Rare earths

Brazil emerges as key rare earth supplier.

From Extraction to Evolution

Rare earths are a group of 17 elements in the periodic table, including 15 known as the Lanthanide series, plus Yttrium and Scandium.

Rare earths are categorised into light rare earth elements (LREE) and heavy rare earth elements (HREE) – both groups exhibit different properties and are found in different deposit types across the globe, with HREE’s being rarer than their light counterparts and are extracted from either monazite sands, hard rock or ionic clay deposits, with most global primary mineral production and secondary metal separation dominated by China.

Rare earths are used in many applications including permanent magnets, doping agents, catalysts, ceramics, glasses, and metal alloys.

The single most important application of rare earths is in permanent magnets. In particular the heavy rare earths dysprosium and terbium are essential to produce DyNdFeB (dysprosium neodymium iron-boron) magnets used in clean energy, military, robotics and high technology solutions.

Brazil is emerging as a key player, with Brazilian Rare Earths poised to become a major heavy rare earths supplier.