RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:What I said about MPWell, I think the biggest problem\weakness that the US has in this respect is that there is this inate belief that only corporate america can solve issues and that the gov should stay out. Unfortunately, corporate america's goal is not to solve strategic problems, but to make money. The US government took humans to the moon in the 1960s, but it took almost 50 years for corporate america to start retracing those steps. The US government developed the internet, corporate america uses it to make billions and destroy what ever remaining privacy people may have. Governments have and can focus on large projects that have strategic ends, companies will not do that if there is no forseeable profit. If there is truly a desire to break free of any reliance on foreign nations for straegic resources, the government has to be willing to spend LOTS of money on getting the research done. They have a choice of either throwing lots of money at anyone who as a possible solution, or they need to set up a Manhattan type project where they develop the IP, and then once they have spent billions finding the solution, they can then license the IP to companies to use. Just like many universities do. Around here, we call it the small-town mentality when people are trying to minimize the amount that is spent and only half arsed doing something. If the US wants to take back control from China on REE and other resources, like magnesium, they need to go big, or forget about it. In 1995, the US produced 45% of the magnesium in the world. Now look who produces it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_magnesium_production