彭博：为何中国仍将长期主导稀土领域？

Core Viewpoint - China's dominance in the rare earths market, built over four decades, is proving difficult for other countries, particularly the U.S., to overcome [1] Group 1: U.S. Rare Earths Supply Challenges - The U.S. has historically outsourced its rare earth supply chain to China, which controls 70% of global production and 90% of processing [4] - The average time from discovery to production of a mine in the U.S. is 29 years, making it challenging to attract investment [5] - Currently, only one rare earth mine in the U.S. is operational, which was recently acquired by MP Materials Corp. and is expanding its processing capabilities [6][7] Group 2: Efforts to Increase Domestic Production - MP Materials received a $400 million investment from the U.S. Department of Defense to expand its operations, but its production remains significantly smaller than China's [7] - Other companies, like Phoenix Tailings Inc., are attempting to recover rare earth metals from existing mine tailings, marking a new approach to domestic production [8][9] - Innovations are being pursued to reduce reliance on rare earths, such as Niron Magnetics Inc.'s development of iron nitride magnets, but these technologies require years for certification and application [9] Group 3: International Collaboration - The U.S. government is recognizing the need for international partnerships, as evidenced by funding a rare earth processing plant in Saudi Arabia and collaborating with Australia on mining projects [10]