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China foolishly threatens rare earth elements ban
[American Thinker] Chinese threats to ban exports of "rare earth elements" critical to high-tech American products will foolishly boomerang by forcing the U.S. to ramp up mining and processing.

Bloomberg reported that China’s President Xi Jinping visited the JL MAG Rare-Earth Company mine to fuel "speculation that the strategic materials could be weaponized in China’s tit-for-tat with the U.S. on trade."

Rare earth elements are crucial to high-tech devices because of their unique magnetic and lighting properties, such as neodymium used in the commercial-scale wind farm magnets to maximize the efficiency of electric generators to produce current. Newer applications include hybrid electric cars, iPhones and military hardware such as night-vision goggles and guided weapons.
Posted by: Besoeker 2019-05-21
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=541497