With its abundance of resources, Australia is viewed as China's natural rival and provides financial support and other aid to build up its domestic processing capacity.

Ford had to halt a Chicago production line a few weeks after China suspended deliveries of a variety of rare-earth elements and associated powerful magnets in retaliation for Donald Trump's tariffs. A few days later, executives from other large automakers, such as Toyota and General Motors, informed the White House that their suppliers were facing a scarcity of essential materials that may cause assembly lines to shut down.

The fallout's velocity demonstrates how dependent the globe has become on China's mineral supply chain and rare-earth magnet manufacture, which is utilized in everything from electric and combustion engines to wind turbines, medical gadgets, and ballistic missile guidance systems. Though analysts agree the challenge is huge, the Albanese administration thinks it can help end China's supremacy.

According to Professor John Mavrogenes of the Australian National University's Research Department of Earth Sciences, if the government wishes to build the domestic capacity to produce rare-earth goods, including magnets, it must significantly increase its investment in education, technology, and skills.

China produces a lot of rare earth and controls almost all of the refining procedures that are required to turn the minerals into usable forms. It completes supply chain management by producing around 90% of rare-earth magnets. Although it has paid a price due to some of the previous environmental harm caused by its mining and processing, it has developed into a very effective and economical supplier of rare-earth elements.