New trend in rare earth elements

China's manipulation of the rare earth element market has led to yet a new chapter in the industry. Two of the world's largest end-users of rare earth elements are fighting back against the Chinese by entering agreements with two of the largest miners outside of China. Siemens AG (NYSE:

) recently entered an agreement with Australia's Lynas Corporation to provide neodymium for magnets. Hitachi Metals, a subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. (NYSE:

), has entered a three-year agreement with Molycorp (NYSE:

). Molycorp will provide Hitachi Metals with rare earths, including didymium (a mix of neodymium and praseodymium) metal and alloy, as well as lanthanum oxide.

.