Lithium
(
Li
)
The metal behind every battery
Top Producer
Australia
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
We are the by‑product critical metal company of America
Kunin is America’s only vertically integrated ion-exchange technology company
The United States was the Leader in Critical Mineral Production. In fact, we invested, commercialized, and industrialized the technologies used today.
But then mining operations went off-shore.
Now the United States is import reliant on foreign entities.
A majority of these metals drive 21st century technology
Tap on an element to view details.
1
H
Hydrogen
2
He
Helium
3
Li
Lithium
element details
4
Be
Beryllium
element details
Beryllium
(
Be
)
America mines its own beryllium
Top Producer
United States
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
5
B
Boron
6
C
Carbon
7
N
Nitrogen
8
O
Oxygen
9
F
Fluorine
10
Ne
Neon
11
Na
Sodium
12
Mg
Magnesium
element details
Magnesium
(
Mg
)
Lightest structural metal on Earth
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
13
Al
Aluminum
element details
Aluminum
(
Al
)
The lightweight metal of everything
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
14
Si
Silicon
15
P
Phosphorus
16
S
Sulfur
17
Cl
Chlorine
18
Ar
Argon
19
K
Potassium
20
Ca
Calcium
21
Sc
Scandium
element details
Scandium
(
Sc
)
Lighter aircraft, cleaner power
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
22
Ti
Titanium
element details
Titanium
(
Ti
)
Titanium flies everything
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
23
V
Vanadium
element details
Vanadium
(
V
)
Powering long-duration grid storage
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
24
Cr
Chromium
element details
Chromium
(
Cr
)
Backbone of stainless and superalloys
Top Producer
South Africa
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
25
Mn
Manganese
element details
Manganese
(
Mn
)
100 percent import dependent
Top Producer
South Africa
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
26
Fe
Iron
27
Co
Cobalt
element details
Cobalt
(
Co
)
Congo controls the battery metal
Top Producer
Congo (Kinshasa)
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
28
Ni
Nickel
element details
Nickel
(
Ni
)
Indonesia owns the cathode metal
Top Producer
Indonesia
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
29
Cu
Copper
30
Zn
Zinc
element details
Zinc
(
Zn
)
Galvanizing the industrial economy
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
31
Ga
Gallium
element details
Gallium
(
Ga
)
Your 5G phone needs China
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
32
Ge
Germanium
element details
Germanium
(
Ge
)
The internet runs on glass
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
33
As
Arsenic
element details
Arsenic
(
As
)
Hidden dopant inside every chip
Top Producer
Peru
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
34
Se
Selenium
35
Br
Bromine
36
Kr
Krypton
37
Rb
Rubidium
element details
Rubidium
(
Rb
)
Atoms powering quantum and clocks
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
38
Sr
Strontium
39
Y
Yttrium
element details
Yttrium
(
Y
)
Lasers, displays, jet engines
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
40
Zr
Zirconium
element details
Zirconium
(
Zr
)
Nuclear reactors need zirconium
Top Producer
Australia
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
41
Nb
Niobium
element details
Niobium
(
Nb
)
One country, Brazil, dominates
Top Producer
Brazil
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
42
Mo
Molybdenum
44
Ru
Ruthenium
element details
Ruthenium
(
Ru
)
Ruthenium: the chipmaking PGM
Top Producer
South Africa
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
45
Rh
Rhodium
element details
Rhodium
(
Rh
)
Rhodium: scarcest emissions catalyst
Top Producer
South Africa
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
46
Pd
Palladium
element details
Palladium
(
Pd
)
Palladium: emissions and electronics metal
Top Producer
Russia
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
47
Ag
Silver
48
Cd
Cadmium
49
In
Indium
element details
Indium
(
In
)
Every touchscreen depends on it
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
50
Sn
Tin
element details
Tin
(
Sn
)
The solder holding electronics together
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
51
Sb
Antimony
element details
Antimony
(
Sb
)
Flame retardant for all electronics
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
52
Te
Tellurium
element details
Tellurium
(
Te
)
Powers America's biggest solar maker
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
53
I
Iodine
54
Xe
Xenon
55
Cs
Cesium
element details
Cesium
(
Cs
)
Heartbeat of GPS and time
Top Producer
Canada
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
56
Ba
Barium
element details
Barium
(
Ba
)
Drilling mud to ceramic capacitors
Top Producer
India
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
57
La
Lanthanum
element details
Lanthanum
(
La
)
Hybrid batteries and refining catalysts
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
58
Ce
Cerium
element details
Cerium
(
Ce
)
Polishing chips, cleaning emissions
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
59
Pr
Praseodymium
element details
Praseodymium
(
Pr
)
Magnets for EVs and wind
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
60
Nd
Neodymium
element details
Neodymium
(
Nd
)
The magnet behind electrification
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
62
Sm
Samarium
element details
Samarium
(
Sm
)
Samarium powers defense magnets
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
63
Eu
Europium
element details
Europium
(
Eu
)
Europium lights up displays
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
64
Gd
Gadolinium
element details
Gadolinium
(
Gd
)
Gadolinium enables MRI scans
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
65
Tb
Terbium
element details
Terbium
(
Tb
)
Terbium toughens EV magnets
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
66
Dy
Dysprosium
element details
Dysprosium
(
Dy
)
Dysprosium drives EV motors
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
67
Ho
Holmium
element details
Holmium
(
Ho
)
Holmium powers surgical lasers
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
68
Er
Erbium
element details
Erbium
(
Er
)
Erbium amplifies the internet
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
69
Tm
Thulium
element details
Thulium
(
Tm
)
Thulium fuels fiber lasers
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
70
Yb
Ytterbium
element details
Ytterbium
(
Yb
)
Ytterbium powers industrial lasers
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
71
Lu
Lutetium
element details
Lutetium
(
Lu
)
Lutetium enables PET imaging
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
72
Hf
Hafnium
element details
Hafnium
(
Hf
)
Hidden in chips and engines
Top Producer
France
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
73
Ta
Tantalum
element details
Tantalum
(
Ta
)
Every phone needs tantalum
Top Producer
Congo (Kinshasa)
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
74
W
Tungsten
element details
Tungsten
(
W
)
China owns the carbide
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
75
Re
Rhenium
element details
Rhenium
(
Re
)
Hottest engines burn rhenium
Top Producer
Chile
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
76
Os
Osmium
element details
Osmium
(
Os
)
Osmium: rarest of platinum group
Top Producer
South Africa
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
77
Ir
Iridium
element details
Iridium
(
Ir
)
Iridium: green hydrogen bottleneck
Top Producer
South Africa
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
78
Pt
Platinum
element details
Platinum
(
Pt
)
Platinum: hydrogen economy linchpin
Top Producer
South Africa
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
79
Au
Gold
80
Hg
Mercury
81
Tl
Thallium
82
Pb
Lead
83
Bi
Bismuth
element details
Bismuth
(
Bi
)
Green solder and pink medicine
Top Producer
China
type
Critical Mineral
technology
companies
90
Th
Thorium
92
U
Uranium
All of these metals are recovered as by-products from operating mining assets.
But for the past 40 years, they have not been recovered in the United States.
Mining operators have focused on primary metal production.
Because China is winning on the cost structure for separations
Linear axis, true proportions — germanium, scandium, hafnium & gallium cost far more per kg than the cheaper metals (yttrium, antimony, bismuth, zirconium, tungsten), whose bars are correspondingly short.Spot priceis a floating green line above each pair (current ex-China / Western quote, May–Jun 2026); it is not drawn to the cost axis because spot ranges up to ~$13,000/kg (hafnium) and would otherwise dwarf the cost bars. Multiple = US cost ÷ China cost; only niobium is <1× (US below China, since China’s figure is import-parity on Brazilian feed). Units: Sc & Y per kg oxide, Nb per kg contained Nb, others per kg metal. Hover any bar or line for full detail & sources.
Because with the projects went talent and technology
Mining-engineering talent, US vs China, by decade.
Mining-engineering talent, US vs China, by decade.
Mining-engineering talent, US vs China, by decade.
1956
BGRIMM mining & mineral-processing institute
1956
BGRIMM mining & mineral-processing institute
1956
BGRIMM mining & mineral-processing institute
1956
BGRIMM mining & mineral-processing institute
1956
BGRIMM mining & mineral-processing institute
1956
BGRIMM mining & mineral-processing institute
Cumulative count of national critical-minerals institutes, universities, and specialized technical programs (founding +1, closure −1). The shaded band is China's standing lead. An illustrative index of institutional momentum, not one official statistic. Hover any point for the milestone and source.
Annual mining / critical-minerals R&D spend, US vs China, by decade, in PPP-adjusted USD millions (US = private + public combined).
Now China export restricts the key technologies for separation and metal recovery
Metal products
Separation technologies
2001
May 2026
Rare Earth Curbs Still Bite
As of mid-2026 the truce suspensions remained in force while the April 2025 rare earth licensing curbs still bit. US yttrium imports from China fell to about 17 tonnes in eight months versus about 333 tonnes prior, and aerospace makers reported yttrium and scandium rationing.
- Category / scope of items
rare earths; yttrium; scandium; indium
- Action type
Suspension/relaxation
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.techtimes.com/articles/317208/20260526/china-rare-earth-export-controls-april-curbs-still-bite-after-beijing-summit.htm
Nov 7, 2025
China Suspends October Tech Controls
China suspended six October 2025 export-control announcements (Nos. 55, 56, 57, 58, 61, 62) from November 7, 2025 until November 10, 2026. The December 2023 catalogue technology ban was not suspended and remains active.
- Category / scope of items
Process technology; Ion-exchange; Solvent extractants
- Action type
Suspension/relaxation
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; GAC
- Geographic scope
Global and Extraterritorial
- Sourcehttps://www.pillsburylaw.com/en/news-and-insights/china-suspends-export-controls-certain-critical-minerals-related-items.html
Nov 7, 2025
China Pauses Export Controls in Truce
As part of a US-China trade truce, China paused the October 2025 extraterritorial package for one year and temporarily lifted the December 2024 outright US ban on gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials. The April 2025 rare earth licensing regime was not suspended and remains active.
- Category / scope of items
rare earths; gallium; germanium; antimony; superhard materials; lithium battery materials
- Action type
Suspension/relaxation
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; GAC
- Geographic scope
Global and US-specific
- Sourcehttps://www.pillsburylaw.com/en/news-and-insights/china-suspends-export-controls-certain-critical-minerals-related-items.html
Oct 9, 2025
China Bars Aid to Foreign Rivals
Separation know-how including ion-exchange is covered by No. 62, which also bars Chinese experts from teaching or assisting foreign separation projects. Suspended until November 10, 2026.
- Category / scope of items
Ion-exchange
- Action type
Extraterritorial control
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; GAC
- Geographic scope
Extraterritorial
- Sourcehttps://www.jonesday.com/en/insights/2025/10/china-imposes-extraterritorial-export-control-measures-over-rare-earth-items
Oct 9, 2025
China Extends Tech Controls Abroad
China placed export controls on rare earth processing technology and barred Chinese persons from providing substantial assistance to foreign rare earth projects, asserting extraterritorial reach. Suspended until November 10, 2026.
- Category / scope of items
Process technology
- Action type
Extraterritorial control
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; GAC
- Geographic scope
Extraterritorial
- Sourcehttps://www.jonesday.com/en/insights/2025/10/china-imposes-extraterritorial-export-control-measures-over-rare-earth-items
Oct 9, 2025
China Names Controlled Extractant Chemicals
For the first time China named specific extractant chemicals (P507, P204, naphthenic acid, N235, C272) with CAS numbers under export licensing, targeting the core reagents of cascade separation. Suspended one month later until November 10, 2026.
- Category / scope of items
Solvent extractants
- Action type
License requirement
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; GAC
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.fredgao.com/p/china-implements-new-export-controls
Oct 9, 2025
China Licenses Rare Earth Equipment Exports
Announcement No. 56 licensed more than 20 rare earth processing equipment types spanning smelting, separation, and crystallization, denying rivals the physical means to build processing lines. Suspended until November 10, 2026.
- Category / scope of items
Process technology
- Action type
License requirement
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; GAC
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.fredgao.com/p/china-implements-new-export-controls
Oct 9, 2025
China Extends Export Controls Worldwide
China asserted extraterritorial jurisdiction for the first time, with a 0.1 percent de minimis content trigger and a 50 percent affiliate-ownership rule, extending controls to rare earth equipment and technology, lithium battery materials, and superhard materials. Modeled on the US foreign direct product and de minimis architecture.
- Category / scope of items
rare earths; rare earth equipment; rare earth technology; lithium battery materials; superhard materials
- Action type
Extraterritorial control
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; GAC
- Geographic scope
Extraterritorial
- Sourcehttps://www.whitecase.com/insight-alert/china-imposes-extraterritorial-jurisdiction-and-50-rule-export-controls-rare-earth
Apr 4, 2025
China Curbs Rare Earth Magnet Exports
China added seven medium and heavy rare earths plus high-performance SmCo and Tb/Dy NdFeB magnets to the dual-use control list under case-by-case licensing, with a 0.1 percent Chinese-content trigger for magnets. This is the curb that most directly hits US defense.
- Category / scope of items
samarium; gadolinium; terbium; dysprosium; lutetium; scandium; yttrium
- Action type
License requirement
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; GAC
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://english.mofcom.gov.cn/Policies/AnnouncementsOrders/art/2025/art_0dd87cbee7b045bf93fabe6ab2faceee.html
Feb 4, 2025
China Adds Five Metals to Controls
China required export licenses for items related to five additional metals on the day its retaliatory tariffs on US goods took effect, responding to new US tariffs. Tungsten is critical to munitions, cutting tools, and superalloys.
- Category / scope of items
tungsten; tellurium; bismuth; molybdenum; indium
- Action type
License requirement
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; GAC
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.whitecase.com/insight-alert/china-imposes-retaliatory-tariffs-and-non-tariff-measures-response-trump-tariffs
Dec 3, 2024
China Bans Mineral Exports to US
The day after new US semiconductor controls, China prohibited in principle the export of gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials to the United States, the first mineral measure to single out the US.
- Category / scope of items
gallium; germanium; antimony; superhard materials
- Action type
Outright ban (US)
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM
- Geographic scope
US-specific
- Sourcehttps://cset.georgetown.edu/publication/china-rare-earth-export-ban/
Aug 15, 2024
China Restricts Antimony and Superhard Exports
China required export licenses for antimony, antimony compounds, and select superhard materials, and banned export of gold-antimony smelting technology. Chinese antimony exports fell about 97 percent and prices roughly tripled afterward.
- Category / scope of items
antimony; superhard materials
- Action type
License requirement
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; GAC
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.um-material.com/news/announcement-no-33-of-2024-of-the-ministry-of-commerce-and-the-general-administration-of-customs-of-china-on-the-implementation-of-export-control-on-antimony-and-other-items/
Dec 21, 2023
China Bans Solvent Extraction Technology
Solvent-extraction cascade design is prohibited as part of the rare earth separation-technology ban. The active 2023 catalogue does not name specific extractant chemicals; those appear only in the suspended October 2025 No. 56.
- Category / scope of items
Solvent extractants
- Action type
Prohibited
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; MOST
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.csis.org/analysis/what-chinas-ban-rare-earths-processing-technology-exports-means
Dec 21, 2023
China Formalizes Ion-Exchange Tech Ban
Ion-exchange and chromatographic separation know-how for ultra-high-purity heavy rare earths is captured under the prohibited separation-technology category. No control specific to ion-exchange resins was issued.
- Category / scope of items
Ion-exchange
- Action type
Prohibited
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; MOST
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.csis.org/analysis/what-chinas-ban-rare-earths-processing-technology-exports-means
Dec 21, 2023
China Reaffirms Rare Earth Tech Ban
China prohibited export of rare earth extraction, separation, smelting, and metal and alloy production technology, and moved ionic-rare-earth-ore leaching to the restricted list. This catalogue ban remains in force in 2026.
- Category / scope of items
Process technology
- Action type
Prohibited
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; MOST
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.csis.org/analysis/what-chinas-ban-rare-earths-processing-technology-exports-means
Dec 21, 2023
China Bans Rare Earth Tech Exports
China banned export of the core know-how that turns mined ore into usable rare earth metals and magnets, including extraction, separation, and NdFeB and SmCo magnet production technology, extending leverage from materials to technology.
- Category / scope of items
rare earth processing technology
- Action type
Tech-transfer ban
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; Ministry of Science and Technology
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.csis.org/analysis/what-chinas-ban-rare-earths-processing-technology-exports-means
Jul 3, 2023
China Restricts Gallium and Germanium Exports
China required dual-use export licenses for gallium- and germanium-related items, the first major move of the strategic-control era, widely read as a response to US and allied semiconductor equipment controls.
- Category / scope of items
gallium; germanium
- Action type
License requirement
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; GAC
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.iea.org/policies/17893-announcement-on-the-implementation-of-export-control-of-items-related-to-gallium-and-germanium
Dec 2021
China Merges State Rare Earth Producers
China merged several state rare earth producers into China Rare Earth Group, controlling roughly 60-70 percent of heavy rare earth output and increasing state pricing power ahead of the 2023 export controls.
- Category / scope of items
rare earths
- Action type
Producer consolidation
- Issuing authority
SASAC; State Council
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.china-briefing.com/news/china-merges-three-rare-earths-state-owned-entities-to-increase-pricing-power-and-efficiency/
Oct 17, 2020
China Enacts First Export Control Law
China enacted its first unified Export Control Law, effective December 1, 2020, creating the national-security legal basis later used for all the targeted critical-mineral licensing controls from 2023 onward.
- Category / scope of items
Enabling framework
- Action type
Enabling legislation
- Issuing authority
NPC Standing Committee; MOFCOM
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://globaltradealert.org/blog/a-short-history-of-chinese-export-controls-on-critical-raw-materials
Aug 28, 2020
China Updates Rare Earth Tech Controls
China issued a major catalogue revision on August 28, 2020 that restricted rare earth extraction and separation technologies, the last full revision before the December 2023 overhaul.
- Category / scope of items
Process technology
- Action type
Restricted
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; MOST
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.chinalawinsight.com/2020/10/articles/customs-business/revision-of-the-catalogue-of-technologies-prohibited-or-restricted-from-export-of-the-prc/
Apr 23, 2015
China Drops Rare Earth Export Duties
China eliminated export duties on rare earths, tungsten, and molybdenum effective May 1, 2015, completing WTO compliance and replacing the export tax with a domestic resource tax.
- Category / scope of items
rare earths; tungsten; molybdenum
- Action type
Suspension/relaxation
- Issuing authority
State Council Tariff Commission; GAC
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2015-05-12/china-resource-taxes-adjusted-for-rare-earth-tungsten-molybdenum/
Dec 31, 2014
China Abolishes Rare Earth Export Quotas
Following the WTO ruling, China abolished its rare earth export quota regime effective January 1, 2015, ending the volume-capped system and replacing it with a license available to any qualified exporter.
- Category / scope of items
rare earths; tungsten; molybdenum
- Action type
Suspension/relaxation
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; GAC
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://cen.acs.org/articles/93/i2/China-Ends-Quotas-Rare-Earth.html
Aug 7, 2014
WTO Rules Against China's Export Quotas
The WTO Appellate Body upheld findings that China's export quotas and duties on rare earths, tungsten, and molybdenum breached its commitments and were not justified as conservation measures. China was given until May 2, 2015 to comply.
- Category / scope of items
rare earths; tungsten; molybdenum
- Action type
WTO ruling
- Issuing authority
WTO Appellate Body; Dispute Settlement Body
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/cases_e/ds431_e.htm
Mar 13, 2012
WTO Challenge Over Rare Earth Quotas
The US, EU, and Japan requested WTO consultations challenging China's export duties, quotas, and licensing on rare earths, tungsten, and molybdenum, citing over 30 measures and 212 customs codes.
- Category / scope of items
rare earths; tungsten; molybdenum
- Action type
WTO ruling
- Issuing authority
WTO (complainants US, EU, Japan)
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/cases_e/ds431_e.htm
Sep 21, 2010
China Halts Rare Earths to Japan
After the September 2010 fishing-boat collision near the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, Japanese buyers reported Chinese customs halting rare earth shipments to Japan from about September 21; flows recovered by roughly December. China never issued a written ban.
- Category / scope of items
rare earths
- Action type
De-facto embargo
- Issuing authority
Informal customs halt
- Geographic scope
Japan
- Sourcehttps://amti.csis.org/counter-co-trawler-collision/
Jul 2010
China Slashes Rare Earth Export Quota
China cut the full-year 2010 rare earth export quota by roughly 40 percent versus 2009, to about 30,259 tonnes, triggering a global price spike given China's 90 percent plus supply share.
- Category / scope of items
rare earths
- Action type
Export quota
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R42510.html
Sep 16, 2008
China Tightens Ion-Exchange Tech Rules
Ion-exchange separation remained covered implicitly under the broad separation-technology listing in the 2008 catalogue, with no resin-specific control.
- Category / scope of items
Ion-exchange
- Action type
Restricted
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; MOST
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://globaltradealert.org/blog/a-short-history-of-chinese-export-controls-on-critical-raw-materials
Sep 16, 2008
China Tightens Rare Earth Tech Controls
China re-promulgated the catalogue in 2008 and tightened rare earth extraction and separation technology controls over the 2009 to 2011 window, with extraction-equipment know-how reportedly added around 2009.
- Category / scope of items
Process technology
- Action type
Restricted
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; MOST
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://globaltradealert.org/blog/a-short-history-of-chinese-export-controls-on-critical-raw-materials
2007
China Taxes Rare Earth Exports
From 2007 China levied an export duty of about 10 percent on rare earth raw materials, raised in 2008 to 15-25 percent by product, a price disincentive layered on top of the quota.
- Category / scope of items
rare earths; tungsten; molybdenum
- Action type
Export tariff
- Issuing authority
State Council Tariff Commission; GAC
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R42510.html
2006
China Caps Rare Earth Production
China imposed its first nationwide cap on rare earth oxide production, working alongside the export quota system to constrain global supply under an environmental rationale.
- Category / scope of items
rare earths
- Action type
Production quota
- Issuing authority
Ministry of Land and Resources; State Council
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13563-019-00214-2
2005
China Tightens Rare Earth Export Quotas
China administered annual rare earth export quotas through MOFCOM, tightening the ceiling steadily from about 65,580 tonnes in 2005 to about 48,155 tonnes in 2009 before the sharp 2010 cut.
- Category / scope of items
rare earths
- Action type
Export quota
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R42510.html
2001
China Bans Ion-Exchange Export Technology
Ion-exchange separation was captured implicitly under the broad rare earth separation-technology listing. China has never issued a control specific to ion-exchange resins; ion exchange falls under the general separation prohibition.
- Category / scope of items
Ion-exchange
- Action type
Prohibited
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; MOST
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://globaltradealert.org/blog/a-short-history-of-chinese-export-controls-on-critical-raw-materials
2001
China Bans Rare Earth Process Tech
China first placed rare earth extraction and separation know-how, including the ionic-clay leaching process, on its technology-export catalogue, beginning unpublished in 1998 and published in 2001.
- Category / scope of items
Process technology
- Action type
Prohibited
- Issuing authority
MOFCOM; MOST
- Geographic scope
Global
- Sourcehttps://globaltradealert.org/blog/a-short-history-of-chinese-export-controls-on-critical-raw-materials
China restricted not only the export of metals, but the technologies used to make them. This single time-axis chart documents two decades of Chinese outbound export restrictions, on the metal products themselves and on the separation and processing technology.
Ion-exchange is how we selectively extract and recover metals from low concentrations & high impurities
A real rock (the ore) holds many metals. Mining and milling free it; leaching dissolves it into a dirty, low-grade solution (lots of impurity ions, little of the target). In the ion-exchange column the resin selectively binds the target metal while impurity ions wash through (the raffinate); eluting the resin then releases a clean, concentrated stream that goes to refining.
process-tech phases + 2030 fork
With economies of scale largely exhausted and autonomy on the way, step-changes in process technology are now the primary lever for offsetting grade-driven cost escalation
Each process-tech era is a shaded phase; from 2030 the separation cost forks: runaway without a breakthrough, or bent down by a Kunin IX breakthrough.
Left axis: copper head grade (% Cu) with the operating-grade band. Right axis: separation cost share (grade-driven to 2030, then the two scenarios). Shaded vertical bands are process-tech eras: pre-flotation, froth flotation (1912), flash smelting (1949), SX-EW (1968), HPGR & autonomy (2006), and the post-2030 “next step-change?” zone. Faint vertical lines mark each invention year. Scenario branches are illustrative (Kunin branch basis: Metionic IX TEA; runaway branch: modeled).
Our approach to ion-exchange
A new cost & performance frontier
Two tracks — the technology and the full-stack model — converge to unlock resources the industry leaves behind.
The Kunin model
Kunin is America's Critical Metal Company
We are America's vertically integrated ion-exchange company: resin manufacturer, process technology developer, and metal producer.
01
Resin Manufacturer
We produce a new resin form factor using the Same functional Chemistry tree developed since the 1940s.
01
Process Technology Developer
We develop metal recovery processes using ion-exchange. Any feedstock. Any metal theperiodic table.
01
Project Builder
We design and build co-productplants at operating mines, smelters. refineries. and industrial