Domestic Rare Earth Project makes U.S. Less Dependent on China

Since the 1980s, China has taken over the rare earth minerals market due to a “primitive, low-cost model” of mining, but with the help of companies like Molycorp , the U.S. is ready to tap into its vast mineral resources and reduce its dependence on foreign suppliers. Molycorp’s Mountain Pass mine in California is expected to produce up to 40,000 metric tons of rare earth minerals by 2013, expanding the supply of minerals critical to hybrid vehicles, computers and military technologies.