History proves why we allowed China to dominate rare earths

Amidst all the credulous media coverage of the Albanian government handing control of Australia’s critical mineral industry to Donald Trump, no one asks how we got to a position where Western governments are rapidly entering rare earth mining and processing in an industry dominated by China. And most importantly, no one asks what this means for Australia.

But a little history may point to some answers.

One of the assets Albanese gifted to his Washington overlord was a stake in the Alcoa-Sojitz Gallium Recovery Project in Western Australia, which has so far been financed largely by Japanese investments.