They argue that geopolitical tensions between the West and China risk the reliable supply of rare earth minerals. Aclara's Barua said that Western supply of rare earth elements will not develop if it depends on Chinese prices. "The price of any metal (rare earth or otherwise) that is coming from China or from western countries has the same pricing, so why should rare earth pricing be different?" The discussion on pricing has come up often in the Rare Earth Industry Association, said Veluri, who is also the president of the global organization with partners representing the whole rare earth value chain. "But for things like cobalt, copper, or rare earth metals there is a good strategic play to find with a mining partner."

---

Persons: Ramon Barua, Aclara's Barua, Veluri, Australia's, Tim Harrison, Harrison, Flavio Volpe, Volpe, Divya Rajagopal, Denny Thomas, Marguerita Choy Organizations: TORONTO, Reuters, Aclara, Earth Industry Association, Companies, Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association, Thomson Locations: China, Chile, West, Beijing, Badrinath, Denmark, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar