"5 Years After Crisis, U.S. Remains Dependent on China's Rare Earth Elements"

"In 2010, China set in motion a wave of worry around the globe when it dramatically lowered quotas on its exports of rare earth elements, which are crucial to the making of everything from cellphones to missile systems to electric-car batteries. China held 95 percent of the world's supply.

Prices for these 17 metals skyrocketed, and American officials issued dire warnings about American military and energy security. Hillary Clinton, then the secretary of State, called it a 'wake-up call' (Greenwire, Oct. 28, 2010). An American company, Molycorp Inc., reopened a rare earth mine in California that had been mothballed, with hopes of reviving a domestic industry.

China abolished its quotas last week, after the United States successfully pressed the World Trade Organization (WTO) to declare them illegal. But it may have been a hollow victory."

David Ferris reports for EnergyWire January 12, 2015.