Rare Earths

What rare earths are

The full chain runs mineral ore to concentrate, separated oxides, metal and alloy, and finally sintered NdFeB magnets. The United States mines rare earths at scale but separates and converts only a fraction of them; nearly everything between the mine and the magnet has run through China. This page traces each stage through real facilities, the federal instruments behind them, and the policy actions reshaping the chain.

Elements tracked: Cerium (Ce), Lanthanum (La), Dysprosium (Dy), Neodymium (Nd), Terbium (Tb), Praseodymium (Pr)

Why they are critical

Mining is a bottleneck, but the biggest issue is that the United States produced 45,000 tons of REO in concentrate in 2024 but only 7,600 tons of separated compounds, and remained 80% import-reliant for compounds and metals. The chain's tightest constraints sit downstream: separation capacity (above all for heavy rare earths), oxide-to-metal conversion, and qualified magnet output.

Commercial product forms

Supply-chain stages

Where rare earths are mined and processed

Facilities by country: United States (18) · Australia (4) · Canada (5) · Estonia (2) · France (3) · Germany (1) · Italy (1) · Japan (5) · Norway (1) · Poland (1) · South Korea (2) · Sweden (1) · United Kingdom (4)

U.S. and global production

• U.S. mine production was an estimated 45,000 metric tons of REO in concentrates in 2024; world mine production was approximately 390,000 tons, of which China produced an estimated 270,000 tons. (confirmed, as of Jan 1, 2025)
• Total U.S. domestic production of rare earth compounds was 7,600 metric tons in 2024 (praseodymium and neodymium compounds in California and rare-earth compounds in Utah), against 45,000 tons of concentrate produced; U.S. net import reliance for compounds and metals was 80% of apparent consumption. (confirmed, as of Jan 1, 2025)
• The July 2025 MP Materials-Department of Defense partnership (equity, a 10-year NdPr price floor, and magnet offtake) is the largest single federal commitment to an integrated U.S. mine-to-magnet chain. (confirmed, as of Jul 10, 2025)

Known deposits and occurrences

Below the mines sits the geological base: 169 US rare earth deposits and occurrences recorded by USGS across 22 states — 47 with published resource estimates, 17 with recorded past production. Deposits with resource estimates:

All 169 deposits and occurrences by state, plus Earth MRI focus areas →

Mines and feedstock projects

Processing, magnet, and recycling facilities

Separation and refining

Metals and alloys

Magnet manufacturing

Recycling

Project capacity staircase

Only capacities a source states, with their basis. Absence of a figure means no source publishes one.

Federal and allied programs

Open opportunities

Full opportunity ledger →

Awards, loans, and procurements

National-lab capabilities

Trade and policy timeline

1. Dec 20, 2017 · Executive Order 13817 — A Federal Strategy To Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals Amended
2. May 18, 2018 · USGS/Interior Critical Minerals List — 2018, 2022, and 2025 Revisions Amended
3. Aug 13, 2018 · 10 U.S.C. 4872 — DoD Restrictions on Chinese-Sourced NdFeB and SmCo Magnets (FY2019 NDAA sec. 871 through FY2024 NDAA sec. 854) Amended
4. Jul 22, 2019 · Presidential Determinations 2019-16 through 2019-20 — DPA Title III Rare Earth Production Capability Announced
5. Sep 30, 2020 · Executive Order 13953 — National Emergency on Reliance on Critical Minerals From Foreign Adversaries Announced
6. Feb 24, 2021 · Executive Order 14017 — America's Supply Chains (100-Day Reviews) Announced
7. Jun 14, 2022 · Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) Announced
8. Dec 21, 2023 · China export ban on rare earth extraction, separation, and magnet-making technology (December 2023) Announced
9. Apr 11, 2024 · EU Critical Raw Materials Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1252) Effective
10. Mar 20, 2025 · Executive Order 14241 — Immediate Measures To Increase American Mineral Production Amended
11. Apr 4, 2025 · China export controls on seven medium/heavy rare earths and related magnet items (April 2025, as amended) Amended
12. Apr 15, 2025 · Section 232 Action on Processed Critical Minerals and Derivative Products (EO 14272 and Proclamation 11001) Amended
13. May 12, 2025 · US-China trade frameworks touching rare earth export licensing (2025-2026) Announced

Recent changes

1. Jan 1, 2027 · 10 U.S.C. 4872 — DoD Restrictions on Chinese-Sourced NdFeB and SmCo Magnets (FY2019 NDAA sec. 871 through FY2024 NDAA sec. 854) · effective
2. Aug 7, 2026 · DOE CMEI PROSPECT Program — Notice of Intent (DE-FOA-0003662) · state-transition
3. Jul 29, 2026 · Energy Fuels White Mesa Mill — Heavy rare earth (Tb/Dy oxide) expansion · under-construction
4. Jul 23, 2026 · DOE Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator (DE-FOA-0003589) · state-transition
5. Jul 14, 2026 · DLA Warstopper RFI: Samarium and Gadolinium metal buffer (SP8000_SmCo_RFI) · deadline-change
6. Jul 1, 2026 · Shin-Etsu Chemical rare earth magnet operations (Takefu) — Sintered NdFeB magnet production · operating
7. Jun 25, 2026 · REalloys Tooele Army Depot heavy rare earth facility — Dysprosium and terbium refining · announced
8. Jun 25, 2026 · U.S. Army conditional Enhanced Use Lease award to REalloys at Tooele Army Depot · conditional-commitment
9. Jun 22, 2026 · ReElement Technologies Marion Refining Campus — Rare earth elements recycled-feedstocks line · under-construction
10. Jun 22, 2026 · ReElement Technologies Marion Refining Campus — Rare earth elements primary-feedstocks separation line · under-construction
11. Jun 19, 2026 · ARPA-E MAGNITO — Magnetic Acceleration Generating New Innovations and Tactical Outcomes (DE-FOA-0003590) · state-transition
12. Jun 18, 2026 · Office of Strategic Capital $725 million conditional loan commitment with Energy Fuels · conditional-commitment

Full change log →

Sources and update history

Freshness floor for this hub's own claims: Aug 11, 2026. Every facility, instrument, opportunity, and policy record linked above carries its own sources and verification dates; see the methodology for the rules.