To the editor:
Stephen Freeman, in his letter on July 9, 2025, brought up an interesting subject: our dependency on China for rare-earth minerals. He mentioned China using our dependency on these minerals as a bargaining ploy against President Trump’s tariff policies. There is a lot of truth in what he said. Also true is the fact once again someone has mentioned only one side of an issue. Here are some comments, on the positive side, that I think are worth mentioning.
The recent restrictions of rare metals from China have increased efforts to develop U.S. domestic production and secure alternative supply chains. The Mountain Pass mine in California, once closed because competing with China was financially impractical, is going back in operation. Wyoming entered the race with their Brook Mine opening. Australia, the fourth largest producer of rare earth elements, is expanding its domestic processing. Brazil and Myanmar are also future possible markets that might help ease the world’s dependency on China.
Research is also being done to explore the potential to see if rare-earth elements can be produced from the waste residue from Georgia’s kaolin mining. Caldera Holdings LLC, the new owner of the Pea Ridge mine in Sullivan, Missouri, is considering reopening the mine to extract the rare elements that exist there. The deal with Ukraine for their minerals shouldn’t be overlooked either.
China’s retaliation to Trump’s tariffs could be the wake-up call needed, not only to our country, but to the world as well.
Walter Crean
Madawaska
