8 h. ago Apple inks $500m deal for rare earth magnets with US mining firm

China supplies most rare earth magnets to electronics manufacturers, but curbed exports earlier this yearApple has signed a $500m deal with a US firm for rare earth magnets, essential for manufacturing electronics, after China curbed exports of the scarce, vital materials.The backing from one of the world’s most valuable companies comes after MP Materials, which operates the only US rare earths mine, last week agreed to a multibillion-dollar deal with the US Department of Defense that will see the Pentagon become its largest shareholder. Both deals are aimed at mitigating supply chain risks after China limited the outgoing supply of rare earths earlier this year in response to Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago Brazil’s last asbestos miners are switching to rare earth minerals. Can they offer a brighter future?

The small city of Minaçu is hoping to challenge China’s dominance in servicing the global appetite for minerals key to the green energy transitionMinaçu, a small city in inland Brazil and home to the only asbestos mine in the Americas, is set to become the first operation outside Asia to produce four rare earths on a commercial scale – a group of minerals key to the energy transition at the centre of the trade dispute between China and the US.Until now, China has dominated the separation of rare earths, and accounts for 90% of the manufacture of rare-earth magnets, or super magnets, which are made with these elements and used in electric cars, wind turbines and military equipment such as jets. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago The Guardian view on Donald Trump’s China deal: rare earths pave the green road to militarisation | Editorial

Clean tech’s key minerals now drive western rearmament, reviving extractive ambition and exposing the toxic cost of dependenceIt’s an irony that the minerals needed to save the planet may help destroy it. Rare earth elements, the mineral backbones of wind turbines and electric vehicles, are now the prize in a geopolitical arms race. The trade agreement between Washington and Beijing restores rare earth shipments from China to the US, which had been suspended in retaliation against Donald Trump’s tariffs. Behind the bluster, there has been a realisation in Washington that these are critical inputs for the US. They are needed not just by American icons such as Ford and Boeing but for its fighter jets, missile guidance systems and satellite communications.This understanding suggests that Washington will scale back some of its countermeasures once Beijing resumes delivery of rare earths. The paradox is that to reduce its dependence on China, the US must depend on Beijing ...

Events

2 w. ago Deal with Beijing will speed China's export of minerals to the U.S., treasury secretary says

Washington and Beijing have signed a trade agreement that will make it easier for American firms to obtain magnets and rare earth minerals from China that are critical to manufacturing and microchip production

Economics

2 w. ago The world wants China’s rare earth elements – what is life like in the city that produces them?

More than 80% of China’s rare earth reserves are located in Baotou, an industrial hub of 2.7 million people that abuts the Gobi desertCentral Baotou, an industrial hub of 2.7 million people that abuts the Gobi desert in north China, feels just like any other second-tier Chinese city. Large shopping malls featuring western chains including Starbucks and KFC stand alongside street after street of busy local restaurants, where people sit outside and children play late into the evening, enjoying the relative relief of the cooler temperatures that arrive after dark in Inner Mongolia’s baking summer.But a short drive into the city’s suburbs reveal another typical, less hospitable, Chinese scene. Factories crowd the city’s edges, with chimneys belching white plumes of smoke. As well as steel and silicon plants, Baotou is home to China’s monopoly on rare earths, the metallic elements that are used in oil refining equipment and car batteries and that have become a major sticking point in the...

Politics

4 w. ago Network Rail strikes lifeline £500m deal with British Steel to help save the Scunthorpe blast furnaces

The agreement, for British Steel to produce 337,000 tonnes of rails over five years, safeguards 2,700 jobs at the Scunthorpe steelworks.

Economics

4 w. ago Thousands of steel jobs secured with £500m Scunthorpe deal despite huge losses in Port Talbot

The UK Government said the announcement 'truly transforms the outlook' of steelmaking in the UK, but thousands of jobs have been lost in Port Talbot with the closure of its blast furnaces

Economics

4 w. ago Thousands of jobs saved and British Steel plant future secured after £500m Network Rail deal

From a £500m rail deal set to rescue British Steel, to Aviva’s £3.7bn Direct Line takeover, surging fossil fuel finance, job cuts linked to NICs, Gareth Bale’s move into football ownership, and Mizkan’s Manchester expansion - here are today’s top UK business stories.

Economics

4 w. ago Rail deal worth £500m will help save Scunthorpe steelworks, says minister

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is visiting the Scunthorpe plant to finalise a major rail steel deal between Network Rail and British Steel.

Economics

4 w. ago Thousands of British Steel jobs secured thanks to £500m Network Rail deal

Two months after being saved by the government, British Steel's Scunthorpe plant is celebrating securing a five-year contract from Network Rail to supply 337,000 tonnes of long and short rail

Economics