As Race For Rare-Earth Minerals Heats Up, U.S. Should Focus On Recycled Metals To Ease Dependence On China

Tonnes of copper cathodes sit outside a plant in Tenke Fungurume Mine, one of the largest copper and cobalt mines in the world, in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on June 17, 2023. The Democratic Republic of Congo produces over 70 percent of the global supply of cobalt. The metal is a critical component of batteries and seen as key to the renewable energy transition. (Photo by Emmet LIVINGSTONE / AFP) (Photo by EMMET LIVINGSTONE/AFP via Getty Images)

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Mining might be making a big comeback in America, but it’s time to expand our imaginations about what rare-earth minerals can be — and that they might be found right in our home offices.

Electronic waste from phones, laptops and more contains high concentrations of valuable metals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, copper, gold and silver. In 2019, discarded e-waste globally was valued at more than $57 billion.

This presents an opening for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who will host an inaugural Critical Minerals summit on Feb. 4 with foreign ministers from dozens of “international allies.”

The meeting aims to establish a reliable supply chain for critical minerals such as lithium, nickel and rare earth elements while reducing U.S. dependence on China, which controls roughly 70% of global production and 90% of rare-earth processing.

The inexhaustible hunt for critical minerals typically focuses on mining in regions like the Democratic Republic of Congo, South America and Greenland, and the Trump administration on Monday announced it would invest $1.6 billion in USA Rare Earth and help the company build a new mine in Texas that focuses on primary sources of materials.

But secondary raw materials — recycled critical minerals recovered from discarded electronics — represent an underexplored opportunity.

Rubio will likely focus on Pax Silica, the Trump administration’s initiative to secure supply chains for silicon, semiconductors, AI infrastructure and critical minerals to ease China’s dominance in these industries, as well as a revised version of the Biden-era Minerals Security Partnership that would shift the focus from climate-oriented goals to national security priorities and emphasize bilateral deal-making with resource-rich partners.

But if Rubio is serious about breaking China’s grip on critical minerals, his summit should devote equal attention to building up the secondary market for recycled materials. Investing in domestic mining is necessary but insufficient—recycling infrastructure offers a faster, less geopolitically fraught path to supply chain resilience that has historically been overlooked by previous administrations.

Why Recycling Deserves Equal Billing

The founder of Cyclic Materials, which has a recycling facility in Arizona, told the Wall Street Journal that the old gadgets people throw out every year could comprise the world’s largest “aboveground deposits” of rare-earth minerals. Besides USA Rare Earth, the federal government is also backing domestic companies such as ReElement, Vulcan Elements and MP Materials through loans, equity stakes and partnerships. Lawmakers have also proposed a new $2.5 billion agency to strengthen U.S. access to critical materials.

According to the International Energy Agency, recycling could reduce new mine development needs by 40% for copper and cobalt and by 25% for lithium and nickel by 2050.

China’s Recycling Lead

China dominates not just primary mineral extraction and refining but also recycling infrastructure. Battery recycling capacity grew 50% year over year in 2023, and China is expected to maintain more than 70% market share in pretreatment and material recovery. Beijing has also announced a new state-owned enterprise dedicated to recycling end-of-life batteries and other materials.

The Basel Convention Barrier

But policymakers must also address recycling efforts beyond U.S. borders.

The Basel Convention, a global treaty governing hazardous waste movement across borders, shapes how e-waste is recycled worldwide. Because the U.S. is not a party to the treaty, 191 member nations are prohibited from trading controlled waste with the U.S.

American companies can obtain recycled materials from other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development members such as many European Union countries, Japan and South Korea. But they cannot easily access recycled materials from non-OECD countries in Southeast Asia, Africa or South America, where much of the world’s electronic scrap ends up. Without specific bilateral agreements, those countries are barred from sending waste to U.S. recycling facilities.

This puts American battery and mineral recyclers at a competitive disadvantage against recyclers in Basel member countries — including China.

The Business Case for Recycling Critical Materials

Recycled critical minerals can strengthen corporate supply chains by reducing exposure to volatile global markets, lowering procurement costs and building resilience against geopolitical disruptions. By recovering rare earths, lithium, cobalt and nickel from end-of-life electronics, companies can supplement primary mining with a more stable, circular source of materials.

U.S. technology firms depend heavily on global recycling networks to collect discarded electronics, extract high-value minerals and process waste at lower cost than domestic alternatives. These systems help ensure steady supplies for semiconductors, batteries and advanced manufacturing when trade restrictions, export controls or price shocks strain primary sources — allowing companies to manage costs and stay competitive.

Restrictions on cross-border e-waste movement will be actively debated at the Basel Convention in 2026, and U.S. companies have a direct stake in the outcome. Technology, battery and manufacturing firms rely on global recycling networks to recover critical materials at scale—often more cheaply and reliably than through primary mining alone. Continued U.S. engagement is essential to ensure American companies are not locked out of secondary material flows while competitors, including China, gain ground.

If the Rubio summit is serious about breaking China’s grip on critical minerals, recycling cannot be an afterthought. Bringing recycled critical materials into the discussion would give U.S. companies faster, cheaper and more resilient access to key inputs—while reducing geopolitical risk. Mining matters, but recycling is the quickest way to strengthen supply chains now.