Rare earth extraction is vital business. A sector which provides the crucial raw materials that make up the heart and liver of modern technology.
As a result, it is big business. An industry expected, according to GlobalNewsWire, to be worth more than $20 billion by 2024.
But where are the major players placed, and where are the largest reserves to be found?
To answer that, here are the top 7 countries for quantity of rare earth extraction.
1. CHINA
It will come as no surprise to see that China is the largest provider of rare earth minerals in the world. The 2017 output of 105,000 MT makes it a dominant market leader, even though this figure was unchanged since the previous year.
Despite static production, exports have increased though, as, according to the US Geological Survey (pdf), “through September 2017, China had exported 39,800 tonnes of rare-earth materials, a 10% increase compared with exports from the same time period in 2016.”
More significantly, in Oct 2016 the Chinese government stated plans to, “… limit its annual mining of rare earth within 140,000 tonnes by 2020 in its latest attempt to overhaul the sector and ensure its sound development.”
Illegal mining of rare earths is a major problem in China, and one that the government is trying to tackle. As Zhou Changyi, head of the department of raw materials under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, noted in 2016 (at the start of the 13th 5-year plan), “The next few years are an important period for the overhaul of China's rare earth industry and promoting its healthy development." Adding that, "Illegal mining is the principal reason for gloominess in the industry."
The impact of illegal mining should not be underestimated, as the China Daily reports, “During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, 14 illegal rare earth mines and 28 companies were closed. More than 36,000 tons of illegal rare earth products were seized, and 230 million yuan ($34.53 million) in fines were imposed, according to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.”
2. AUSTRALIA
Rare earths production in Australia has grown steadily in recent years, rising from 15,000 MT in 2015 to 20,000 MT last year (2017).
One of the few major players outside of China, is the mining company Lynas, which operates the Mount Weld mine in Western Australia, and produces over 5,000 tonnes of neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr) per year, mostly for Japanese markets.
Australia holds the fifth-largest rare earths reserves in the world, with known sources of up to 3.4 million MT.
3. VIETNAM
Like the trade deals Japan has made with India to increase rare earth extraction and export, Vietnam has also been busy to find markets for its natural resources.
While in 2013, rare earth element production was only 220 t a year, following collaboration between Vietnam’s Lai Chau-VIMICO and Japan’s Dong Pao Rare Earth Development Company, production in the northern Lai Chau province is in excess of 10,000 t per year.
Vietnam has possibly the second largest reserves in the world, with more than 22 million MT.
4. RUSSIA
In 2013 Russia declared a massive $1 billion investment into rare earth extraction, hoping to capitalize on telecommunication industry growth, defence uses, and to become less dependent on China for supply.
However, last year supply rose from 2,800 MT to 3,000 MT, still a fraction of Chinese output, and only 1% of global production. As a result, it is expected that Russia will continue to expand and invest in the sector, especially as domestic consumption is expected to grow rapidly to more than 180,000 tonnes by 2020.
Russian rare earth reserves are estimated at 18 million MT.
If you would like to learn more about the future of the chemicals industry, you may enjoy this article from AG CHEMI GROUP's blog page.
5. BRAZIL
Brazilian rare earth production shrank slightly last year, from 2,200 to 2,000 MT. This is despite the 2012 discovery of a major deposit worth an estimated $8.4 billion.
As Diana Kinch of the Wall Street Journal reported at the time, “Vale SA has discovered deposits of rare-earth minerals at its giant Salobo copper-mine project at Carajas in Para state, similar to quality at some Australian deposits”
6. THAILAND
In 2017, Thailand’s rare earths production remained unchanged at 1,600 MT. While not a huge number, it still makes the country a significant producer outside of China.
7. INDIA
In 2017, India produced 1,500 MT of rare earth elements, unchanged from the previous year. But as Investing News reports, “current production is far below potential.”
This is because, “rare earths reserves sit at 6.9 million MT.”
This is an opinion shared by the Economic Times of India, which notes, “Significant rare earths minerals found in India include ilmenite, sillimanite, garnet, zircon, monazite and rutile, collectively called Beach Sand Minerals (BSM). India has almost 35 per cent of the world’s total beach sand mineral deposits.”
However, the situation is changing, and India is beginning to modernise and strike up trade deals so that exports can flow more easily.
As the Daily Mail reported in late 2015, “[Japan’s] heavy dependency of rare earth imports from China can be gauged from the fact that Japan receives 82 per cent of its rare earth elements from China and for Beijing, rare earth elements being exported to Japan stand at just 40 per cent.” As a result, Tokyo has, “Earmarked a $1.5-billion corpus for developing alternative sources of rare earths, and there is an effort to notch up joint venture partnerships to secure supplies of rare earth elements.”
NOTABLE MENTIONS
Malaysia
While rare earth extraction of Malaysia’s relatively small 30,000 MT of reserve has remained static for several years. It is worth noting that the country is, according to Investing News, “home to one of the world’s largest rare earths refineries, the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP). The LAMP facility handles refining duties for Lynas’ mines in Australia. The company sells to buyers in Japan, Europe, China and North America.” Adding that, “Although political issues delayed the plant’s opening in 2013, the facility has helped Malaysia become an important player in the rare earths space.”
Greenland
Although Greenland has not produced any rare earths in the last two years, it has the sixth largest predicted reserves, at over 1.5 MT. In March 2017, plans began for opening a uranium mine that would also have potential for rare earth extraction.
As the industry journal, Mining.com, reported at the time, “The proposed open pit mine in the southern town of Kvanefjeld is expected to process over 100 million tonnes of ore in the coming decades.” Noting that, “80% of the commercial deposits in Kvanefjeld are rare earth minerals, commonly used in wind turbines, hybrid cars and lasers, while uranium accounts for only 10%.”
This would make the operation the second-largest rare earths operation in the world, but only if local support can be garnered. At present there is considerable opposition to the proposal based on environmental concerns.
USA
In 2013, the journal Mining Technology noted that the US produced, “4,000t of rare earth elements accounting for about 3.6% of global production.” Adding that, “The country’s domestic consumption of rare-earth imports in 2013 increased to 10,500t from 5,770t in 2012 making it the third biggest rare earth consumer after China and Japan.”
Currently, American rare earth production is on hold, as the sole-major extractor Molycorp Inc went bankrupt in 2015 with debts of over $1.7 billion. The company created after Molycorp’s demise is called Neo Material Technologies Inc., and today there is much speculation that extraction of the country’s significant 1.4 MT of reserves will resume shortly. This is based on Russian billionaire Vladimir Iorich’s interest in acquiring Neo Material’s ownership of Mountain Pass mine in California.
Mountain Pass rare earth mine in California
ALSO-RANS
The countries listed below also hold large reserves:
South Africa — 860,000 MT
Canada — 830,000 MT
Malawi — 136,000 MT
The Future of Rare Earth Element Production and Prices
Rare earth minerals are prone to periods of great price volatility. For example, in late 2017 Investing News reported that, “Spot prices for neodymium and praseodymium, two of the 17 rare earths, have risen by 50 percent in China year-to-date.”
Meanwhile, David Merriman, deputy manager for Roskill Information Services’ minor metals division, noted that, “Lanthanum, cerium and dysprosium have all been showing quite positive trends recently… the whole suite of rare earths really seems to be increasing in price.”
Rare earth values are almost certain to increase. They are the vital ingredients that help technology grow. As the global standard of living increases and the use of technology becomes more and more widespread, demand for rare earth elements is bound to grow. As the low hanging fruit of their extraction run out, as rare earths become rarer, costs will also rise.
As even Wikipedia notes, “The uses, applications, and demand of rare-earth elements has expanded over the years. This is particularly due to the uses of rare-earth elements in low-carbon technologies. Some important uses of rare-earth elements are applicable to the production of high-performance magnets, catalysts, alloys, glasses, and electronics.” Observing their use in other growing industries such as “hybrid vehicles, wind turbines, hard disc drives, portable electronics, microphones, speakers, as catalysts for petroleum refining and as diesel additives, LCD and plasma screens, fibre optics, lasers, medical imaging, fertilizers, and water treatment.”
With such a diverse portfolio of uses in expanding markets, has there ever been a better time for rare earths?
As David Evans, a London-based editor, and mining industry expert at Reuters, notes, “Rare earths look set for a comeback.”
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Photo credit: DailyMail, Mining, Everlancaster, Mining, Reuters, Spiegel, & GlobalSecurity
