The mining and distribution of rare earth metals are complex issues. Most REM’s come from refining the minerals monazite and bastnaesite. China and the US have the largest known supply of these ores but there are also significant amounts of reserves in Brazil and India.
In general while the future supply of rare earth metals is not in question, there is an estimated 130,000,000 tons of global reserves for all REM’s, but the relatively long lead time to discover and viably extract these resources does pose a not insignificant problem in regards to future demand.
Considering the domestic issue alone, the United States imports 91% of its REM’s from China. Indeed China dominates both in mining and in reserve capacity of REM’s with 55,000,000 metric tons of reserves and 97% of overall REM mine production(105,000 metric tons). This can lead to significant disruptions in the supply chain if production is lowered or halted . In fact until as recently as 2015 China had imposed rare-earth export quotas that limited the sale of REM’s to outside countries. Further compounding the problem is the recent bankruptcy of Molycorp the only domestic producer of REM’s in the United States.
The primary demand for REM’s in the US and the world are from catalysts,metal alloys and magnets. Indeed 43% of US demand alone for REM’s comes from catalysts alone(e.g. Cerium Oxide in a car’s catalytic converter). Moreover, the use of REM’s in extremely strong magnets like neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) and samarium cobalt (SmCo), is particularly important for national defense reasons as many precision missiles and aircraft rely on the unique properties of these magnets to function.
Overall given the critical importance of REM’s and their relatively fragile supply chain it is likely that disruptions and shortages could lead to a greater focus on the recycling and reuse of REM’s in the future.
Sources:
Click to access mcs-2016-raree.pdf
aprasann99238 
I think it’s really interesting and not surprising that China has starting to set an export quota to limit REM sale to foreign countries. REMs are certainly very valuable for their unique properties as you have addressed, and many are very difficult to replace since their properties are so unique. I was wondering if there’s been an effort to find cheaper replacements for some of these REMs. I would think that there would be some sort of replacements in development to afford cheaper cars, but I could be wrong. I was also wondering about what the energy expenditure is to isolate and purify some of these REMs. Love your post; hope to continue learning more about REMs.
LikeLike
Very intriguing post about the supply chain and material flow of rare earth metals. It is quite astonishing how dependent the world is on China to mine REMs. As you addressed, this could definitely result in future issues for the US since we rely on imports so much. You mention recycling and reuse of REMs for future options, but are there any processes in place currently that address these concerns? Surely there must be waste and end-of-life REMs. And what exactly are these future plans for abatement, if any? Great post, and I look forward to reading more about rare earth metals.
LikeLike
I find it very interesting how dependent the US is on China for its rare earth metals. Seeing as they are commonly used in defense systems and some fear that China is a large threat to our defenses, it seems to create quite a confusing situation for the market. As well, i know REMs are used often in electronic devices like cell phones, so it will be interesting to see how a reduction in their production effects those markets as well. All in all, it seems China really has the upper hand in a very crucial, yet under exposed, portion of the economy.
LikeLike