Letter

In response to Trump's rare earths deal to counter China was a badly needed 'Sputnik moment'

Premature expostulation

Trump may just be half-witted enough to believe that by doing a few deals with countries, that have deposits or rare earths that are capable of being mined in an economic manner, he will help the US, but if so he has simply confirmed the worldwide belief that he is a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

Mining ain’t the hard part when it comes to rare earths. Refining and processing are the hard bits and China has those wrapped up, for at least the next five to ten years.

These are incredibly complex processes that can be environmentally disastrous. The Chinese have been through that phase and have solved the vast bulk of the problems associated with those processes. They are also understandably not keen in sharing that experience and knowledge with a country determined to neuter them.

The reality is that the Chinese desire for peaceful development, and respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, will continue to suggest to them that keeping the supply of these metals away from the military-industrial complex of the most dangerous country on the planet is a pretty good idea.

— Les Macdonald from Balmain NSW 2041