China’s December 2023 ban on rare earth extraction and separation technologies directly threatens MP Materials Corp., the operator of the Mountain Pass mine the only active rare earth extraction site in the U.S. While the company has received $155.4M in federal funding (including a $35M DoD award in 2022) to build domestic separation capacity for heavy rare earths, China’s near-monopoly (processing 99.9% of global heavy rare earths) creates severe supply chain vulnerabilities. The ban disrupts MP Materials’ ability to scale processing operations, delaying critical defense and clean energy supply chains (e.g., missiles, EVs, wind turbines). Without Chinese technology or rapid alternative sourcing, the U.S. faces prolonged dependence on adversarial supply chains, risking national security breaches in defense systems and economic instability in high-tech sectors. The company’s $1B+ market cap and strategic role in U.S. rare earth independence are now at risk, with potential long-term operational halts if processing bottlenecks persist.
Source: https://www.csis.org/analysis/what-chinas-ban-rare-earths-processing-technology-exports-means
TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/mp-materials
"id": "mp-2412824102825",
"linkid": "mp-materials",
"type": "Cyber Attack",
"date": "11/2020",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "6",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the economy of geographical region"{'affected_entities': [{'industry': ['Defense', 'Energy', 'Technology'],
'location': 'United States',
'name': 'United States Government',
'size': 'National',
'type': 'Government'},
{'industry': 'Mining/Metals',
'location': 'Mountain Pass, California, USA',
'name': 'MP Materials Corp.',
'size': 'Large',
'type': 'Private Company'},
{'industry': 'Mining/Metals',
'location': 'Australia (with U.S. operations)',
'name': 'Lynas Rare Earths Ltd',
'size': 'Large',
'type': 'Public Company'},
{'industry': 'Defense',
'location': 'United States',
'name': 'U.S. Defense Industrial Base',
'size': 'National',
'type': 'Industry Sector'},
{'industry': 'Energy',
'location': 'United States',
'name': 'U.S. Clean Energy Sector',
'size': 'National',
'type': 'Industry Sector'}],
'date_detected': '2023-12-21',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2023-12-21',
'description': 'China announced a ban on rare earth extraction and separation '
'technologies on December 21, 2023, creating significant risks '
'for U.S. national, economic, and rare earth security. Rare '
'earth elements are critical for defense technologies (e.g., '
'missiles, lasers, military communications), consumer '
'electronics, and clean energy systems. China dominates global '
'rare earth processing (90% of global capacity, 99.9% of heavy '
'rare earths), exposing the U.S. to supply chain '
'vulnerabilities. The U.S. has initiated funding (e.g., $9.6M '
'to MP Materials in 2020, $120M to Lynas Rare Earths in 2022) '
'to build domestic separation capacity, but delays in scaling '
'processing infrastructure and technical gaps (e.g., solvent '
'extraction expertise) persist. The ban underscores the '
'urgency for the U.S. to accelerate domestic production and '
'diversify supply chains via international partnerships (e.g., '
'Vietnam, Brazil, Australia). Policy recommendations include '
'tax incentives for U.S. magnet manufacturing and leveraging '
'industrial subsidies to reduce processing costs.',
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': ['Perception of U.S. technological '
'vulnerability',
'Erosion of confidence in supply chain '
'resilience'],
'operational_impact': ['Disruption to U.S. defense manufacturing '
'(missiles, lasers, military '
'communications)',
'Delays in clean energy technology '
'deployment (electric vehicles, wind '
'turbines)',
'Increased costs for rare earth-dependent '
'industries'],
'revenue_loss': ['Potential long-term revenue declines for U.S. '
'manufacturers due to material shortages',
'Increased procurement costs for rare earths']},
'investigation_status': 'Ongoing (policy and industrial response phases)',
'lessons_learned': ['Over-reliance on a single supplier (China) for critical '
'minerals creates strategic vulnerabilities.',
'Domestic processing capacity is as important as '
'extraction for supply chain resilience.',
'Technical expertise (e.g., solvent extraction) cannot be '
'rapidly replicated without sustained investment.',
'Geopolitical risks in critical mineral supply chains '
'require proactive diversification and stockpiling.',
'Industrial policies (e.g., tax incentives, subsidies) '
'are essential to compete with state-backed foreign '
'producers.'],
'motivation': ['Economic coercion',
'Strategic resource control',
'Geopolitical leverage',
'Hindering U.S. defense and clean energy capabilities'],
'post_incident_analysis': {'corrective_actions': ['Rapid scaling of domestic '
'separation facilities '
'(e.g., Mountain Pass, '
'Lynas projects).',
'Policy reforms (tax '
'incentives, subsidies) to '
'reduce processing costs.',
'International cooperation '
'to secure alternative '
'supply chains.',
'R&D investments to develop '
'pollution-mitigating '
'processing technologies.',
'Strategic stockpiling of '
'critical minerals to '
'buffer against export '
'bans.'],
'root_causes': ['Decades of underinvestment in '
'U.S. rare earth processing '
'infrastructure.',
'Over-dependence on Chinese '
'processing capacity (90% global '
'share, 99.9% for heavy rare '
'earths).',
'Lack of technical expertise in '
'advanced separation methods '
'(e.g., solvent extraction).',
'Slow policy response to '
'recognized supply chain '
'vulnerabilities.',
'Environmental regulations and '
'costs that disadvantaged U.S. '
'processing relative to China.']},
'recommendations': ['Accelerate construction of U.S. rare earth separation '
'and processing facilities (e.g., Mountain Pass, Lynas '
'projects).',
'Establish tax incentives for U.S. manufacturing of rare '
'earth magnets (as recommended by the Select Committee).',
'Leverage international partnerships (Vietnam, Brazil, '
'Australia, India) to diversify supply chains.',
'Invest in R&D to close technical gaps (e.g., solvent '
'extraction, pollution mitigation).',
'Develop a national stockpile of critical minerals to '
'buffer against export restrictions.',
'Implement fiscal subsidies to reduce the cost of '
'domestic processing operations.',
'Strengthen public-private collaboration to align defense '
'and commercial rare earth needs.',
'Monitor and counter Chinese efforts to dominate critical '
'mineral value chains (e.g., graphite, gallium, '
'germanium).'],
'references': [{'source': 'Center for Strategic and International Studies '
'(CSIS)',
'url': 'https://www.csis.org/'},
{'date_accessed': '2023-12',
'source': 'Select Committee on the Strategic Competition '
'between the United States and the Chinese '
'Communist Party',
'title': "Reset, Prevent, Build: A Strategy to Win America's "
'Economic Competition with the Chinese Communist '
'Party',
'url': 'https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/'},
{'source': 'Benchmark Mineral Intelligence',
'url': 'https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/'},
{'source': 'U.S. Department of Defense (DPA Title III Awards)',
'url': 'https://www.businessdefense.gov/'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': ['Select Committee on '
'the Strategic '
'Competition between '
'the U.S. and CCP '
'(report '
'recommendations)']},
'response': {'communication_strategy': ['Select Committee report publication '
"('Reset, Prevent, Build')",
'Public statements by CSIS and other '
'think tanks'],
'containment_measures': ['Funding for domestic separation '
'capacity (e.g., $120M to Lynas for '
'heavy rare earths)',
'Tax incentives proposed for U.S. '
'magnet manufacturing'],
'enhanced_monitoring': ['Monitoring of global rare earth markets',
'Tracking Chinese export restriction '
'policies'],
'incident_response_plan_activated': ['Defense Production Act '
'(DPA) Title III funding '
'allocations',
'Congressional Select '
'Committee recommendations '
"(e.g., 'Reset, Prevent, "
"Build' report)"],
'recovery_measures': ['Long-term industrial policy reforms',
'Subsidies to reduce processing costs'],
'remediation_measures': ['Construction of new processing '
'facilities (e.g., Mountain Pass, '
'California)',
'Diversification of supply chains via '
'allied nations'],
'third_party_assistance': ['International partnerships (Vietnam, '
'Brazil, Australia, India)',
'Private sector investments (MP '
'Materials, Lynas Rare Earths)']},
'stakeholder_advisories': ['U.S. Congress (Select Committee recommendations)',
'Department of Defense (funding allocations for '
'domestic capacity)',
'Private sector (MP Materials, Lynas Rare Earths '
'investments)',
'Allied governments (Vietnam, Brazil, Australia, '
'India for supply chain diversification)'],
'threat_actor': 'Chinese Government (via export restrictions and '
'technological bans)',
'title': "China's Ban on Rare Earth Extraction and Separation Technologies "
'and Its Implications for U.S. Security',
'type': ['Geopolitical Risk',
'Supply Chain Disruption',
'Economic Espionage Risk'],
'vulnerability_exploited': ['Over-reliance on single-source supply chain '
'(China)',
'Lack of domestic rare earth processing capacity',
'Technical know-how gap in solvent extraction']}