Good morning. It's Monday. Nelli Saarinen and Thomas Morgan here with your AM NewsMail.

Zirconium is a little-known critical mineral vital for the Chinese military — and Australia supplies the majority of it. But at the same time, Australia is partnering with the US as it seeks to break Beijing's critical minerals stranglehold.

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Four Corners: Australia is racing to ready its military for the Chinese century, spending billions on new technology, missiles and submarines. But at the same time, we're chipping in to build China's military.

China depends on imports for its supply of zirconium, a little-known critical mineral vital for hypersonic missiles and nuclear weapons. Australia is the world's largest producer and supplies China with 41 per cent of its imports.

And what's more, China isn't just keeping its zirconium for itself. Instead, it's re-exporting it to other countries, including Russia.

PLUS: Four Corners reporter Angus Grigg is on this morning's episode of the ABC News Daily podcast to explain how zirconium can be used for everything from bathroom tiles to China's advanced hypersonic missile program