Workers load metric tons of rare earth minerals into bags ready for shipping at a refinery in eastern Malaysia, fueling the global pushback against China¡¯s grip on the critical sector.

Rare earths are a key ingredient in products ranging from smartphones to fighter jets, electric cars and wind turbines ¡ª and increasingly for hardware powering the artificial intelligence boom.

Global jitters about Beijing¡¯s dominance as a rare earths producer have kicked Australian mining giant Lynas into action, expanding its portfolio of rare earths refined in Malaysia as it hopes to boost its approximately 10% share of the market.