Madrid, Feb 15 (EFE). – United States mediation in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine highlights Washington’s concern about the scarcity of rare earths, which have multiple applications in electronic and industrial materials and processes.
In the past five years, the market for critical minerals has doubled to 320 billion dollars and will likely double again by the end of the decade, according to a Goldman Sachs report.
Supply remains concentrated in China, which the same analysts estimate refines 85-90% of rare earths and produces 92% of rare earth magnets.
Enrique Feas, a researcher at the Real Instituto El Cano, told EFE that these materials are crucial for industrial production and that China has used its supply as a “warning” in the face of trade tensions.
Rare earths are a group of 17 chemical elements – 15 types of lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium – are often found together in nature and share several properties.
Along with other materials such as tungsten, tellurium, or molybdenum, rare earths are used to make displays, batteries, or solar s.
China’s control has prompted the US and other countries to look for reserves elsewhere to protect their supply chains.
Feas explains that with the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House, there has been a geopolitical shift.
Europe used to work on materials management in “cooperation” with the US, but now it has become “every man for himself,” he said.
From Ukraine to Greenland
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered Trump a deal favorable to the US which could include Ukraine’s rare earths and other minerals such as aluminum.
According to some estimates, Ukraine is among the top 10 countries in rare earth extraction potential, including scandium and yttrium.
Trump is also interested in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, home to the Kvanefjeld (Crienfil) mine, one of the world’s largest rare earth deposits.
Some studies predict that up to 25% of the world’s reserves could lie under the Greenland ice, which explains the US and Chinese tycoons ambitions.
The management firm Wisdom Tree recalled in a report that in 2020, the World Bank suggested that production of critical minerals, including rare earths, could increase by nearly 500% by 2050.
It also predicted that the US, Australia, Brazil, and Vietnam, among others, will increase their activities in the coming years.
Alternatives to rare earths
The European Union adopted a regulation in 2024 to ensure a secure and sustainable supply of raw materials considered crucial for the ecological and digital transition, and the defense and space industries.
Sweden has the most reserves in Europe, with studies showing that it has 1.3 million tons of rare earth oxides.
However, the problem is the lack of refining plants, which does not solve the dependence on China, Vicente Gutiérrez of the Spanish Confederation of Mineral Raw Materials Industries told EFE.
Hence, Gutiérrez stressed that extraction plans must be accompanied by the installation of refining plants.EFE
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