[nyokodo]

> the mines are going to be in China anyway, right

If you had read the article you’d know they have their own mine: “Hardly any firms, even in China, do what MP is attempting: produce finished magnets starting with ore that the company mines itself” Mostly China doesn’t mine materials but has concentrated the refining capacity in China for many commodities. Thankfully, we do have backup capacity so we won’t be totally screwed if China cuts us off, and the refining technology is well understood and in a conflict we or our allies can cut them off from many raw materials so their refining advantage isn’t a checkmate.

[pbmonster]

> Mostly China doesn’t mine materials but has concentrated the refining capacity

Unless I'm working on old information, this is not correct. The overwhelming majority of neodymium mining capacity is currently in China.

> you’d know they have their own mine:

Sure, but to make a difference from a geopolitical perspective, we need more than that. And I don't see those kind of mines being opened on a large scale anywhere in the west. Regulations are challenging and environmental resistance is significant.