What is this news that due to rare earths, there could even be a World War?

China has the entire world under its thumb. It’s not giving rare earths. It has blackmailed all the countries. So what is this thing? What is this thing that China has a hold on? What are these rare earth minerals? And why is there such a huge uproar about them? Some are saying that they could even lead to a World War. If it’s such a big issue, then one should be informed. Therefore, listen to this carefully, understand it.

When talks with China resumed, China again agreed to give rare earth minerals to India. But what are these rare earths? Most people don’t have an idea. So first, understand this: these are 17 metals.
Metals like iron, copper, gold, silver. These are similar minerals. They are also found in the earth and are also mined. Like we extract iron, we extract gold. There are mines for these 17 metals too. So then, what’s special about them? Well, first, they cannot be easily extracted from the earth. Second, after extraction, separating, cleaning, and refining them is a very tough job, and many countries simply don’t have that technology. Iron, gold, silver, etc., have been extracted from the ground for centuries. Until some time ago, these 17 metals didn’t really have much use. So no one really put much effort into extracting them from the ground.

So now, what use have they found that everyone needs these rare earth metals? Actually, they contain magnets.
Magnets.
And where are these magnets used? In smartphones and electric vehicles. And also in many other things. But phones, and especially electric vehicles, cannot be made without rare earth magnets. Meaning, their technology is such that without these specific magnets, they can’t be made. So, the magnet is a very small component of electric vehicles, this rare earth one, but it’s such a critical component that understand this: the vehicle’s operation itself depends on it. Similarly, magnets are needed in airplane engines too. To show vibrant, flashing colors on your TV screen, these magnets are needed. To operate your phone’s screen, these magnets are needed. To run turbines in power plants, these magnets are needed. They are needed in vehicles too.

But for all other things, work can still be managed with other technologies. But the most critical need for this magnet is for battery-operated electric vehicles. Meaning, whether it’s Elon Musk’s Tesla or all the other battery-powered vehicle companies worldwide, if they don’t get rare earth magnets, they will have to shut down. This is the situation. And where are 60 to 70% of the world’s mines for these magnet-containing metals? In China. And as far as refining is concerned, 90% of the world’s refining happens in China. Meaning, nine out of every ten magnets come from China. This is the situation. And how did this situation come about? This situation developed over 30-40 years.

China realized 30-40 years ago that while not many countries were extracting these rare earth minerals from the ground because it’s expensive, the world had already seen the oil game in the 70s. There was the Arab-Israeli war, and when that happened, the Arab countries had oil. Oil prices skyrocketed. Then there was the Iran-Iraq war, and several wars happened over oil. Oil used to run all the world’s vehicles. So whoever had oil could blackmail the rest of the world. The world had seen that game. China saw that it didn’t have oil. So it thought, after oil, what could be the thing that, if controlled, would allow it to control the world? It started betting on several things with full planning. At that time, it saw that the world was moving towards electronics. And countries like Japan and Korea were advancing in electronic goods. The era of electric vehicles hadn’t arrived yet, but research was ongoing. Mobile phones were also new, and they also involved battery technology. Like in battery-operated vehicles. China saw that in this entire electronic era, no one was paying attention to making these rare earth magnets. They were mostly made in the US, and everyone bought from there. China bet on making these magnets. It surveyed its land and found them in several places. It started digging mines on a large scale. These are not like gold and silver. You extract truckloads of soil from the mine, and you’ll get only a few grams of rare earth. Then it set up cleaning plants. It set up refining plants. It set up factories to make magnets. Meaning, China went all out. Starting 30-40 years ago. The situation became such that China started making magnets so cheaply that the US shut down its own mine in 2002. China did it in such a way that it dropped the prices of rare earth magnets so much that other countries said, “Forget it, why should we work hard? We’re getting cheap magnets from China.” The US shut down its plant in 2002.

Then the smartphone revolution came. These magnets were used in them. But China was supplying them cheaply. There was no tension. Then the revolution of battery-operated electric vehicles came. Tesla became such a big company. In China itself, most vehicles started becoming electric. The planning to end the petrol-diesel era began. To deal with climate change and global warming, many governments worldwide started making plans to ban petrol-diesel vehicles by this or that year. All plans were made. All vehicles will become electric. This will happen, that will happen. On what was all this pomp based? On rare earth magnets. And 90% of them are made by China. So the power that oil-selling Arab countries and other nations had came to China. When Trump threatened the world with tariffs, China pressed this nerve. It stopped the supply of these magnets. Then countries around the world realized, “Oh, China controls this.” Vehicle manufacturing companies worldwide faced the threat of shutdown. In terms of electric cars, even many Indian companies had to reduce their production.

Now that talks have happened with China again, China has talked about restoring supply. For the future, the world is now preparing. India is also preparing, but it will take time. China has been at it for 30-40 years. 90% of production is with it. Not just from its own mines, China has entangled many such countries in its web where rare earths exist underground. There are many in Myanmar. The military government there operates at China’s behest. China takes rare earth from there and refines it in its own country. In many African countries, Chinese companies have taken contracts for mines of these minerals. China takes rare earth from there, brings it to its country, and refines it. This is also why China has its eyes on Balochistan. The entire route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor it is building – China has its eyes on setting up rare earth mines there. The technology China has for extracting and refining these minerals could take many years for other countries to develop. By then, China’s plan is to get even further ahead.

So for now, China is the one extracting them and making these magnets. And after that, in which other countries are these found? For now, China is extracting them. Which are the countries from which these can be extracted? Even if it takes a few years now, eventually, which countries can save themselves from China’s blackmail? Because they will have their own rare earths and won’t be dependent on China. Meaning, in whose land are these minerals most abundant? Well, the estimate is that number one is China itself. It is estimated that its land has 44 million tons of rare earth minerals.
Who is number two? Brazil. It is estimated that Brazil’s land has 21 million tons of rare earth. Meaning, Brazil could become a big player in this game. Because the coming time seems to be all about electric vehicles. The days of petrol and diesel are numbered.
You’re seeing the Arab countries, right? From Saudi Arabia to Dubai, Qatar, etc., everyone is planning for the future when the earnings from their oil will end.
First, we used to see how much oil reserves a country had. Now will come the era of looking at rare earth reserves. So China has the largest reserve. 44 million tons – this is an estimate. Second is Brazil. And the third largest reserve of rare earth is in which country’s land? India. Our own Bharat. It is estimated that there are about 7 million tons of rare earth minerals in India’s land.
But all this is just reserve for now. It’s still in the ground. It will have to be extracted, cleaned, refined, then its magnets made, the entire system set up. India has started on this work. It will take time. China has been doing it for many years. And initially, no country will be able to refine as cheaply or with as much capacity. But we will have to keep at it.

You might have heard a government announcement this year that India is starting a National Critical Mineral Mission. This is the mission for that very work. It will take a few years; until then, we will have to get it from China. But next time someone tells you that there’s been a relaxation from China on rare earth or that China is blackmailing with rare earth, you will also understand the story, and you can explain it to others too. In the oil game, you saw how countries went from where to where, right? In this very lifetime, you saw how the children of poor parents in other countries became rich from oil earnings. You saw that, right? Now it’s our country’s turn.