美澳签署矿产协议，特朗普：一年后，美国稀土将多到用不完

Group 1 - Australia has signed an $8.5 billion mineral and rare earth supply agreement with the U.S., which is being promoted as a milestone to break China's monopoly [1][3] - The U.S. plans to invest $3 billion in Australian rare earth mines within six months and develop $53 billion worth of minerals, including a gallium processing plant [3][4] - Despite the agreement, Australia only holds about 3% of global rare earth reserves, while China controls nearly 90% of the refining capacity, indicating a significant gap in processing capabilities [3][6] Group 2 - The U.S. rare earth company MP Materials relies on Chinese technology for deep processing, and historically, 90% of Australia's rare earth ore has been sent to China for processing [4][6] - Building a factory capable of producing high-purity rare earth oxides will take at least three years and cost over 30% more than in China, highlighting the challenges in establishing a self-sufficient supply chain [6][9] - The U.S. military's current inventory of samarium-cobalt magnets is only sufficient for six months of production, while the new gallium processing plant in Australia will not begin trial production until 2025 [9][11] Group 3 - The agreement between Australia and the U.S. is seen as a strategic move to balance national security and economic interests, with Australia trading rare earth agreements for U.S. support in building strategic nuclear submarines [11][13] - China's ability to adjust the market through strategic reserves and accelerate high-end application research in rare earths poses a long-term challenge to the U.S.-Australia alliance [11][13] - The essence of the rare earth competition transcends resource acquisition, becoming a test of industrial system maturity, with China's established industrial network unlikely to be dismantled by recent agreements [13]