China controls more than 95 percent of the world’s supply of rare earths, used in Research in Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerrys, Apple Inc.’s iPods and General Dynamics Corp. tanks. In 2010, China said it would slash exports of the metals, souring ties with major users including the U.S. and Japan and causing prices to surge.
Rare earths are 17 chemically similar elements, including neodymium and dysprosium. Prices of neodymium oxide, which is used in mini hard drives in laptops and headphones in iPods, have doubled since the start of the December quarter, according to information on Lynas’ website.
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