David Fickling, Columnist

We All Need to Calm Down About Rare Earths

Worries about China’s monopoly over this suite of elements flare up every now and again. The truth is it’s a paper tiger.

Medium rare.

Photographer: Ullstein Bild/Bloomberg

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Once every decade or so, the world goes through a collective freak-out about rare earths.

The suite of 17 elements strung toward the bottom of the periodic table are notable in that they’re essential in several high-technology applications such as wind turbines, electric cars and lasers, and largely made in China.