A Glimpse Into The Global Rare Earth Element Production

Rare Earth Metals (REM) are so called, not because of their scarcity in the earth’s crust, but because they are not present in concentrated and usable forms. This group of seventeen metals includes fifteen lanthanoids as well as scandium and yttrium and is used for numerous purposes, ranging from the production of high refractive index glass, lasers and magnets, to nuclear batteries and portable X-ray machines. As the demand for REM increases with the ever-thriving technological advances, one wonders how these demands are met. Take a look at the REM production since the 1950s.

1. During the 1950s South Africa took over from India and Brazil as the leading provider of REM when huge reserves of monazite were discovered there.

2. In the 1960s California became the main producer of the rare earth elements and stayed so for the next two decades, courtesy of The Mountain Pass rare earth mine.

3. Today, however, almost all of the world’s heavy REMs come from Chinese reserves, especially Inner Mongolia and the poly-metallic Bayan Obo deposit. Even though China has only 37% of proven deposits, it is still responsible for over 97% of the world’s REM production. According to a report issued by the U.S. Geological Survey China’s production of rare-earth elements has speeded up during the last couple of decades.

4. On the 1st of September 2009, China announced that it would reduce its export quota between 2010-2015 to only 35,000 tons/year, in order to conserve natural resources and the environment. Following this, China made further announcements during 2010 that involved reduction in its production of rare earths, so as to prevent the "over-exploitation" of the earth’s precious resources.

5. Increase in demand and the new export regulations and restrictions imposed in China meant that opportunity for other sources of REMs to get back in business. These sources, such as South Africa, Brazil, Australia and the U.S. had previously been dwarfed by the massive and cheap Chinese production. Searches are going on in these areas to locate further REM reserves and the mines that had previously been shut down are being prepared to be re-opened.

6. One example of such a project which is being planned to be started is the Hoidas Lake Project in Northern Canada. Studies show that this project might be able to fulfill around 10% of the consumption rare earth elements that occurs in North America every year.

7. Moreover, many sites in Vietnam, the Northwest Territories and Nebraska are also being looked into for mining purposes. Pre-feasibility drilling at Kvanefjeld in Greenland show it has noteworthy amounts of black lujavrite, known to be rich in rare earth oxides.

8. In 2011, an Australian mining company called Lynas boasted about almost having finished building a rare-earth refinery costing US$230 million. This refinery had facilities to refine slightly radioactive ore and was said to be enough to fulfill almost one-thirds of the world’s demands for REM (not including China).

9. Developments in recycling facilities have shown light on other possible sources of REMs, lately. These sources include electronic waste as well as nuclear reprocessing.

10. Nuclear fission of certain elements such as uranium and plutonium not only leads to production of Rare-Earth Elements but also of some of their isotopes. Some of these isotopes are radioactive, however, which unfortunately implies that it is highly improbable to extract them safely from the mixture. Knowing this, it can be concluded that though the major supplier of the world’s REM is still China, alternatives are fast being discovered and developed to meet the increasing demand of these valuable minerals.