There may be an exception to that saying: helping U.S. companies compete in rare earths, a realm where China now dominates mining, refining, and manufacturing.
What’s surprised Humpton most during her first weeks on the job is that, as an industry, “we have not yet begun to operate as a healthy market outside of China.”
Her plan: Go to the most fragile parts of the supply chain, invest, and scale to fix any bottlenecks in supply and production. As a first step, the company recently announced the acquisition of Less Common Metals, a U.K.-based company that Humpton describes as “the only scaled metal and alloy maker outside of China, so we can dramatically scale that weakest link in the supply chain.”
As for Reagan’s warning: “I think government engagement matters right now,” said Humpton. “Once the flywheel gets going and we have robust capabilities outside of China, I believe the market will sustain itself, but we have to be on a sharp lookout for dumping.”
