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1) China will impose export controls on gallium and germanium, two rare elements essential for the manufacturing of semiconductors, in apparent retaliation after the US and Europe restricted chip exports to China. According to China's Ministry of Commerce, the export controls will start August 1st "to protect national security and interests" and exporters of these rare earths will need to apply for "special permission from the state" to ship them out of the country. Both gallium and germanium are used in solar panels and computer chips, and are on the European Union's list of critical minerals. According to the US Geological Survey, China is the world's largest gallium producer and a leading global producer and exporter of germanium. This is yet another example of why the US needs to secure a domestic source of some of the most important minerals such as the rare earths, copper, lithium, nickel and others, especially when we are serious about the mineral intensive green energy transition.
2) Glencore is still hungry for more control of the raw mineral market as it submitted a non-binding proposal to buy the remaining shares of PolyMet Mining for $2.11 per share. Glencore already acquired up to 82.2% of the company in April and with the proposed price, it puts PolyMet's valuation at $410 million. PolyMet is a joint venture with NewRange Copper Nickel LLC and Teck Resources that owns a potential mine in Minnesota that can produce copper, nickel, and platinum group metals, being one of the world's major, undeveloped mining regions.