WUXI, China ¨C The origin of China¡¯s dominance of rare earths can be traced to an iron ore mine near Baotou in the country¡¯s north, 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the Mongolian border.
It was April 1964 and Chinese geologists had discovered that the mine also held the world¡¯s largest deposit of rare earths, a set of 17 metals that have become essential ingredients for today¡¯s global economy. Deng Xiaoping, then a high-ranking Chinese Communist Party official, visited the remote desert mine, owned by a military steelmaker, to inspect the massive cache.
¡°We need to develop steel, and we also need to develop rare earths,¡± declared Deng, who over a decade later would emerge as China¡¯s top leader.
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