"Rare earths are to China what oil is to the Middle East," stated Deng Xiaoping in 1992 (Wang 2007). China accounts for 97 percent of global rare earth production, and as such the world is more dependent on it than it is on oil from the Middle East. That situation is significant because rare earths, although usually used only in small amounts, are of great strategic relevance. They are not only key components of many military technologies, including guided missiles and radar; they are also to be found in many high-tech products which we use in our daily lives – primarily electronic devices such as computer hard disks, plasma screens and MP3 players. They also make alloys harder, and are used to grind precision lenses.