- Rare-earth element (REE) producers play a critical role in the global supply chain for high-tech products, including electric vehicles, wind turbines, smartphones, and military equipment.
- The majority of the world’s rare-earth elements are mined and processed in China, which has historically accounted for more than 60% of global production.
- China Northern Rare Earth Group, one of the largest rare-earth companies globally, operates major facilities in Inner Mongolia. Other significant Chinese producers include Minmetals Rare Earth Co. and China Rare Earth Holdings Ltd., all of which are either state-owned or heavily state-influenced. These companies benefit from integrated supply chains, advanced separation technologies, and government support, allowing China to dominate both the upstream and downstream rare-earth markets.
- Outside China, Australia is a major rare-earth producer, primarily through Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. Lynas operates the Mount Weld mine in Western Australia, which is among the richest rare-earth deposits globally. The company also runs a processing facility in Malaysia, making it the largest rare-earth supplier outside China.
- In the United States, MP Materials Corp. owns and operates the Mountain Pass mine in California—the only operational rare-earth mining and processing site in North America. While historically dormant, U.S. production has seen a resurgence due to strategic interests in securing domestic supply chains.
- Several other countries contribute smaller but strategically important shares of global REE production. In India, Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL), a government-owned enterprise, processes rare-earth elements from beach sand deposits along the coast. Russia’s Solikamsk Magnesium Works also produces rare earths on a smaller scale. In Brazil, CBMM, better known for niobium production, is exploring rare-earth extraction as a byproduct of its operations. In Africa, Rainbow Rare Earths is developing the Phalaborwa Project in South Africa, which focuses on extracting rare earths from phosphogypsum waste—a promising example of resource recycling.
- A number of emerging and junior mining companies are also entering the rare-earth space. These include Arafura Rare Earths in Australia, which is developing the Nolans Project; Vital Metals, which has begun mining in Canada and is building a processing facility in Saskatoon; and Iluka Resources, traditionally a mineral sands company now expanding into rare-earth separation. These newcomers aim to diversify the global supply chain and reduce dependence on Chinese production, particularly in the context of growing geopolitical and economic concerns over rare-earth element availability.
