Boarded-up mines across the world are rusting symbols of how China seized the world’s critical minerals supply chain.
Now, some of these mines—closed not because they ran dry, but by Beijing’s oversupply and price dumping—could be reopened as the Trump administration rallies nations to overthrow China’s supply chain dominance.
Getting a new mine up and running can take up to 15 years. So mothballed mines could provide a timely stopgap, according to industry experts.
Digging out the minerals, however, is only half the challenge. When the United States and the broader Western world abandoned their mines, they also abandoned the race for the all-important extraction process….