For subscribers
Don’t fall for the hype about China’s critical minerals controls
The dollar value of US imports of tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum and indium is too small to matter.
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A tungsten mining factory in Guangxi, China. The country's latest export controls target five key minerals, including tungsten, that have applications in high-tech industries.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Javier Blas
Reading some of the commentary about looming shortages, one would think America is doomed after China imposed export controls on five so-called critical minerals in February. Ignore the hype – the US will be fine.
Rather than using the term currently bandied about, I prefer the moniker everyone used when I arrived at the commodity markets a quarter of a century ago: minor metals. Naturally, the latter is a lot less rousing than the former, which explains why every miner digging for them rebranded itself as a critical-minerals producer. That sounds a lot sexier – helpful for talking up a company’s share price.
