China dominates the production of rare earths that go into the permanent magnets used in industries crucial to the energy transition, such as wind turbines and electric vehicles, putting the metals at the centre of trade tensions with the US. But building new mines is hugely expensive, risky and time consuming.

Sediment containing rare earth was retrieved from ocean depths of 6,000 meters (about 20,000 feet) on a Japanese test mission, the government said Monday, as it seeks to curb dependence on China for the valuable minerals.

A key part of the USA Rare Earth buy-thesis just blew up.

Wall Street didn’t wait for the fine-print on President Trump’s new rare-earth initiative. Stocks tied to the sector popped Monday after the White House unveiled Project Vault, a $12 billion effort to stockpile strategic metals and reduce reliance on China.

Government stakes in companies is the wrong way to beat China.