Heather Somerville

They're all unproven.

That's what it comes down to.

We haven't done this as a country in a long time.

The labor force skilled in mining and processing these minerals mostly doesn't exist.

And these new entrants have no track record of success.

actually doing this stuff at scale.

This is a low margin business.

China has dominated it for decades.

For the U.S.

to create an industry that lasts, that can be competitive with China, that's very much an open question.

Over the last few decades, there have been several American-led efforts to begin to build up a domestic supply.

And many, if not most of them, have fallen flat in the face of competition from China.