A near monopoly on rare earth mineral mining and refining certainly must play a part.

It's a "near monopoly" because a bunch of engineers made a plan, stuck to it, and now have vertical integration.

There's nothing preventing others from also processing concentrates (the post physical mining product).

The mining aspect is hardly monopolised either - much is sourced from Australia, South America, etc.

Put in an order, buy a 49% share of a resource company and now you're part of the action.

How are rare earths used in batteries?