1) “稀土”是17种元素的总称。澳大利亚具有经济价值的稀土储量仅占全球总量的6%左右,且以轻稀土为主,而美国国防制造所必需的重稀土资源70%以上集中在中国。这种天然优势使得澳大利亚无法完全替代中国。
2) the 17 mineral are very similar to each other, it is very hard to seperate them.
3)
the following was generated by google search. (heavy rare earth reserve by country)
| Country | Estimated Reserves (million metric tons) |
| China | 44 |
| Vietnam | 22 |
| Brazil | 21 |
| Russia | 21 |
| India | 6.9 |
| Australia | 4.2-5.7 |
| United States | 1.8-2.3 |
| Greenland | 1.5 |
| Tanzania | 0.89 |
| Canada | 0.83 |
| South Africa |
0.79
|