The thing about rare earths is that... well they're not that 'rare' really, although they were indeed thought to be when they were discovered in the late 18th century. So, misnomer or not, why have they suddenly become 'flavour of the month' with the world's media and been causing governments around the world to get somewhat hot under the collar? The simple answer is it appears that, for one reason or another, China holds a commanding position in the rare earth mining industry.
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