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The United States is finally starting to dig itself out of a rare earth metals hole it spent decades digging. The effort got a boost on July 29, when Energy Fuels announced that construction has begun on a commercial-scale expansion at its White Mesa Mill in Utah.

The order comes as the administration has ramped up efforts to break China's stranglehold on the mining and processing of rare earths needed for defense and autos.

America's rare earths problem is often framed as a mining problem.

Family offices poured more than $3 billion into tech, media, and telecom companies. But materials attracted the most capital—$4.8 billion.