Seventeen elements that are not actually rare, but whose processing is concentrated in one country.
The rare-earth elements are the 15 lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium. They are not geologically scarce, but, as USGS puts it, minable concentrations are less common than for most other minerals, and the real constraint is the difficult chemical separation of elements that behave almost identically. The leading global use is permanent magnets: neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets, which use neodymium and praseodymium, along with dysprosium and terbium for heat resistance, sit in electric-vehicle motors, wind turbines, industrial motors, hard drives and many consumer products. Other uses include catalysts, polishing powders, glass and ceramics, batteries and alloys. The light rare earths (lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, praseodymium) and the heavy rare earths (dysprosium, terbium and others) are different markets with different supply risks.
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Designations are indicative equivalents. Always confirm the exact standard, edition and temper or form on the purchase order and the mill certificate.
China accounts for about 69% of mine output, the United States about 13% (Mountain Pass, California) and Australia about 7%. Mining share understates China's role, because the separation, metal-making and magnet-making steps are even more concentrated: USGS reports that China supplied 71% of US rare-earth compound and metal imports in 2021-24. Figures for Burma, Madagascar and Thailand are estimates based on trade data. Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026.
USGS puts world reserves at more than 75 million tonnes of rare-earth oxide. China holds about 44 Mt, Brazil about 11 Mt, Australia about 6.3 Mt (3.3 Mt on the stricter JORC basis), Russia 3.8 Mt, Vietnam 3.5 Mt, the United States 1.9 Mt and Greenland 1.5 Mt. Reserves matter less than processing capacity: the bottleneck is the plants that can separate and refine the elements, and most are in one country.
Rare-earth ore (bastnaesite, monazite, ion-adsorption clays) is concentrated and then chemically separated, usually by solvent extraction in many successive stages, into individual oxides. The oxides are reduced to metal, alloyed, and made into magnets. Heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium come largely from ion-adsorption clays, historically in southern China and now also in Burma. Mountain Pass in California and Lynas in Australia are the main non-Chinese sources of separated light rare earths, and new separation plants are being built in several countries, but the build-out takes years.
Recycling is small today. USGS notes only limited quantities of rare earths are recovered from batteries, permanent magnets and fluorescent lamps. Magnets are difficult to recycle because they are embedded in motors and devices, and the rare-earth content of each is small; processes to recover magnet material from end-of-life products are being developed and are likely to matter more as the first generation of electric vehicles retires.
China has turned rare earths into a trade-policy tool. In April 2025 it added export controls on samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium (alloys, compounds, metals and oxides). In October it extended the controls to europium, holmium, erbium, thulium and ytterbium, and in November it suspended the October measures for one year; the April controls stayed in effect, with general export licences issued to selected exporters. Meanwhile US imports of rare-earth compounds and metals rose 169% in 2025 while their value fell slightly (to $165 million from $168 million), which USGS says reflects a shift toward lower-value imported products. For buyers the point is that a supply that is physically available can still be unavailable without a licence.
Rare earths are traded as separated oxides, metals and alloys, priced per kilogram and not on an exchange. USGS reports average prices in 2025 of about $69 per kilogram for NdPr oxide (99% minimum) and $73 for neodymium oxide (99.5% minimum), up from $55 and $56 in 2024 but well below the 2022 peak of about $124 for NdPr oxide. Light rare earths such as lanthanum and cerium cost only a few dollars per kilogram, while heavy rare earths and the more specialised oxides sell for much more, so a single "rare earth price" does not exist.
Because the market is small, opaque and policy-driven, most business is done through contracts and offtake agreements, with prices referenced to assessed indices and often set differently inside and outside China. Magnets are sold by grade (the N-number and a suffix such as H, SH or UH for operating temperature), and heavy rare-earth content is a major cost and supply driver for the high-temperature grades.
For rare earths, specify the exact element, oxide purity and form, or the magnet grade and coating, and ask where each step (mining, separation, metal, magnet) happened. Check export-licence status for any material that passes through China, and agree how price will be set because indices can diverge by region.
Talk to a SpecialistProduction and reserve figures are USGS estimates for 2025 unless stated. Figures are rounded and change with each annual revision.