The Pentagon is scrambling to set up a rare metals supply chain in the USA after Trump cut off the defense industries supply from China in a spectacularly misjudged trade "deal".
"The Pentagon announced a $400 million investment into MP Materials. It is a U.S.-based company that extracts and processes rare earth elements. That includes a group of 17 metals used in technology from cars to airplanes to your cell phone."
https://www.marketplace.org/story/2025/07/16/department-of-defense-invests-in-usbased-mining-company
The news comes as Zerohedge reports China has unveiled new restrictions on rare earth metal technologies.
China has developped and patented most of the technologies to process and refine rare earth minerals and restricting the supply of these technologies to the US will make ir harder to set up a supply chain.
"According to a USGS report released in January, the United States is unable to domestically source any of 31 key critical minerals, and can only commercially refine one: beryllium. China, by contrast, is the primary source for eight of those minerals and the near-exclusive provider of 17."
The scramble to offset the damage inflicted by Trump, Lutnik and Bessent to the US defense industry comes as stockpiles of missiles and other weapons have been run down by Trump s support of Ukraine and Israel and threats against Russia, Iran and China.
While the Pentagon will struggle to find vital rare earths to produce new missiles, fighters etc, China s allies, Iran and Russia will likely be able to access an abundance of the rare earths vital also for making hypersonic missiles.
A single Iranian hypersonic missile caused 200 million dollars of damag to Haifa s oil refinery, it has emrged.
Israel Suffered Losses To The Tune of $200M After Iran Hits Haifa Oil Refinery With Missiles
Iran’s missile strike on Bazan’s Haifa refinery crippled power units, killed 3 workers, and caused massive fire damage on July 16, 2025 amid Iran-Israel war. Israel’s economy reels, with $200M in damages and recovery efforts bypassing regulations.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/international/israel-suffered-losses-to-the-tune-of-200m-after-iran-hits-haifa-oil-refinery-with-missiles/videoshow/122624691.cms
Prof John Mearsheimer has said that 30 senior Israeli officers were killed in bunker by hypersonic missiles.
Secret Bunker Destroyed—30 Senior Israeli Officers Confirmed Dead | Prof. John Mearsheimer
From media
The catalog, alongside two dual-use export control lists, is a key instrument governing China’s export control regime. It is divided into two categories: technologies completely banned from export, and technologies restricted under a licensing regime. Technologies on the restricted list cannot be exported without government approval.
From media
The latest update adds a new entry: battery cathode material preparation technology, which specifically covers those for producing lithium iron phosphate (LFP), lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP), and phosphate-based cathode precursors. These are essential materials for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles.
The catalog also tightens existing rules under the section on the Non-Ferrous Metal Smelting and Rolling Industry, expanding restrictions on technologies for extracting metallic lithium and gallium, a vital material in semiconductor chips.
...
According to a USGS report released in January, the United States is unable to domestically source any of 31 key critical minerals, and can only commercially refine one: beryllium. China, by contrast, is the primary source for eight of those minerals and the near-exclusive provider of 17.
Gallium was among three materials Beijing subjected to export controls in December 2024. In a parallel development, a high-grade gallium deposit discovered in Montana earlier that year has received fast-track permitting approval under the Trump administration, part of a broader push to reshore critical mineral supply chains and reduce reliance on Chinese imports.
The Montana deposit is being extracted by U.S. Critical Materials, a Utah-based company. Harvey Kaye, the company’s executive director, said during a hearing before the House Small Business Committee that it will extract gallium first.
“Our plan is to extract from our deposit literally this year and be able to, in effect, stand on the steps of the White House and/or Congress with a bag of gallium ... found in Montana, processed with American technology, and available for the defense of this country and, indeed, the free world,” Kaye said.
https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/china-finalizes-new-export-control-crucial-mine-processing-technologies
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