Rare earths are a group of commodities that Australia has done well to corner the market on, not because of a monopoly on resources (indeed Australia only accounts for 3 percent of global reserves), but because it was ahead of the curve when it comes to investment.

The story of rare earths in Australia — the modern success story at least — has its roots in a 2010 trade dispute between Japan and China, when China throttled exports of rare earths to Japan as retribution for a fisheries clash.

Long story short, Japan found itself looking to diversify its rare earths import partners. Up until then it had been beholden to the whims of its larger neighbour, which at the time accounted for over 93 percent of rare earths output.