China’s recent attempt to secure a rare earth minerals stockpile ended in failure when a competitor stepped in to snag the deal…

Vital Metals, a mining firm based in Australia, announced Monday that minerals collected from its Saskatchewan-based Nechalacho Project will remain within Canadian borders.

That’s because rare earths can indeed produce green energy—but only after generating 2,000 times their weight in catastrophically toxic waste. Many Western nations refuse to accept this tradeoff inside their own borders, imposing heavy regulations on domestic REE producers that keep exporters like China competitive despite high asking prices.

The recent Canadian purchase from Vital is also part of a larger economic and political salvo led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who told reporters there will be no reconciliation between Canada and China following accusations of election meddling. On the mining stage, Canada is marketing itself as a direct competitor to China, flaunting its enormous mineral reserves as an alternative source for wary European countries afraid to rely on Chinese producers. China’s dominance won’t be shaken by missing a single deal with the Australian firm, though the move certainly sends a message calculated to exacerbate already strained relations between China and the West.

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/deals-canadian-officials-tell-china