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Podcast: The Bunker – News without the nonsense
Episode: Masters of Metal – What are Rare Earth Metals and why does Trump want them so badly?
Description: Donald Trump didn’t threaten to take over Greenland only for reasons of military conquest. The arctic territory contains significant deposits of rare earth metals including dysprosium, terbium and yttrium. They’re vital to tech – and currently, China controls a staggering 95% of them. But what are they and why are they so valuable? Commodities journalist Ronan Murphy, Editor of Argus Non-Ferrous Markets, tells Gavin Esler about the real economics behind Trump’s bluster; why invading Greenland is a really bad business idea; and the surprising reason you can’t mine ALL of Greenland’s rare earths. (Clue: It’s uranium). ...