The Financial Post reports in its Tuesday edition shares in junior miner Rare Element Resources ($9.60) soared Monday as buzz around the sector continued to boost miners with rare-earth properties in the United States. A Reuters dispatch to the Post says the Vancouver miner, which owns the Bear Lodge property in Wyoming, has seen its shares soar more than 320 per cent in the past 90 days. Analysts see the company as a prime takeover target, as the U.S. government looks to secure a domestic supply of the metals, including cerium, lanthanum, neodymium and praseodymium. These are used in products ranging from lasers and ceramics to wind turbines and computers. More than 90 per cent of the global supply of rare earth minerals is mined and processed in China. Beijing recently clamped down on exports, reducing quotas by 70 per cent for the second half of 2010. In September, China made political waves by blocking all rare earth exports to Japan, as the two nations were caught up in a spat after a Chinese fishing boat collided with an Japanese coast guard vessel. Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate and House increase investment and production of rare earths in the United States.