Dr. Julie Klinger | Rare Earth Metals – Not Rare, In Everything From Magnets To Missiles, & China Dominates The Industry

In this episode of The Negotiation, we talk with Dr. Julie Klinger, Professor of Geography and Spatial Sciences at the University of Delaware where she’s also a part of the Faculty of Minerals, Materials, and Society. This episode is all about the industry of rare earth metals or rare earth elements, an industry that China dominates and every piece of technology rely on, from magnets to rockets. We talk about how the industry has evolved over the last 30 years, the fact that they aren’t actually rare at all, and why, if every country has them in some abundance, we don’t all mine our own. We also uncover a fascinating narrative in that the world of rare earth elements and metals is catalyzing a change to the decades-old governing rationale behind global supply chains, where the cheapest labor and least amount of environmental regulation always wins. This is a really interesting and unique episode about an industry that impacts our lives daily that nobody knows about, that China currently dominates a producer, and why they would actually like to give that #1 spot up. Enjoy!