Rare Earths Minerals.
What, why and where.
Increasingly in the spotlight, "Rare Earth Minerals" have drawn significant media attention, especially following the recent negotiations between the USA and Ukraineon the subject. Technically speaking, these minerals are primarily made up of the lanthanides—a group of metallic elements with atomic numbers from 57 to 71—along with Scandium and Yttrium. They are crucial because there are currently no practical alternatives to their unique properties. On the Periodic Table, they are located here:
In total, there are 17 elements classified as rare earth minerals. Without a background in chemistry, it can be difficult to grasp why these elements matter or how they're used. Below is a complete list.
Click on any element to explore its practical applications.
The name is a bit misleading. Rare earths are relatively abundant in the Earth's crust, but minable concentrations are less common than for most other mineral commodities. Following the latest reportfrom the United States Geological Survey agency, 12 countries show expressive reserves of these elements, with China leading the podium.
ReservesMore
Reserves
An estimated 90 million tons of rare earth elements exist worldwide, with the majority found in reserves across Asia. The visualizations below show both the total quantities (in tons) and a proportional comparison of each country's reserves.Use the buttons below to switch between the different views.
A country's reserve of rare earth minerals do not always reflect to its mining capabilities. Sometimes nations with limited reserves still hold a strong mining and refining industry, while others with abundant resources may lack well-developed refining infrastructure. In some cases, a nation's refinement capability is even greater than its reserves.
The chart below illustrates the relationship between available reserves and production capabilities across different countries.
Looking at the previous chart, it can be seen that countries have very different production capabilities, and those don't always match up with the size of their reserves. In some cases, governments don't share much about their reserves, even though their production is quite high:
Countries like Burma, Nigeria, Madagascar and Malaysia are good examples. They're among the top producers of refined rare earth minerals, despite having little or no publicly available data about their reserves.