Rare earth mines surged from a small number to "more than 2,700 mining collection pools at almost 300 separate locations over an area the size of Singapore," Global Witness reported.

US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said she was worried that a future conflict could undermine access to natural resources in the way that the Russia-Ukraine war has hit oil and gas

Gotion said it would build total battery production capacity of 300 gigawatt hours (GWh) over three years against the 16 GWh it produced in 2021. It plans to have a third of that output overseas

Tianqi's listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange could become the bourse's biggest initial public offering this year

The fresh deposits raise China's reserves to more than 2 million tonnes, which is almost on a par with uranium-rich Australia

Relying only on domestic or Canadian sources, the Department of Defense said, "unnecessarily constrains" the DPA programme's ability to "ensure a robust industrial base."

Talks with the US government to build a heavy rare earths plant in Texas have dragged on for four years but the group's CEO hopes a contract can be signed later this year.

The EU is spearheading a drive to boost domestic production of rare earths and super strong magnets used in EVs and wind turbines to cut dependence on China

For most critical minerals, the US and western nations are minority suppliers with only modest capability to influence global markets, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions Forum said

Mineral sands group commits to the country's first refinery, boosted by a $749m loan from the federal government to counter China's dominance of the processing of rare earths

Barring manganese, prices of other commodities such as lithium, cobalt and nickel have increased sharply since the beginning of 2022

Prime Minister Scott Morrison unveiled funding for a slew of projects in Western Australia, saying the big state would become a powerhouse for Australia's allies