Statements that Trump’s plans to make Canada the 51st state is all about metals and minerals, a deal for Ukraine’s rare earths (now rejected) being included in peace talks, and the current US administration reiterating its desire to buy Greenland, have thrust critical minerals into the public view like never before.
Amid all this talk it’s easy to forget that anything to do with metals and minerals – whether deemed critical or not – is really about one country. China.
China unveiled a series of retaliatory measures against new US tariffs a fortnight ago, including restrictions on the export of tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, indium, and molybdenum, stating that export licenses will only be granted to companies complying with “relevant regulations.”
These measures fall short of the mineral export bans that China imposed on the US in December, which included gallium, germanium, antimony,…
