How the US Lost a $25 Billion Industry to China

Rare Earth Elements are often called 21st-century gold. They power everything – from EVs and smartphones to F-35 jets and nuclear submarines – and a mine in Mountain Pass, California, once produced 60% of the world’s rare earths, making the US the undisputed leader in rare earth production. But something happened in the 1980s that handed America’s rare earths dominance over to today’s leader: China.