“The new battlefields for AI supremacy:” 3 things to know about the trade of rare earth minerals

• Rar land metals are the useful life of the development of AI technology.

• However, the market is immensely concentrated, found Barclays

• Demand for key mineral rockets could lead to increasing prices.

Artificial intelligence race is a large number of physical resources, as it is a competition to maximize computer capacities.

AI boom has fed a new increase in demand for Rare earth mineralsKey components of AI technology and hardware, but the global market for these materials is highly complex and can easily be interrupted.

“These scarce and very concentrated contributions are extremely vulnerable to the interruption, turning them into the new battlefields for AI supremacy,” Barclays analysts said in a report published on Friday.

In a detailed analysis, the bank exposed the unequal that has become the rare land trade, implying Serious consequences of prices and technological advancement

These elements, unique for their magnetic qualities, are the useful life of semiconductor technology and data center. However, critical metals such as copper, lithium, aluminum, nickel and cobalt are controlled by only a few actors on the market.

Here are three things to know about the metal market that make the AI ​​boom possible.

There is no dispute that the rare earth market is deeply concentrated.

In the center is China, whose dominance in both mining and processing gives it a “close monopoly”.

“China stands out as the main global supplier of refined minerals, providing about 80% of processed cobalt, 65% of refined lithium, 44% of refined copper and 27% of refined nickel,” the bank wrote. “In general, it commands about 50% of the global market for refined minerals.”

Beijing is aware of his leverage in this space. After President Donald Trump triggered steep rates last month, China returned with export controls to rare earth metals.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the United States is particularly vulnerable to rare earth compression. Currently, there is no strong separation of rare lands in the United States. Lose access to these materials It has implications for everything, from chip production to defense manufacture.

However, there may be a breathing room on the road. China can contain the crown when it comes to refined metals and magnetic minerals, but other countries are developing a foot in the trade of non -processed minerals.

Chile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea are among the main producers, each dominating a specific mineral. These countries have focused on improved mining capabilities and Guinea aluminum exports have grown twelve since 2010.