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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @0xbitcoiner 23 Oct \ on: Rare Earths Reality Disproves Libertarians Free Markets Fix Everything Bullshit. econ
The issue there, as I see it, is that rare earths aren't just an investment thing; it's also a location thing. You don't have rare earths lying around just anywhere. Even if private investors wanna put money in, they have to invest in the places where the stuff actually exists.
It is the refining capacity that is the really crucial factor.
Raw rare earths are not so difficult to obtain but to process them to the point where they are ready for use in multiple application is the difficult and very costly and time consuming part of it- and Chinas mixed economic model deliberately invested in capturing this strategic supply chain while the wests free markets failed to.
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