Supply of critical rare earth elements about to expand

It takes 10 to 15 years for an ore deposit to develop into a rare-earth mining site, due to funding and permitting, which meant China's export hold put the world supply of rare-earth elements in jeopardy.

"We were fortunate that two projects were in advanced stages when this crisis hit," Long said.

Still, geologists expect that the demand for rare-earth minerals will exceed the available world supply until at least 2015.