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Planet Money

Battlefield rare earths: How the U.S. lost to China

April 24, 2026 • 34m

Summary

⏱️ 8 min read

Overview

This Planet Money episode traces the complete history of America's rare earths industry through the lens of a single California mine called Mountain Pass. It explores how the U.S. dominated rare earths production from discovery in 1949 through the 1980s, how China systematically took over the entire global industry within 30 years, and how the U.S. is now desperately trying to rebuild domestic production using similar state-driven industrial policies that enabled China's rise.

Discovery of Rare Earths at Mountain Pass

In 1949, prospectors searching for uranium in the California desert stumbled upon a massive deposit of rare earth elements instead. At the time, these obscure metals had virtually no commercial use, and nobody understood their potential value. By the 1960s, however, rare earths became critical to new technologies, and the Mountain Pass mine evolved into the world's dominant producer under a company called Molycorp.

  • Prospectors in 1949 discovered rare earths while searching for uranium using Geiger counters in California mountains
  • The deposit contained elements like lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, praseodymium, and europium - none of which had commercial uses at the time
  • By the 1960s, rare earths became critical for technologies ranging from iPhones to fighter jets to microwaves
  • China now processes about 90 percent of the world's rare earths
" They had stumbled onto a huge deposit of what we now know as rare earths, obscure metals with hard-to-pronounce names tucked down at the bottom of the periodic table. "

Molycorp's Monopoly and the Color TV Revolution

The Mountain Pass mine, operated by Molycorp, became the world's sole supplier of rare earths for decades. The element europium proved especially valuable as it created the red color in every color television manufactured globally. This monopoly position made Molycorp enormously powerful throughout the 1960s and beyond, representing America's dominance in this critical industry.

  • Rare earths found commercial uses in polishing camera lenses, refining oil, and most importantly, color television production
  • Europium from Mountain Pass was used in every single colored television made in the world to create the red color
  • Molycorp had a complete rare earths monopoly by the 1960s, serving as the world's provider for decades
  • Mark Smith joined Molycorp around 1987-88 when it was still dominant but starting to face competition
" Every single colored television that was made in the world had europium from the Mountain Pass deposit used to make that red color. "

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