Lanthanum
Abundant and low-priced, lanthanum is the volume-carrier of the light-REE basket: it stabilises ceria in fluid-cracking catalysts (FCC), polishes smartphone glass and enhances high-index optics. Although Ni-MH battery demand fades, steady FCC consumption and new high-refractive smartphone lenses anchor offtake, which is vital because selling La offsets the separation cost of pricier Nd/Pr in any bastnäsite project.
Supply Dynamics
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Chinese bastnäsite mines dominate supply; Myanmar adds light-REE clay tonnes episodically.
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Oversupply risk keeps prices <$2 kg, underpinning light-REE separation economics.
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Spent FCC catalyst recycling recovers La/Ce, but economics hinge on vanadium co-recovery.
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New Vietnam and US ventures eye light-REE carbonate, yet downstream separation remains bottleneck.
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No significant trade restrictions, but low price dissuades Western greenfield investment.
Demand Dynamics
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FCC demand tracks global gasoline production; refinery upgrades in India/Africa underpin growth.
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Glass polishing powders follow smartphone refurbishment and 5 G handset cycles.
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High-index camera lenses in multi-sensor phones add small but fast-growing tonnage.
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Ni-MH batteries decline, but motive-power forklifts still use LaNi₅-type hydrides.
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Alloy flints (misch-metal) keep a stable, low-margin baseline market.