Highlights
- China’s export restrictions on rare earth elements are creating potential opportunities for U.S. rare earth mining projects, particularly in Wyoming.
- Domestic rare earth companies see potential for developing supply chains as global market dynamics shift due to trade tensions.
- The U.S. remains years away from a fully integrated rare earth supply chain, but strategic investments could yield future competitive advantages.
Chinese export restrictions on rare earth elements—imposed in response to President Donald Trump’s tariff escalation—are stirring cautious optimism among U.S.-based mining ventures, particularly in Wyoming.
Leo Wolfson, writing for Cowboy State Daily (opens in a new tab), suggests that these restrictions could help accelerate the viability of rare earth development projects such as American Rare Earths’ Halleck Creek deposit and Rare Element Resources’ processing demonstration plant in Upton.
Citing Melissa Sanderson of American Rare Earths and Paul Bonifas of Rare Element Resources, the report outlines how China’s move—especially its targeting of heavy rare earths like terbium and dysprosium—could limit global supply and raise prices, benefiting emerging domestic players in the long term. Both executives note that while their projects won’t reach commercial production for several years, sustained Chinese restrictions could give American companies a critical runway to mature their supply chains.
That said, the optimism must be tempered by reality. The U.S. remains years away from having a fully integrated rare earth supply chain. As Sanderson acknowledges, current domestic production and processing capacity is minimal, and American firms still rely on global imports for materials, equipment, and technologies that could also become subject to tariff complications. Moreover, the political unpredictability of global trade tensions, including the risk of escalation into a broader tariff war, injects significant uncertainty.
Despite these caveats, the central claim—that Chinese export controls may enhance the long-term competitiveness of Wyoming’s rare earth industry—is plausible. If restrictions persist and the U.S. can align policy, investment, and permitting around domestic production, the groundwork laid today in Wyoming could pay strategic dividends. However, this remains a high-stakes geopolitical gamble hinging on both foreign policy dynamics and industrial readiness.
As Rare Earth Exchanges continues to emphasize the need for the U.S. and allies to compete against China on the rare earth element and critical mineral front, major industrial policy considerations become front and center for the current administration. Upstream deregulation is not nearly sufficient. Midstream and downstream resilience become mission-critical.
Leo Wolfson. “Chinese Export Restrictions Could Help Wyoming’s Rare Earths Industry.” Cowboy State Daily. April 7, 2025.
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