Of metals and rare earths

There's an obvious need to diversify sources of rare earth minerals but, despite new finds in Sweden, China will remain the go-to supplier for the foreseeable future

The news that Sweden has just discovered a large deposit of rare earth minerals sparked off thoughts about “atmanirbhar”  in this vital area. Rare earths are a class of metals. Their oxides need to be used in small but significant quantities to make electric vehicles, mobile phones and sundry other consumer electronics, besides wind turbines and solar energy units. Renewable energy, therefore, depends on these metals. Assuming there’s no tectonic shift in renewables and electronics designs and technologies, the demand is expected to soar, as the global energy mix shifts away from fossil fuels.

China has a hammerlock on global mining