China, the world's top processor of rare earths, banned the export of technology to make rare earth magnets on Thursday, adding it to a ban already in place on technology to extract and separate the critical materials.

Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion for use in electric vehicles, wind turbines and electronics.

"This should be a clarion call that dependence on China in any part of the value chain is not sustainable," said Nathan Picarsic, co-founder of the geopolitical consulting firm Horizon Advisory.

China's commerce ministry sought public opinion last December on the potential move to add the technology to prepare smarium-cobalt magnets, neodymium-iron-boron magnets and cerium magnets to its "Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited and Restricted from Export."

WEST STRUGGLES
The move to protect its rare earth technology comes as Europe and the United States scramble to wean themselves off rare earths from China, which accounts for nearly 90% of global refined output.

China has mastered the solvent extraction process to refine the strategic minerals, which MP Materials (MP.N) and other Western rare earth companies have struggled to deploy due to technical complexities and pollution concerns.

Source:
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM6BgDEdy/
&
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/china-bans-export-rare-earths-processing-technologies-2023-12-21/