In 2010, rare earth and specialty metals market froth had speculators throwing money at a sector they didn't understand, and opportunistic resource company managers stepped up to take their money.
At the moment about 90% of the world’s rare earths —used in a variety of industries including green technology, defence systems and consumer electronics— come from China.
Car maker Tesla prefers suppliers in North America for its $5 billion lithium-ion battery "gigafactory" in the southwest US which could provide a boost for Fortune Minerals proposed refinery near Saskatoon .