Rare Earths and Realpolitik: How Minerals Are Shaping Global Power Struggles - Goa Chronicle

A 28-year-old scientist, Marie Perrin, was honoured on May 19 by the European Patent Office for a simple and disruptive innovation: a process to recover uropium from fluorescent lamps. A technical response to a global strategic crisis, embodied by a young researcher whom nothing seemed to predestin to defy the Chinese monopoly on these critical elements. Rare earths: the war on critical metals The context is tense. In the world battle on rare ea…

Rare earths and realpolitik

Reading Time: 5 minutes  In an era defined by digital innovation and geopolitical rivalry, rare earth elements (REEs) have emerged as linchpins of global power. From smartphones and solar panels to advanced weaponry and electric vehicles, these minerals underpin critical technologies – placing them at the centre of an intensifying contest between global powers. China’s strategic leverage In late 2024, China tightened export controls on gallium, …

Rare Earths and Realpolitik: How Minerals Are Shaping Global Power Struggles - Goa Chronicle

In an era defined by digital innovation and geopolitical rivalry, rare earth elements (REEs) have emerged as linchpins of global power. From smartphones and solar panels to advanced weaponry and electric vehicles, these minerals underpin critical technologies, placing them at the centre of an intensifying contest between global powers. China’s Strategic Leverage In late 2024, China tightened export controls on gallium, germanium, and antimony—ke…