A rare opportunity beckons

TL;DRAbstract

There is a great deal of uncertainty for the future of rare-earth production. Rare-earths are a collection of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table, which include scandium and yttrium as well as the 15 lanthanides, such as dysprosium and ytterbium. China has a stranglehold on today's rare-earth market, which was worth about $3bn in 2010, with the country accounting for about 95% of worldwide production. Yet China's future actions can only be guessed at best. In September it halted shipments of rare-earth elements to Japan over a diplomatic spat concerning the detention of a Chinese trawler captain. Although the ban was later lifted, the episode raised concerns around the world about China's rare-earth monopoly and its use in diplomacy. China has already warned that it will not export any rare-earth material in the coming years as it expects its own consumption of rare-earth metals to increase. The country has introduced export taxes as well as production and export quotas, and als

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