Australia’s $1B Push To Challenge China’s Rare Earth Lead

Australia’s $1B Push To Challenge China’s Rare Earth Lead

Three hours north of Perth, in the dusty emptiness of Eneabba, sits a giant pit that could help rewrite the rules of global trade. At first glance, it’s just mounds of dirt. In reality? It’s a million-tonne treasure trove of rare earth minerals — the metals behind electric cars, wind turbines, and defence tech.China has had a stranglehold on this supply for decades, controlling over half of global mining and nearly 90% of processing. Iluka’s 1mn…