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May 2025
17m 28s

Can Europe build a mineral supply chain?

Bbc World Service
About this episode

China’s headstart in market dominance is significant, and its grip on critical mineral supply chains remains tight.

The question now is whether other governments can move fast enough — and smart enough — to build something more secure, more sustainable, and less dependent.

We head to La Rochelle in western France for a rare look inside one of the world’s biggest rare earth processing plants, and find out what it reveals about Europe’s efforts to build a supply chain of its own.

Presenter: Jonathan Josephs Producer: Matt Lines

(Image: A rare earth processing plant in La Rochelle, France, owned by chemicals giant Solvay)

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