Last week
it was reported that China – which has a global monopoly on the
production of rare-earth metals – is now threatening to cut off vital
supplies to the West. A shortage would jeopardise the manufacturing and
development of green technologies such as wind turbines and low-energy
lightbulbs. RICHARD JONES is the first Western journalist to visit the
rare-earth mines in Inner Mongolia to discover why China is unwilling
to give up its precious elements…
