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China. Unsurprisingly, China has the highest reserves of rare earth minerals at 44 million MT. The country was also the world's leading rare earths producer in 2022 by a long shot, putting out 210,000 MT. Despite its top position, China remains focused on ensuring that its reserves remain elevated.
As of today, China accounts for 63 percent of the world's rare earth mining, 85 percent of rare earth processing, and 92 percent of rare earth magnet production.
MP Materials (NYSE:MP)
MP Materials is the largest producer of rare earths outside of China, with a focus on high-purity separated neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) oxide, a heavy rare earths concentrate, as well as lanthanum and cerium oxides and carbonates.
In 2022, China had a mine production of some 210,000 metric tons of rare-earth oxide. China is the world's largest producer of rare earths by a large margin. The United States is distantly the world's second-largest rare earths producer, with an output of about one-fifth the volume of China.
South Africa's Steenkampskraal Mine has one of the highest grades of rare earth elements in the world. It contains 15 elements and 86,900 tons of total rare earth oxides, with large deposits of neodymium and praseodymium.
The latter concern resonates with the environmental and public health damage I researched a decade ago in the rare earth capital of the world—Baotou, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.
The Lynas Mt Weld mine in Western Australia is acknowledged as one of the world's premier rare earths deposits.
Australia has abundant reserves of critical minerals such as lithium, silicon and rare earths, which are key components of low-emissions technologies such as batteries, solar panels and electric vehicles which will help Australia and the world to lower emissions.
Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC)
Lynas is by far the largest Rare Earths company in Australia and is also the only globally significant producer outside of China. With a focus on integrated delivery, the ASX company's Mount Weld project is one of the highest-grade REE resources in the world.
Out of the 35 critical minerals and metals as identified by the US geological survey, China ranked as the number one producer of 16 elements with a monopoly in global production of Yttrium with 99% share, gallium with 94%, magnesium metal with 87% share, tungsten with 82% share, bismuth with 80% share, antimony with 72 ...
The rarest metal on earth is actually francium, but because this unstable element has a half life of a mere 22 minutes, it has no practical use. Tantalum, on the other hand, is used to make capacitors in electronic equipment such as mobile phones, DVD players, video game systems, and computers.
Global Reserves of Rare Earth Minerals
China tops the list for mine production and reserves of rare earth elements, with 44 million tons in reserves and 140,000 tons of annual mine production.
It could help cut dependence on China. Swedish mining company LKAB says it has found Europe's largest deposit of rare earth oxides in the country's north, a discovery that could reduce the continent's reliance on China for the critical resource.
Hence, Lithium is not a rare earth mineral.
Precious metals, such as gold, silver and platinum, are among the most valuable commodities worldwide. The value of the materials is determined by their relative scarcity. In 2020, an estimated 380 metric tons of gold were produced in China, the world's largest producer of the metal.
Uranium. Australia has the world's largest endowment of uranium resources in the world, with around one-third of global resources.
Australia is the world's largest producer of lithium and a global top five producer of gold, iron ore, lead, zinc, and nickel.
Mount Whaleback Mine in Western Australia, was the largest mine in Australia, producing approximately 88.8 million metric tons per annum (mmtpa) of Run-of-Mine (ROM) in 2021. The Mount Whaleback Mine is owned by BHP;Mitsui & Co Ltd;Itochu Corp, and is due to operate until 2037.
The destination: Mount Isa, the deepest mine in Australia, 5,187 kilometers (3,223 miles) away. The trip involved a four-hour hop across the continent to Brisbane, an overnight stay, followed by a two-and-a-half hour flight deep into Queensland, Australia's great north west.
1. Lynas Rare Earth (ASX: LYC) Lynas is one of the world's leading producers of rare-earth metals, billing itself as the only significant producer of separate rare-earth materials outside of China.
Australian rare earths production is based on Western Australian production of concentrates from Mount Weld and from trial mining and processing at Browns Range.
China is the world's largest producer of REEs, accounting for 61% of global annual mine production, estimated at 168,000 tonnes for 2021. The United States, Burma (Myanmar), Australia and Thailand accounted for the majority of the remaining mine production.
Roma Caput Mundi is a Latin phrase taken to mean "Rome capital of the world" and "Roma capitale del mondo" in Italian (literally: "head of the world".