London [UK], October 22 : Neha Mukherjee, a rare earth expert and Research Manager at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, has urged nations to urgently diversify their sources to avoid a global supply chain breakdown.
"The problem is that the entire world is now structurally dependent on China," she said, suggesting, "If you want a secure supply chain, diversify your sources as much as possible."
Her suggestion comes as tensions rise over China's tightening grip on rare earth exports to the world.
China's recent decision to impose new export controls on several medium and heavy rare earth elements critical materials used in defence, clean energy, and high-tech manufacturing has, to a degree, hit global industries.
"We are days, if not weeks, away from a crisis," Mukherjee asserted, describing the severity of the supply disruption.
According to Mukherjee, the trouble began in April this year, when Beijing introduced export controls on a few rare earth elements amid escalating trade tensions.
"No one was prepared, and a lot of production was put on hold because anyone who had to submit for a license had to wait for at least 45 to 60 days," she explained.
According to her, the situation worsened recently when China added more heavy rare earths to the restricted list.
Although the curbs are not an outright ban, Mukherjee emphasised that their reach "transcends across everything" and "spills across on everything," given China's dominance in this domain.
"The export restrictions are in place because they do not want to supply to any defense manufacturing organisations," she said. "So any company which is manufacturing missiles, fighter jets, or is linked to these will be affected. There will be no supply. And why is this critical? Because 95 per cent of these materials come from China."
The implications extend well beyond defence. "Defence is going to be affected the most; e-mobility is also going to get hit. Consumer electronics and robotics, too, will be affected," Mukherjee added.
Faced with challenges, India is already aiming to diversify its rare earth supply through a combination of imports, domestic mining and international partnerships. The government is investing in research and development to improve domestic refining and processing capabilities.
The Central government has recently earmarked Rs 1,345 crore to incentivise rare earth magnets production in India.
China's overwhelming control of global rare earth processing commanding over 90 per cent of the world's magnet production capacity has created significant vulnerabilities for industries worldwide. Beyond China, there are only a few alternative suppliers of critical minerals.
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