China denies reports on halting export of rare earth

"Other countries haven't developed the mines, because almost all of these rare metals come with elements that are radio-active or poisoning," he said. "Everyone is getting them cheap and easy from China without having to do the dirty work."

Hedrick, now an official at a large U.S.-based rare earth deposit owner -- said a processor in California that hopes to open its mine next year "would probably be the earliest that rare earth would be available from a large source."

He said that the world has been dependent on China for rare earth materials for decades.

"Starting back in the mid 1980s [China] began to ramp up production... and started putting them on the market at prices that were far below what they were typically selling for at that time," Hedrick said. "And all the rest of the world's mining companies ceased to operate and ceased to process and left it all up to China to provide that material."