Game-Changing Critical Mineral Technology in the World's 'Return to Matter'
In late December the internet began lighting up with the circulation of a profound article on Substack by Craig Tindale called “The Return of Matter: Western Democracies' material impairment”. [*] The article is the subject of significant attention and it undoubtably has been reviewed by government policy makers and strategic planners in a variety of industries and major corporations. The article—which should be required reading—persuasively describes the state of US disinvestment and abdication, and Chinese ascendancy and domination, in the realm of Rare Earths and Critical Minerals.
Tucked somewhat discretely within the article’s “Solutions and Conclusions” section is mention of two game-changing technologies which Tindale suggests could play a part in the West’s efforts to swiftly identify and progress solutions to its present ‘intolerable’ situation:
Before discussing the technologies, however, here is some brief context as to why these technologies are important, and why their relevance will increase over the coming months.
By 2024 China dominated global rare-earth production supplying 70% of mine output and nearly 90% of all processing capacity. The US over the same period had a reliance of over 80% on rare-earth imports. [*] [*] In 2025, in reaction to the Trump administration’s hard-ball trade negotiating tactics, the Chinese revealed their upper hand and began announcing and implementing new regulations to restrict or cut off many of these essential mineral inputs to entities outside of China. [*] [*]
The impact of this, of course, is exceedingly wide-ranging, affecting the US’ ability to function and advance within a multitude of areas such as consumer electronics, medical devices, AI, semiconductors, datacenters, energy infrastructure, robotics, advanced batteries, electric vehicles, aerospace, and most-ominously, defense systems.
In November 2025, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a "warp speed" effort over the next 12 to 24 months to eliminate the United States' dependence on China for critical rare earth materials, referring to China's supply control as a "stranglehold" and a "sword" over the world. [*]
For the West, however, there are massive capital requirements, stringent environmental regulations, prohibitive development timelines, and a decayed knowledge and skill environment which present formidable or impossible barriers to deploying adequate solutions outside of China in the next several years.
As is widely recognized now, and which Tindale skillfully elaborates upon, the problem is not primarily in the acquisition of indispensable raw material input feedstocks, but in the processing and refining of them for consequent use in much of our modern world. Immediate solutions are needed relative to standing up processing and refining capability outside of China’s control, and in the US there are just a few players which have meaningful capability and capacity to contribute (and even fewer which are publicly traded).
It took China decades to secure and scale rare earth mining and processing. Expecting to replicate any substantial portion of this capacity using traditional approaches in the US would be fanciful. The crisis will need to be addressed by employing innovative and revolutionary technologies which change existing paradigms and open up new possibilities for feedstock and the economics of production. New solutions will need to be able to exploit already existing but until now under- or un-utilized sources such as industrial and electronic waste. Facilities, equipment, permits, processes, human resources, logistics, funding, etcetera will need to be able to come into place in a matter of months rather than years.
Appropriate solutions will need to:
These companies bring to bear innovative new solutions which are superior to current legacy approaches, and which conceivably represent some of the most rapid paths to addressing the crisis in the near-term, and to diminishing China’s advantages and dominance in the long-run. Both of the technologies they offer represent revolutionary approaches with numerous significant advantages and compelling reasons for adoption. Both of these companies appear to be on the cusp of addressing governmental policy objectives, deploying their solutions within the market, impressing industry partners, and receiving greater investor attention and backing.
In late December the internet began lighting up with the circulation of a profound article on Substack by Craig Tindale called “The Return of Matter: Western Democracies' material impairment”. [*] The article is the subject of significant attention and it undoubtably has been reviewed by government policy makers and strategic planners in a variety of industries and major corporations. The article—which should be required reading—persuasively describes the state of US disinvestment and abdication, and Chinese ascendancy and domination, in the realm of Rare Earths and Critical Minerals.
Tucked somewhat discretely within the article’s “Solutions and Conclusions” section is mention of two game-changing technologies which Tindale suggests could play a part in the West’s efforts to swiftly identify and progress solutions to its present ‘intolerable’ situation:
- RapidSX from Ucore Rare Metals (OTCQX: UURAF or TSXV:UCU), https://ucore.com
- Flash Joule Heating (FJH) from Metallium Limited (formerly MTM Metals) (OTCQX: MTMCF or OTCQX ADR: MTLMY or ASX: MTM), https://metalliuminc.com
Before discussing the technologies, however, here is some brief context as to why these technologies are important, and why their relevance will increase over the coming months.
By 2024 China dominated global rare-earth production supplying 70% of mine output and nearly 90% of all processing capacity. The US over the same period had a reliance of over 80% on rare-earth imports. [*] [*] In 2025, in reaction to the Trump administration’s hard-ball trade negotiating tactics, the Chinese revealed their upper hand and began announcing and implementing new regulations to restrict or cut off many of these essential mineral inputs to entities outside of China. [*] [*]
The impact of this, of course, is exceedingly wide-ranging, affecting the US’ ability to function and advance within a multitude of areas such as consumer electronics, medical devices, AI, semiconductors, datacenters, energy infrastructure, robotics, advanced batteries, electric vehicles, aerospace, and most-ominously, defense systems.
In November 2025, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a "warp speed" effort over the next 12 to 24 months to eliminate the United States' dependence on China for critical rare earth materials, referring to China's supply control as a "stranglehold" and a "sword" over the world. [*]
For the West, however, there are massive capital requirements, stringent environmental regulations, prohibitive development timelines, and a decayed knowledge and skill environment which present formidable or impossible barriers to deploying adequate solutions outside of China in the next several years.
As is widely recognized now, and which Tindale skillfully elaborates upon, the problem is not primarily in the acquisition of indispensable raw material input feedstocks, but in the processing and refining of them for consequent use in much of our modern world. Immediate solutions are needed relative to standing up processing and refining capability outside of China’s control, and in the US there are just a few players which have meaningful capability and capacity to contribute (and even fewer which are publicly traded).
It took China decades to secure and scale rare earth mining and processing. Expecting to replicate any substantial portion of this capacity using traditional approaches in the US would be fanciful. The crisis will need to be addressed by employing innovative and revolutionary technologies which change existing paradigms and open up new possibilities for feedstock and the economics of production. New solutions will need to be able to exploit already existing but until now under- or un-utilized sources such as industrial and electronic waste. Facilities, equipment, permits, processes, human resources, logistics, funding, etcetera will need to be able to come into place in a matter of months rather than years.
Appropriate solutions will need to:
- Be capable of relatively rapid deployment
- Provide modularity and scalability
- Occupy reduced physical footprints
- Be flexible and feedstock-agnostic
- Be far more efficient and produce faster throughput
- Produce accelerated separations and higher yields
- Require lower energy and water consumption
- Require fewer inputs and inventories
- Reduce acids and reagent usage and waste byproducts
- Be more environmentally compatible
- Be constituted of non-restricted equipment and processes
- Have lower CapEx and OpEx requirements
- Demonstrate attractive and durable economics
These companies bring to bear innovative new solutions which are superior to current legacy approaches, and which conceivably represent some of the most rapid paths to addressing the crisis in the near-term, and to diminishing China’s advantages and dominance in the long-run. Both of the technologies they offer represent revolutionary approaches with numerous significant advantages and compelling reasons for adoption. Both of these companies appear to be on the cusp of addressing governmental policy objectives, deploying their solutions within the market, impressing industry partners, and receiving greater investor attention and backing.
