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Trump’s race for the world’s rare earth minerals

Mar 26, 2025

Gracelin Baskaran, a mining economist and founding director of the Project on Critical Mineral Security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, shares insights into the U.S. and Ukraine's negotiations over rare earth minerals. She explains why these minerals, pivotal for technology, aren’t as rare as believed and discusses the U.S.'s struggle to compete with China's production. Baskaran also highlights that recycling is only part of the solution. The conversation takes a humorous turn with musings on dreaming and Canadian travel boycotts.

24:18

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Gracelin Baskaran

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Quick takeaways

The U.S. aims to increase its rare earth mining capabilities to reduce dependency on China, despite only holding 1.5% of the global supply.

Efforts to meet rising demand for critical minerals will require a combination of new mining operations and improved recycling technologies.

Deep dives

Understanding Rare Earth Metals

Rare earth metals comprise a group of 17 minerals critical for various technologies, despite their name suggesting scarcity. They are abundant worldwide but are challenging to extract economically due to their geological characteristics and the complexities involved in mining them. China dominates the processing capacity for these elements, holding 99.5% of heavy rare earths and 85% of light rare earths. This concentration creates vulnerabilities for other nations, as evidenced by past instances where China restricted exports, effectively weaponizing its mineral resources.

Intro

4min

The Quest for Rare Earth Minerals

12min

Distinguishing Critical Minerals and Rare Earths

4min

Economic Strain from U.S.-Canada Tensions

5min

Dreams, Misconceptions, and Financial Literacy

2min

The United States and Ukraine are weighing a deal that would give the U.S. a cut of revenues from Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. But Gracelin Baskaran, mining economist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said rare earths aren’t all that rare. So why is the Trump administration scrambling to get its hands on these minerals from other countries? On the show today, Baskaran explains what rare earths are, why mining them isn’t always economically attractive, and what the U.S. is doing to try to catch up with China’s rare earth production. Plus, why recycling is only part of the solution.

Then, we’ll get into why Canadians are boycotting American vacations. And, how easy is it to get someone to dream about a tree or supply chain economics?

Here’s everything we talked about today: