Rare Earth Rush: Strategic Minerals and Tech's New Resource Wars

About this episode

This episode discusses the strategic importance of critical minerals and the economic challenges in securing supply chains amid geopolitical tensions.

For thirty years, the United States largely ignored critical minerals. We mined less, processed less, and stockpiled less — while China quietly built the most dominant mineral supply chain in modern history. When China imposed rare earth export restrictions in 2024, manufacturers from Detroit to Tokyo scrambled. The invisible inputs powering electric vehicles, semiconductors, AI data centers, and defense systems had suddenly become visible — and vulnerable. In this episode of TechSurge, host Sriram Viswanathan speaks with Dr. Gracelin Baskaran, Director of the Critical Mineral Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. A mining economist with over a decade of field experience across Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East, Gracelin is one of the sharpest minds working on how the world secures the raw materials that make advanced technology possible. Gracelin brings a clarifying perspective to a topic that is often framed as a geopolitical contest: the real challenge, she argues, is economic. Until mining in allied countries is genuinely profitable — until the capital, energy infrastructure, processing technology, and policy stability are all…

People in this episode

Host: Sriram Viswanathan

Guest: Dr. Gracelin Baskaran

Topics covered

• rare earth minerals
• supply chain security
• geopolitics
• mining economics
• critical minerals

Keywords

• rare earth minerals
• China
• supply chain
• mining
• critical minerals
• economic security
• technology

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Center for Strategic and International Studies

Products: electric vehicles, semiconductors, AI data centers, defense systems

Places: United States, China, Africa, Latin America, Asia, Middle East

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