotime, and ion-adsorption clay deposits.
- Skilled in locating, characterizing, and optimizing extraction from low-grade or complex ores.
2. Mining Process Engineers
- Specializing in ore beneficiation, flotation, and hydrometallurgy.
- Experience with low-cost extraction techniques for ion-adsorption clays (e.g., in Southern China).
3. Solvent Extraction Chemists (SX Experts)
- Advanced knowledge of multi-stage lanthanide separation processes.
- Familiar with equipment design for countercurrent solvent extraction trains.
4. Radioactive Waste Management Specialists
- Experience handling thorium and uranium byproducts from rare earth mining.
- Compliance with international radiological safety and waste disposal regulations.
Midstream: Refining & Metal Production
5. Rare Earth Metallurgists
- Experts in electrowinning, calcination, and precipitation of RE oxides.
- Understanding of oxide-to-metal reduction techniques, e.g., calciothermic and electrolytic reduction.
6. Process Control & Automation Engineers
- Skilled in closed-loop digital control systems and sensors for high-purity RE refining.
- Knowledge of AI-augmented process optimization, common in Chinese mega-refineries.
7. Chemical Engineers (REO Purification)
- Experience purifying high-purity oxides (99.999%), especially for Nd, Dy, Tb, and Sm.
- Techniques include crystallization, ion exchange, and microfiltration.
8. Environmental Compliance Experts
- Deep familiarity with Chinese-style circular economy models for water, acid, and solvent recovery.
Downstream: Magnet Manufacturing & Advanced Materials
9. Materials Scientists (Magnet Alloys)
- Expertise in NdFeB, SmCo, and Ce-based alloy systems.
- Alloy microstructure control and grain boundary diffusion technology.
10. Powder Metallurgists
- Skilled in hydrogen decrepitation, jet milling, and spark plasma sintering.
- Able to control particle morphology, surface chemistry, and tap density.
11. Magnet Fabrication Engineers
- Process know-how in isostatic pressing, hot deformation, and HIP (hot isostatic pressing).
- Knowledge of coating technologies to protect RE magnets from corrosion.
12. Motor Design Engineers
- Integrated expertise in magnet performance requirements for EV traction motors, drones, and aerospace.
13. Advanced Magnetics R&D Scientists
- Researchers with patent portfolios or applied work in grain boundary engineering, low-Dy or Dy-free magnets, and recycling of NdFeB scrap.
Cross-Cutting & Strategic Talent
14. Technology Transfer Experts
- Professionals capable of translating Chinese industrial processes into Western industrial and regulatory contexts.
15. Multilingual Industrial Liaisons
- Mandarin-speaking engineers or managers who understand Chinese industrial SOPs, manuals, and QC frameworks.
16. Corporate Intelligence & IP Analysts
- Skilled at analyzing Chinese patents, academic publications, and grey literature to guide R&D and avoid legal or security risks.
REEx Reflections
The bottleneck is not just capital—it’s human capital.
To catch up, the U.S. must aggressively incentivize global talent, accelerate technical education, and partner with allied nations to fill knowledge gaps across the entire rare earth supply chain. And as we continue to reiterate, industrial policy integrated with capital markets and flows and education are key.
Visit the REEx Forum and discuss these matters.
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