BEIJING, July 14 — Global rare earth oxide production reached an estimated 350,000 metric tons in 2023, with China supplying 70 percent of that total, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Figures show China produced 240,000 metric tons, followed by the United States at 43,000 metric tons, Myanmar at 38,000 metric tons, and Australia at 18,000 metric tons. China also controls approximately 90 percent of rare earth processing and refining capacity worldwide, including separation and magnet production, according to both the International Energy Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.
This supply-chain concentration has prompted multiple governments to launch strategic diversification efforts.
The Strategic Mineral Landscape
Rare earth elements comprise 17 chemically similar metallic elements — the 15 lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium — critical for smartphones, electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines, and military defense systems. The U.S. identified rare earths as critical minerals under Executive Order 13817 in 2017 and the Energy Act of 2020. In 2022, the Biden administration launched the Minerals Security Partnership with 13 partner countries and the European Union to diversify supply chains.
The European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act of 2023 set targets for domestic extraction at 10 percent, processing at 40 percent, and recycling at 15 percent of critical minerals by 2030. Japan, South Korea, and India have also launched strategic stockpiling and investment programs, according to the source material.
Key Western Projects and Defense Contracts
MP Materials operates the Mountain Pass mine in California, the only operating rare earth mine in North America, which produced 43,000 metric tons of rare earth oxide in 2023. The company also runs a processing facility at Mountain Pass. The U.S. Department of Defense awarded MP Materials a $35 million contract in 2022 to build domestic processing and separation facilities.
Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths operates the Mount Weld mine and a processing plant in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, with a new separation facility under construction in Kalgoorlie. Lynas also has a processing plant in Malaysia.
The Defense Department awarded Lynas a $258 million contract in 2021 for similar domestic capacity-building.
