Sigh, yet another article touting the free market and asking for large government subsidies at the same time.<p>It is rather contradictory -- in the beginning it says how rare earth metals are so incredibly valuable and only China has them, and in the end it says well California has a lot of them too but the big mine in California had to shut down because prices were too low. So give us money now.<p>If the metals are really so valuable, and if prices skyrocket, then the mine in California should reopen. It is possible that the Chinese were dumping the stuff below cost in order to close the California mine, but in that case we should address the issue with existing anti dumping legislation and not with subsidies.