Well I am referring about rare materials for battery, energy storage, solar panel because the discussion was about that.
I don't know about defense needs, could be true, but I guess they are much less important in volume that the other. You may be able to store them in case of disruption.
Gallium is of course crucial for modern solar panels, it is also becoming increasingly important in batteries as well.
Well in the case of gallium, I see that we have extremely efficient recycling capabilities. Around 90% recovery.
It doesn’t solve the production issue, but there are ways to counter that dépendance over china.