Australia Funds Tungsten Mine, While Slowly Prying Beijing’s Grip on Global Supply

Bulldozer scoop soil containing various rare earth to be loaded on to a ship at a port in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province on Sept. 5, 2010, for export to Japan. STR/AFP/Getty Images

Australia has taken another step forward to loosening Beijing’s grip on the world’s critical mineral supply chains.

The Tasmanian state government is offering a $10 million loan to the long-dormant Dolphin Tungsten mine on the remote King Island located in Australia’s Bass Strait.