Key Minerals: French Media: From the US, Canada, Germany to Bolivia, Political Leaders are Busy with Rare Earths

From the United States, Canada, Germany to Bolivia, political leaders of various countries are "busy" with rare earths.

On Monday, President Trump of the United States met with visiting South Korean President Lee Jae-myung at the White House, spending a lot of time talking about how the United States has broken through the rare earth restrictions of its rivals and claimed that the United States has stronger tools.

Trump said that 20 years ago, no one in the world needed magnets, but in the past 20 years, rivals have monopolized the global magnet market and have driven countries to develop the use of magnets.

He stated that the monopoly of rivals on magnets poses a threat to U.S. national security, but the United States has bigger weapons, namely aircraft parts and Boeing planes.

Trump said that due to the export restriction policies of the rivals, the United States did not provide Boeing company parts to the rivals, resulting in 200 planes being unable to fly.

Trump confidently said, "Our cards are bigger and better." He also bluntly mentioned that tariffs are one of his more powerful weapons. He threatened that during the tariff truce period, China must supply magnets, otherwise he would impose 100% or even 200% tariffs on Chinese goods and refuse to do business with China.

Trump said, "They have some cards, and we have unimaginable cards. But I don't want to play those cards. If I play them, it will destroy the opponent. I won't play those cards."

Trump also said that he is considering "possibly visiting China this year or soon after." "We will establish good relations with China."

In recent years, the demand for key minerals such as nickel, cobalt, graphite, and rare earths has grown strongly. These minerals are essential for energy technologies such as electric vehicles, battery storage, renewable energy, and power grids, as well as military equipment, and ensuring supply has become a top priority for governments around the world.

Canada and Germany Sign Agreement on Key Minerals like Rare Earths

Canada, which has abundant natural resources and rare earths, is also investing in developing nickel, cobalt, and other key mineral resources. Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau visited Germany this week, and Trudeau said, "Canada is ready to become a reliable supplier for our allies - especially Germany - as the largest economy in Europe and Canada's largest trading partner in the EU."

The joint statement of intent clarified the "common willingness to innovate, invest, and cooperate through rule-based trade," and Germany and Canada will "help promote private capital to fund new projects and build resilient supply chains."

The speech distributed by the office of the Canadian Prime Minister stated, "For a long time, Canada's rich nickel, cobalt, and other key mineral resources have not been fully developed, leading to Russia and China occupying the dominant position in the global market."

At a joint press conference with Mertz on Tuesday, Trudeau told reporters that there are "numerous short-term opportunities" in the field of key metals and minerals, and there are also "medium-term opportunities" in the energy sector, including liquefied natural gas and hydrogen energy. He also emphasized that large-scale investments are expected in port infrastructure such as Montreal Port and Churchill Port in Manitoba Province to expand metal and mineral exports.

Mertz pointed out at the joint press conference that the original plan was for the economic ministers of the two countries to sign an agreement on key minerals. According to media reports, the agreement will focus on the development of lithium, rare earth elements, copper, tungsten, gallium, germanium, and nickel to counter China's monopoly control over materials required for military equipment, electric vehicles, and quantum computing.

Rare Earths Become an Issue in Bolivia's Presidential Election

How to extract rare earths? Who to cooperate with? Have become hot topics in some countries' current elections. Bolivia is one of the countries with the largest lithium reserves in the world, and lithium is used to make batteries for smartphones and electric vehicles.

Bolivia's right-wing presidential candidate Giloque vowed on Tuesday that if he were elected president, he would revoke the current left-wing government's $ billion lithium mining agreements with Russia and China.

The left-wing Arce government signed agreements with Uranium One Group and CATL subsidiary CBC in 2023 and 2024 to mine lithium from Bolivia's salt flats.

These agreements totaled $2 billion to help Bolivia catch up with the global rush to mine lithium, but they were blocked in Congress due to internal conflicts within the ruling party.

Right-wing presidential candidate Giloque claimed that Uranium One Group and CATL were selected without the knowledge of local governments, and he said he would propose new laws to eliminate "favoritism" in the allocation of mineral resources.

Source: rfi

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1841565322463242/

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