New Arctic discovery could deal massive blow to Chinese dominance of rare earth minerals

A project heralded by Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and accelerated by President Donald Trump stands to deal a huge blow to China’s dominance in the nanotechnology, energy and automotive sectors as the GraphiteOne project near Nome uncovered vast reserves — for which Beijing previously accounted for 90% of production.As of 2024, the U.S. was at least 93% import-dependent on both rare earth elements (REEs) and graphite itself, according to the International Energy Agency, and the Graphite Creek deposit near Nome has already been dubbed the largest such tranche in the U.S.But, this week’s announceme