The thing about rare earth metals is that they are located all over the world - and they're not particularly rare. The problem is that refining them produces hu

The thing about rare earth metals is that they are located all over the world - and they're not particularly rare. The problem is that refining them produces huge quantities of toxic waste. China has a near-monopoly on the trade not just because they have a lot of them (they do) but because they're willing to pay the huge environmental penalty associated with the refining. [1] [1] https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150402-the-worst-place-on-earth https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150402-the-worst-place-...