RESOURCES HOW RARE EARTHS BECAME GROUND ZERO IN THE U.S.-CHINA RIVALRY

THE WATERSHED moment came in July when the federal government became the largest shareholder of MP Materials, a California miner of rare earth elements.

- BY JORDAN BLUM

The government’s unusual foray into private industry was accompanied by new rules setting minimum U.S. market prices for some of the minerals—a floor it said was necessary to protect against Chinese competitors accused of “dumping” their goods at artificially low prices.

So began the Trump administration’s campaign to overturn China’s 30-year dominance in critical minerals that have become integral to the products that drive America’s economy and bolster its national security—from drones and automobiles to data centers and missiles.

“This is really a Manhattan Project–style effort with all-out intensity,” says James Litinsky, the CEO of MP Materials, which is expanding its California mining, refining, and recycling operation and ramping up a new Texas magnet plant in what he calls “Cold War 2.0.”

At issue are 60 natural elements deemed “critical minerals” by the U.S. government, including the 17 so-called rare earths as well as key materials used in batteries. America has zero production of over half of them. And demand is only going up.