Oil vs. rare earths: Which will shape the global economy’s future?

Oil shaped the last century, but rare earths may shape the next. As economies electrify and AI expands, control over critical materials is becoming a new source of global power. For much of the past century, oil has been the backbone of the global economy. It fuelled factories, transport, and trade, and helped determine which countries grew rich and which …

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Europe Sets Its Sights on Brazil’s Rare Earth Riches

The European Union is actively seeking rare-earth suppliers outside of China, focusing on Brazil, which holds the world’s second-largest resources. The main challenge for Europe is not the rarity of the minerals, but the limited processing capacity, with a target to process 40% of its rare earths domestically by 2030. A potential competition is emerging between the United States and …

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US in talks with Brazil on rare earth partnership

View: Source The US is exploring the possibility of forming a rare earths partnership with Brazil, as Washington steps up efforts to reduce the nation’s reliance on mineral supplies from China, the Financial Times reported. Officials from both countries have held preliminary meetings that include government representatives, industry stakeholders and financial institutions, the FT reported early on Sunday, citing officials involved in recent discussions. “There’s nothing …

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Bahia state emerges as a potential new rare earth frontier in Brazil

View: Source The Geological Survey of Brazil (SGB) sees one more state in the country with potential to develop projects related to the rare earths segment. Currently, Brazil, which holds the second-largest volume of rare earth reserves in the world, behind only China, has the most advanced projects in this segment in the states of Minas Gerais and Goiás. Now, the SGB points out that …

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Why Europe’s Reliance on China Is a Policy Choice, Not a Resource Problem

View: Source Europe’s dependence on China for critical materials is strategic, not geological. The real chokepoint lies in processing and refining, where China dominates and Europe has largely exited, leaving itself vulnerable despite having significant mineral deposits. Europe can rebuild resilience without isolation, by anchoring extraction, processing, and recycling. Few debates in Brussels carry as much emotional charge as critical raw …

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Japan condemns China’s dual-use export ban as rare earth curbs loom

View: Source Japan called China’s ban on dual-use exports for its military “absolutely unacceptable” on Wednesday, amid a looming threat of broader curbs on vital rare earths in an escalating dispute between Asia’s top two economies. Dual-use items are goods, software or technologies that have both civilian and military applications, including certain critical minerals essential for making drones and chips. Japanese …

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The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies releases rare earths support blueprint

AMEC chief executive officer Warren Pearce, pictured in West Perth. Credit: Danella Bevis/The West Australian View: Source Government backing for critical minerals should focus on four rare earths vital for clean energy and national security and emulate an existing scheme underpinning renewable projects, the sector has told ministers. The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies has released a blueprint, commissioned by the Government, …

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Where are The World’s Rare Earth Minerals Located?

View: Source Rare earth elements (REEs) are the backbone of modern technology, from EV motors and wind turbines to smartphones and precision-guided systems. This map, via Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti, breaks down where the world’s known rare earth reserves are located in 2025, highlighting how concentrated they are across a handful of countries. The data for this visualization comes from the U.S. Geological Survey …

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China’s rare earth magnet exports to the EU rose by almost 60%

View: Source China’s exports of permanent magnets to the EU rose by 59.5% year-on-year in November, reaching 2,568.8 tonnes, after Beijing began issuing general licenses for their supply. At the same time, exports to the US decreased by 8.84%, while total global exports increased by 28.29%. Exports of permanent magnets from China to the European Union surged in November, as Beijing …

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Turkey considers new authority to oversee critical minerals, rare earths

View: Source Turkey is considering the creation of a new critical minerals authority to assess and manage its rare earth and strategic mineral resources as global competition over supply chains intensifies, a senior mining sector representative told the state-run Anadolu news agency. İbrahim Halil Kırşan, chair of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) Mining Council, said the prospective …

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