Archive | Element 17

The Army Just Found a New Use for a Chemical Weapons Depot

Aug 18, 2026

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5 min read

The Army Just Found a New Use for a Chemical Weapons Depot

REalloys would become the first private company to process minerals inside an active U.S. military base — using a legal tool originally designed for base housing and utilities.

The Pentagon Just Committed $400 Million to a Mine That Has Never Been Built

Aug 17, 2026

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5 min read

The Pentagon Just Committed $400 Million to a Mine That Has Never Been Built

Every gram of scandium ever sold came as a byproduct of mining something else. The $400 million Pentagon loan is a bet that a dedicated mine can finally break that loop

The Rare Earths in Your Phone Started in a Myanmar War Zone

Aug 14, 2026

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6 min read

The Rare Earths in Your Phone Started in a Myanmar War Zone

Workers pay brokers roughly $290 just for the chance to mine in these pits. There's no tracing system for rare earths the way there is for cobalt or tin — so once the ore crosses into China, no one downstream can tell where it came from.

Malaysia's Rare Earth Ban Has a Model: Indonesia's Nickel Gambit

Aug 12, 2026

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6 min read

Malaysia's Rare Earth Ban Has a Model: Indonesia's Nickel Gambit

Indonesia banned nickel ore exports in 2020 and tripled its export revenue in three years. Malaysia is weighing the same trade for rare earths — but with China's November 10 deadline closing in, it may not have three years to wait.

The Biggest Presidential Mining Meeting Since Theodore Roosevelt

Aug 11, 2026

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4 min read

The Biggest Presidential Mining Meeting Since Theodore Roosevelt

MP Materials handed Trump a pair of magnets. The room held Rio Tinto, BHP, and Freeport. The agenda: $3 billion in new commitments and a 30-year Chinese lead to close.

Aug 10, 2026

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5 min read

China Squeezed Its Own Magnet Factories

In 2011, Beijing's own magnet makers buckled under prices China had pushed too high — and it just happened again in Zhejiang. We've been tracking the countdown to November 10 since our first issue on this; this is the clearest sign yet of what's at stake if the truce doesn't hold.

The Clay Deposit That Gave China Its Rare Earth Grip Just Found a Rival – in Brazil

Aug 7, 2026

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5 min read

The Clay Deposit That Gave China Its Rare Earth Grip Just Found a Rival – in Brazil

IMC Rare Earths raised $20 million and started trading on NYSE American on July 29. Its Brazilian deposit sits on the same kind of clay that built China's dysprosium and terbium monopoly in the first place.

Malaysia Weighs Easing Its Rare Earth Export Ban, With Conditions Attached

Aug 5, 2026

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5 min read

Malaysia Weighs Easing Its Rare Earth Export Ban, With Conditions Attached

US, Australia, France, and India are all asking. Malaysia is willing to answer — but only for buyers who bring technology transfer and investment, not just cash.

Ninety-Eight Days: the Rare Earth Deadline Washington Can't Afford to Miss

Aug 4, 2026

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5 min read

Ninety-Eight Days: the Rare Earth Deadline Washington Can't Afford to Miss

Two executive orders in ten days — one ends waivers for defense firms buying Chinese minerals, the other locks down the scrap that was quietly leaving the country.

Trump Invokes the Defense Production Act to Stop Critical Mineral Scrap From Leaving the Country

Aug 3, 2026

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6 min read

Trump Invokes the Defense Production Act to Stop Critical Mineral Scrap From Leaving the Country

Two executive orders in ten days — one ends waivers for defense firms buying Chinese minerals, the other locks down the scrap that was quietly leaving the country.

A Kilogram of Dysprosium: $262 Inside China, $2,250 Outside It

Jul 31, 2026

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6 min read

A Kilogram of Dysprosium: $262 Inside China, $2,250 Outside It

Same metal, same purity, eightfold price gap. The Pentagon just put $1.225 billion behind two companies racing to close it – but neither has broken ground yet

Japan Pulls Rare Earth Mud From 6,000 Meters — and Finds 54% Medium and Heavy Elements

Jul 29, 2026

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4 min read

Japan Pulls Rare Earth Mud From 6,000 Meters — and Finds 54% Medium and Heavy Elements

Medium and heavy rare earths – the ones China guards most tightly – made up 54% of what Japan just pulled off the ocean floor. The catch: extraction could cost up to 20 times more than buying from China.

SEE MORE BRIEFINGS

The Army Just Found a New Use for a Chemical Weapons Depot

The Pentagon Just Committed $400 Million to a Mine That Has Never Been Built

The Rare Earths in Your Phone Started in a Myanmar War Zone

Malaysia's Rare Earth Ban Has a Model: Indonesia's Nickel Gambit

The Biggest Presidential Mining Meeting Since Theodore Roosevelt

China Squeezed Its Own Magnet Factories

The Clay Deposit That Gave China Its Rare Earth Grip Just Found a Rival – in Brazil

Malaysia Weighs Easing Its Rare Earth Export Ban, With Conditions Attached

Ninety-Eight Days: the Rare Earth Deadline Washington Can't Afford to Miss

Trump Invokes the Defense Production Act to Stop Critical Mineral Scrap From Leaving the Country

A Kilogram of Dysprosium: $262 Inside China, $2,250 Outside It

Japan Pulls Rare Earth Mud From 6,000 Meters — and Finds 54% Medium and Heavy Elements

Your Daily Edge on the Rare Earths Market.