China’s stranglehold on rare earths must be ended, says hopeful supplier to EU

Jozef Síkela, European commissioner for international partnerships (left) with Moreno at the rare earths site in Brazil in June. Photograph: Viridis

The head of a mining company hoping to supply the EU with rare earths in two years’ time has said it is “paramount” to end China’s stranglehold on the supply of the raw materials used in everything from cars to wind turbines and military jets.

As Donald Trump and China’s president, Xi Jinping, prepare to meet on Thursday in their second summit of the year, Rafael Moreno said it was also “imperative” that they do a deal for Beijing to ease up, once again, on its threat to ban exports of rare earths.