Australia and US looking to challenge China's hold on the rare earths market

Australia and the US have been in discussions to form a rare earths joint action plan to open up what has become a concentrated market that's dominated by China.

Rare earths are metals and alloys that are used in many modern-day devices such as rechargeable batteries, mobile phones and catalytic converters. Australian Resources Minister Matt Canavan says there is no doubt Chinese producers are seeking to protect their market position"as dominant suppliers do from time to time".

Resources Minister Matt Canavan has no doubt Chinese producers are working to protect their market share.He told Sky News on Sunday that China has also in the past couple of years made various statements that would potentially restrict the supply of rare earths."We are very lucky in Australia to have a great mineral industry, so we will do our best to establish these markets," Senator Canavan said.

The government has supported projects in the past through the likes of the Export Finance Insurance Corporation, providing concessional finance, he said."I think there is a good case for worldwide co-operation here to diversify the supply of these minerals," he said.

Matt Canavan arguing that environmental protections should be lifted to allow processing of rare earth metals

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