US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that China`s dominance of global critical mineral supply chains poses a growing threat to economic and national security, saying the United States is expanding partnerships worldwide to reduce dependence on Beijing for resources vital to advanced technologies, defence systems and industrial production…Speaking before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State and Related Programs, Rubio said the concentration of critical minerals and processing capacity in a single country had become a major strategic vulnerability not only for the United States but also for allies across Europe and Asia…"It is not healthy for the global economy and frankly, it is dangerous for national security and the security of the world to depend on any single country for 90 per cent of anything that`s critical to your industrial base, your defence base, your technology base," Rubio told lawmakers…The remarks came as the Trump administration continues to place critical minerals at the centre of its economic and foreign policy agenda amid intensifying competition with China…Critical minerals, including lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements and graphite, are essential for electric vehicles, semiconductors, batteries, telecommunications equipment, renewable energy technologies and advanced military systems…The Secretary said the administration`s strategy extends beyond securing access to raw materials and includes developing global processing capabilities needed to convert minerals into products used by industry and defence manufacturers.

The fundamental challenge is that China approaches critical mineral acquisitions through a coordinated ecosystem. Chinese mining companies, state-owned enterprises, policy banks, diplomats, and industrial policymakers operate in support of a common strategic objective: securing long-term control over critical mineral supply. Information about potential acquisitions is gathered, financing is mobilized, diplomatic support is deployed, and transactions are pursued as part of a broader national effort…By contrast, the U.S. response remains largely reactive. It lacks a comprehensive registry of all strategic mineral assets worldwide, a formal mechanism for monitoring and managing potential acquisitions, and a dedicated financing capability to support alternative bidders. As a result, Washington frequently responds to transactions already underway, while Beijing systematically identifies and pursues opportunities years in advance…The competition for critical minerals is increasingly a competition for ownership in frontier markets. Unless the United States and its allies build institutions capable of identifying and protecting strategic assets before they change hands, they will find themselves competing for supply chains built on resources they no longer control.

Researchers from The University of Osaka and collaborating institutions developed a cobalt-based thin-film material featuring local honeycomb structures with strong magnetic interactions relevant to quantum materials research…The material was created by introducing approximately 4% cobalt into sodium antimonate, producing stable cobalt honeycomb motifs within a larger honeycomb lattice…The findings suggest that cobalt, a relatively abundant and widely used metal, could provide an alternative platform for studying quantum magnetic materials associated with quantum information science… Honeycombs are famous for their elegant design, but now they may have found a new application: quantum computing. To collect knowledge from subatomic particles, quantum computers require carefully designed materials capable of performing necessary, complex functions. However, the metals used, such as ruthenium and iridium, are often rare and expensive, limiting the potential to build new technology…In an article recently published in Physical Review Materials, researchers from SANKEN at The University of Osaka and collaborating institutions reported the creation of a special thin-film material in which cobalt atoms formed local honeycomb arrangements embedded inside a larger honeycomb matrix. These cobalt honeycomb motifs exhibit strong magnetic interactions, which are important for quantum computing applications…Kitaev materials, a class of quantum magnetic materials studied for their potential use in quantum information science, have attracted major attention because they may host exotic quantum states known as spin liquids…“What excites us is that these cobalt honeycombs appear to form naturally, without any special coaxing,” explains senior author, Hidekazu Tanaka. “They even produce a clear magnetic signal that matches what theory predicts for this type of structure.”