China has the lion’s share of many obscure rare earth minerals that are crucial for high-tech products. From Chris MacIntosh at internationalman.com:
China has the world over a barrel in more ways than we have been led to believe.
It isn’t so much that China has the biggest resources of these minerals. Rather it has the refining capacity to produce these materials. Note that most of these “lesser known base metals” don’t occur naturally on their own (like copper or tin), rather they occur concurrent with other minerals and are essentially a by-product of refining common base metals. Of course, refining minerals is a messy, polluting, and energy intensive business that few countries want to engage or allow. In doing so, they open themselves up to national security issues.
All rather interesting, but what I’d like to point out is that there exists the probability that this all becomes weaponised. Reducing or entirely eliminating supply of these critical resources to “non-friendly” nations is increasingly becoming a real threat. That in itself would entail significant supply disruptions, higher costs of production (much higher), and subsequent acceleration of stagflation.
“Defenceless under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
Of Eros and of dust,
Beleaguered by the same
Negation and despair,
Show an affirming flame.”
W.H. Auden, September 1, 1939