Rare earth metals are not as rare as their name suggests, and there are plenty of mines outside of China capable of meeting demand for them. There hasn't been s

Rare earth metals are not as rare as their name suggests, and there are plenty of mines outside of China capable of meeting demand for them. There hasn't been sufficient motivation to tap those mines yet, but that if there's money to be made (i.e. Beijing limits supply) then those mines will be up in a hurry. The threat isn't empty but it's not really a trump card either. This is all based off what I've read on the topic from mainstream news sources. I'm not an expert in this area.