This study assesses how far the Algerian legislature, through a legislative path running from independence to Law No. 25-12 of 3 August 2025 on mining activities, has built an integrated and effective legal framework for the protection of rare earth elements, one able to meet the demands of the transition from the carbon economy to the electronic economy. It adopts a comparative analytical legal method. The provisions of Law No. 25-12 are read closely, the development of Algerian mining legislation is traced from the law of 1984, and the findings are set against the European (Regulation 2024/1252), American (Executive Order 13817), Chinese and Indonesian experiences. The concept of ‘legal disruption’ serves as the test criterion for the two research hypotheses. The findings confirm both hypotheses. Algerian legislative development has been gradual and belated, governed by the logic of sovereignty over natural resources rather than by technological anticipation, since the law names neither rare earth elements nor critical minerals and defers the designation of regulated substances to a ministerial decision (Article 9). The law nonetheless marks a qualitative shift in its structure, notably through the real mining title, compulsory State participation of at least 20 per cent, a specialised mining police, transparency mechanisms and graduated penalties. Four implementation gaps persist, namely deferred classification, the absence of value chain traceability, the exclusion of processing industries from the scope of the law (Article 122 allows only an administrative ‘request’), and the omission of recycling. The study recommends issuing the ministerial decision with a published list of strategic substances headed by rare earth elements, making local processing a condition of the exploitation title, and completing the system with provisions on traceability and recycling.