Battlefield rare earths: How the U.S. lost to China

Section 1: Introduction to Rare Earths

• The discovery of rare earths in 1949 in the mountains between LA and Vegas
• Rare earths are obscure metals with hard-to-pronounce names such as Lanthanum, Cerium, Neodymium, and Europium
• These elements were not known to have commercial uses at the time of discovery
• Today, rare earths are critical to making products like iPhones, fighter jets, and microwaves

Section 2: The Mountain Pass Mine

• The Mountain Pass mine was the **world's bigg...