ALL WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RARE EARTHS | JULY 2025

“Rare earths” are a group of 17 metallic elements that are crucial for modern technologies. They include:

Lanthanum, Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium, Samarium, Europium, Gadolinium, Terbium, Dysprosium, Holmium, Erbium, Thulium, Ytterbium, Lutetium, Scandium, and Yttrium.

There are light rare earths (LREEs) like: lanthanum, cerium, and neodymium; and heavy rare earths (HREEs) like: terbium, dysprosium, and yttrium.

Rare earths are used for magnets and motors, and neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium are used to make strong and permanent magnets which are vital for electric vehicle (EV) motors, wind turbine generators, headphones, computer hard drives, and smartphones.

Lanthanum and cerium are used in nickel-metal hydride (NIMH) batteries, which are commonly used in hybrid cars. But most lithium-ion batteries used in EVs, and electronics rely more on lithium, cobalt, and nickel, which are not rare earths. Still rare earths can be used in battery additives and electrode coatings to improve efficiency.

Magnets made with rare earths are critical for energy storage systems, flywheels, and motors and generators in renewable energy setups like wind and hydro.

Cerium oxide is used in fuel cells and catalytic converters to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions. Europium and terbium are used to give color to display screens and smartphone displays. Yttrium is used in phosphors for LEDs.

Rare-earth-based magnets and alloys are used in guidance systems like jet engines, satellites, and radar. The U.S. F-35 fighter plane is depending on rare earths sourced from China.

China is currently controlling over 70% of global rare earth production, leading to geopolitical concerns about supply security. The U.S., Australia, and others are trying to diversify supply chains and recycle rare earth materials to reduce dependence.   

In 2017, China produced 81% of the world’s rare earths supply which are mostly in Inner Mongolia, although it has only the world’s 36.7% reserves. Around 80% of the U.S. rare earths are sourced from China, and 98% for EU are also from China.

In 2018, Australia was the world’s second-largest producer, and it is the only other major producer, with the 15% of world’s production. It is also the first significant dysprosium producer outside of China.

The top eight countries with rare earth reserves are:
China – 44 million metric tons
Brazil – 21 million metric tons
India – 6.9 million metric tons
Australia – 5.7 million metric tons
Russia – 3.8 million metric tons
Vietnam – 3.5 million metric tons
U.S. – 1.9 million metric tons
Greenland (Denmark) – 1.9 million metric tons

The top ten countries with rare earths production are:
China – 270,000 metric tons
U.S. – 45,000 metric tons
Myanmar – 31,000 metric tons
Australia – 13,000 metric tons
Nigeria – 13,000 metric tons
Thailand – 13,000 metric tons
India – 2,900 metric tons
Russia – 2,500 metric tons
Madagascar – 2,000 metric tons
Vietnam – 300 metric tons

Impact on rare earth contamination on human health are similar that they are expected to show similar toxicity in humans. Mortality studies show that they are not highly toxic. One side effect of mining rare earths can be exposure to harmful inhalation of radioactive mineral such as thorium in Mongolia. The rare earths mining and smelting process can release airborne fluoride to form aerosols that can enter human respiratory systems.   

Analysis showing people living near mines in China have different rare-earth elements in their blood, urine, bone, and hair suggesting bioaccumulations. These rare-earth elements are presented in the vegetables, the soil, the water from the wells. The levels found were not high enough to cause health hazards.  

China has rare earths, and it is the strategy that it has been using over many decades. It was already in 1987 when Deng Xiaoping, then the country’s leader remarked, “The Middle East they have oil, we China have rare earths.” In reality, rare earths can be found all over the world, but it is China’s openness to commit to this business often considered as “filthy business” in mining and processing the minerals. As a result, China is thought to mine 60-70% of the world’s rare earths and controls 90% of its processing and refining.

The west has long been aware of the theoretical dangers of its contamination and chose to rely on China’s supply.

With the trade war and the growing military rivalry with China, the west is picking the production in order to be more self-dependent. China has already rein in its supply of rare earth to the western world and causing a shortage of rare earths in magnets for the car industry.

Prior to a potential meeting between the U.S. President Trump with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the coming APEC in South Korea from October 31 to November 1, 2025, China announced the further restricting access to the supplies of rare earths that American companies need for computer chips, and other technology. China is using this as the tactic to gain an upper hand in negotiating trade talk with Washington. This has already led the U.S. to announce the impose of 100% tariffs on China export by November 1.

We found that the U.S. is trying to work closer with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo for mining rights. It is also trying to negotiate with Ukraine for the rare earth mining right. The EU have set up the Critical Raw Materials Act last year and set targets for reducing dependence on China. And because they have been depending on China for more than 20 years and to take the independence will take some time to fix the problem.