Archive | Element 17

The Busan Truce Expires in 47 Days. Xi Is at the White House Today.

Sep 24, 2026

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5 min read

The Busan Truce Expires in 47 Days. Xi Is at the White House Today.

Trump has backed down at every summit since Osaka 2019. Reuters says rare earth dependency is the reason why — and the pattern is holding.

Bessent and He Lifeng Spent Sunday at JP Morgan. Rare Earths Made the Agenda.

Sep 23, 2026

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5 min read

Bessent and He Lifeng Spent Sunday at JP Morgan. Rare Earths Made the Agenda.

The Busan truce expires November 10. Washington says China's supply has fallen short on the ground. Tomorrow's summit is a deadline dressed as diplomacy

The Pentagon and Beijing on the Same Cap Table

Sep 22, 2026

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5 min read

The Pentagon and Beijing on the Same Cap Table

If China Rare Earth Group buys Shenghe, Beijing gets an indirect stake in Mountain Pass — the very mine the Defense Department paid $400 million to secure.

One Western Producer Can Ship Heavy Rare Earths. Lifton Names the Rest as Unproven

Sep 21, 2026

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5 min read

One Western Producer Can Ship Heavy Rare Earths. Lifton Names the Rest as Unproven

A two-kilogram lab batch and a working refinery are both called production. Lifton's questions — what was made, how much, what grade, did a buyer take it, did they return — tell them apart

The 78-Year-Old French Factory That Quietly Started Separating Dysprosium, Terbium This Month

Sep 18, 2026

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5 min read

The 78-Year-Old French Factory That Quietly Started Separating Dysprosium, Terbium This Month

OneIM's $11.8 billion fund is circling a partnership. China's export control pause expires November 10. The alternatives are no longer hypothetical.

Honda Bets on a Magnet That Doesn't Need Rare Earths

Sep 17, 2026

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5 min read

Honda Bets on a Magnet That Doesn't Need Rare Earths

Iron and nitrogen, no neodymium required — the question is whether Niron Magnetics can match 44 years of NdFeB dominance before the supply chain forces the issue.

107 Days, Three Deadlines — and China Still Makes 93% of the World's Rare Earth Magnets

Sep 16, 2026

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5 min read

107 Days, Three Deadlines — and China Still Makes 93% of the World's Rare Earth Magnets

The DFARS ban on Chinese magnets in U.S. weapons systems is law — no summit can touch it. The November 10 export-control expiry is a negotiation. Only one of those has a back door.

From an Old Laptop to a 144,000-Square-Foot Rare Earth Plant

Sep 15, 2026

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5 min read

From an Old Laptop to a 144,000-Square-Foot Rare Earth Plant

Cyclic Materials opened its first U.S. commercial-scale rare earth magnet recycling plant in Mesa, with capacity for 25,000 tonnes a year and more than 7,000 tonnes of feedstock already delivered.

$2.9 Billion Committed, and the Middle of America's Magnet Supply Chain Is Still Missing

Sep 14, 2026

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5 min read

$2.9 Billion Committed, and the Middle of America's Magnet Supply Chain Is Still Missing

Jack Lifton's argument: a financing closes in a day while building process knowledge takes years — and the IEA's own data shows planned magnet production covers only one-third of expected mined supply by 2035.

Tesla Built a Rare-Earth-Free Motor. Neodymium Shrugged.

Sep 11, 2026

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6 min read

Tesla Built a Rare-Earth-Free Motor. Neodymium Shrugged.

Only 45 Cybercabs are registered in Texas — proving a motor works in a robotaxi is a different problem from pulling rare earths out of three million cars a year.

Sep 10, 2026

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5 min read

The Pause Expires in Sixty-One Days

Xi Jinping arrives in Washington on September 24. What the two leaders settle — or don't — will determine whether November 10 is a turning point or a reckoning delayed.

Japan Cut Chinese Dysprosium Imports 82% This Year. Its Factories Kept Running.

Sep 9, 2026

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5 min read

Japan Cut Chinese Dysprosium Imports 82% This Year. Its Factories Kept Running.

Sixteen years of stockpiling, funded offtake deals, and magnet recycling — the Tokyo conference opening today is a masterclass in building supply security backward, from finished magnet to raw ore.

SEE MORE BRIEFINGS

The Busan Truce Expires in 47 Days. Xi Is at the White House Today.

Bessent and He Lifeng Spent Sunday at JP Morgan. Rare Earths Made the Agenda.

The Pentagon and Beijing on the Same Cap Table

One Western Producer Can Ship Heavy Rare Earths. Lifton Names the Rest as Unproven

The 78-Year-Old French Factory That Quietly Started Separating Dysprosium, Terbium This Month

Honda Bets on a Magnet That Doesn't Need Rare Earths

107 Days, Three Deadlines — and China Still Makes 93% of the World's Rare Earth Magnets

From an Old Laptop to a 144,000-Square-Foot Rare Earth Plant

$2.9 Billion Committed, and the Middle of America's Magnet Supply Chain Is Still Missing

Tesla Built a Rare-Earth-Free Motor. Neodymium Shrugged.

The Pause Expires in Sixty-One Days

Japan Cut Chinese Dysprosium Imports 82% This Year. Its Factories Kept Running.

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