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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
Does China control 95% of the world's market for rare earth metals?
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
By Samuel Henning
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NO
Increased production in Australia and the U.S. has reduced the world's dependence on China for rare earth metals, which are used extensively in electronics and in oil refining. As recently as 2011, China supplied 95% of the world's demand. The U.S. relied on China for 80% of imports from 2015 to 2018.
China holds about 37% of the world's reserves of exploitable rare earth elements, with Australia, India, Russia, Vietnam and Brazil also holding large deposits.
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Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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