China spent decades building dominance in rare-earth mining, processing and magnet manufacturing, leaving the US reliant on foreign supplies for materials used in vehicles, wind turbines, electronics and defense systems, according to Bloomberg.

MP Materials is working to rebuild the chain domestically by moving from its Mountain Pass mine in California into refining. Industry experts say the US still faces higher costs, limited processing capacity, opaque pricing and a Chinese lead that took roughly 25 years to build.