"Rare Earth Minerals"— are not the very newest terms in the world of geopolitics and media, but they remain at the root of all the major economies. Almost 30 years ago, China's former leader Deng Xiaoping, famously stated, "The Middle East has oil; China has rare earths," highlighting China's vast reserves of these strategic minerals and kickstart a long-term strategy to dominate the global rare earth industry. But why do these minerals hold such significance? In reality, the