Yo Adrian! China's Got the World by the Rare Earths! Can We Go the Distance?

Gonna Fly Now... Away From China?

Yo Adrian you ain't gonna believe this! China they got like a real grip on these 'rare earth' minerals. Sounds like somethin' from outer space right? But see these things are in everything from your fancy electric cars to even the stuff they use to build fighter jets! The West they're startin' to sweat 'cause they're too dependent on China. It's like Apollo Creed always callin' the shots ya know?

Rare Earth Rumble: Cars Bombs and China's Control

This AlixPartners see they’re sayin’ you can’t even make a modern car without these rare earths. And China they’re like the champ in this game controllin' the whole supply chain. They got 69% of the mine production and nearly half the world's reserves! Even Toyota they tryin’ to find ways to use less of this stuff. It's like tryin' to train with Mickey after he said you were finished a tough fight but gotta do what you gotta do!

EV's Coming Home to Roost?

Remember when I was a southpaw? Things change! They say these electric cars use way more rare earths than the gas guzzlers like over 500 grams compared to 140. But here's the kicker Adrian: these first gen EVs? They're gonna be ready for the scrapyard soon and that's gonna be a whole lotta material the West can get its hands on. It's like findin' a whole new stash of meat at Paulie's butcher shop!

Slow Burn in the USA!

These Christopher Ecclestone guy he's sayin' that electric cars ain't catchin' on too fast in the U.S. With the EV stuff slowin' down he's sayin' the urgency to replace the Chinese sourced materials ain't that bad. Now in China more than half the new cars are battery only and hybrid cars. But in the US? We still pumpin' that gas like takin' the stairs instead of the elevator.

Trade Wars and Tungsten Tango

Then you got China puttin' controls on exportin' these minerals. It's like when Apollo started gettin' serious puttin' on the pressure ya know? It's like if you wanna sell this stuff overseas you gotta get the thumbs up from the government. And these mines and plants? They take forever to get goin'! China's got over 90% of the refined supply for these magnets for electric car motors. This is as bad as having the ref on Clubber Lang's payroll!

Recycling Ain't a Knockout... Yet

Recycling it's hard energy intensive and it takes forever like training for a rematch with Drago in Siberia. Even if the U.S. slows down on EVs these minerals are needed for defense. The F 35 fighter jet needs over 900 pounds of this stuff! China's controllin' more than just rare earths now controllin' tungsten too! It’s like they’re tryin’ to cut off all the angles. The US imports 27% of tungsten from China! We just don’t have enough! Gonna have to train harder Adrian!