Rare earth supply chain outlook
Rare earth elements & special metals
Neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium power the permanent magnets inside wind-turbine generators and electric-vehicle motors, while gallium and germanium enable high-speed chips and infrared optics; at the same time antimony, hafnium and scandium strengthen alloys for aerospace and defence. More than seventy percent of upstream mining and over eighty percent of chemical separation still occur in one country, so any policy shift in Beijing (or a production halt in Myanmar’s ionic-clay districts) can jolt global prices within days. Consequently, investors, manufacturers and governments are racing to build alternative mines, refiners and recycling loops.
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Rare earths and special metals are typically used in
Energy & E-Mobility
- NdFeB magnets in traction motors and offshore wind turbines
- Dysprosium-enhanced magnets for high-temperature performance
- Scandium-aluminium alloys for lightweight EV platforms
Electronics & Optoelectronics
- Gallium-arsenide and gallium-nitride chips for 5G radios and fast chargers
- Germanium lenses for night-vision and autonomous-vehicle LiDAR
- Indium-tin-oxide coatings for smartphone and solar-panel touch layers
Aerospace & Advanced Manufacturing
- Hafnium and zirconium in super-alloys for jet-engine blades
- Tantalum capacitors in satellites and defence electronics
- Yttrium-stabilised zirconia thermal-barrier coatings on turbine parts
Export controls tighten availability of gallium, germanium and antimony
Since late 2024 China has expanded licence requirements and, in some cases, banned shipments of key special metals to the United States, driving spot-price spikes and forcing buyers to reroute cargoes through third countries.
Western pricing support accelerates domestic rare-earth processing
The United States has introduced a guaranteed minimum price for NdPr and backed multibillion-dollar deals with MP Materials to build magnet plants in Texas, encouraging parallel projects in Canada and Australia.
Recycling and new separation plants gain momentum
Funding rounds for startups such as Phoenix Tailings and public money for facilities in Saskatchewan signal a pivot toward urban mining and non-Chinese refining routes, expected to lift recycled oxide supply above ten percent of global demand by 2027.
Rare earth supply chain outlook methodology
Our rare earth supply chain outlook brings together publicly reported mine data, basic processing capacity figures and the latest trade statistics, then adds a view on recycling and key policy changes. By tracking ore grades, recovery rates, headline demand drivers and notable export-licence updates, we aim to highlight emerging tight spots and price risks a little earlier, supporting more informed sourcing and planning.
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End Use
- All
- Aerospace
- Automotive & EV
- Building & Structural
- Defence
- Electronics
- Energy & Nuclear
- Industrial & Chemical
- Medical
- Antimony
- Beryllium
- Bismuth
- Cerium
- Dysprosium
- Erbium
- Gallium
- Germanium
- Hafnium
- Heavy Rare-Earth Elements
- Indium
- Lanthanum
- Light Rare-Earth Elements
- Lithium
- Lutetium
- Magnesium
- Neodymium
- Praseodymium
- Rare Earth Elements (REEs)
- Rhenium
- Samarium
- Scandium
- Tantalum
- Terbium
- Titanium
- Ytterbium
- Yttrium
- Zirconium