VINACHEM

The outlook for rare earths is supported by strong supply and demand fundamentals as the world heads into a new economic era with a focus on clean energy and technological advancements.

But with supply chain worries rising, it’s worth looking at which countries have the highest rare earths reserves. While in many cases the world’s major rare earths producers have large reserves, some countries have low rare earths output and high reserves.

Case in point — mines in Brazil produced only 80 metric tons (MT) of rare earth elements in 2022, but the nation’s reserves are tied for third highest in the world. It’s possible that countries like this could become bigger players in the space in the future.

On that note, here’s an overview of rare earths reserves by country, with a focus on the eight countries whose reserves are over 1 million MT. Data is taken from the US Geological Survey’s latest report on rare earths.

1. China
Reserves: 44 million MT

Unsurprisingly, China has the highest reserves of rare earth minerals at 44 million MT. The country was also the world’s leading rare earths producer in 2022 by a long shot, putting out 210,000 MT.

Despite its top position, China remains focused on ensuring that its reserves remain elevated. Back in 2012, the Asian nation declared that its rare earths reserves were declining; it then announced in 2016 that it would raise domestic reserves by establishing both commercial and national stockpiles.

The last decade has also seen the country hone in on illicit rare earths mining, taking steps such as shutting illegal or environmentally non-compliant rare earths mines and limiting production and exports. China’s stern measures have cleaned up its supply chain significantly, although it continues to improve regulation and supervision.

China’s dominance in both rare earth elements production and reserves has caused problems in the past. Rare earths prices surged when the country cut exports in 2010, resulting in a rush to secure supply of the minerals elsewhere.

2. Vietnam
Reserves: 22 million MT

Vietnam’s rare earths reserves stand at 22 million MT. It reportedly hosts several deposits with concentrations against its northwestern border with China and along its eastern coastline. The majority of rare earths in the country can be found in primary ore deposits, with a smaller amount located in coastal placer deposits.

Vietnam’s rare earths production was minuscule in 2021 at 400 MT, but it went up significantly in 2022 to reach 4,300 MT. Vietnam is interested in building its clean energy capacity, and is working to produce more rare earths for that reason.

In December 2022, Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade signed an agreement with South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to increase cooperation on rare earths and other core minerals, and help strengthen the global rare earths supply chain. Canada's Saskatchewan province has also been in talks with the country, sending a trade mission in December 2022 to look for opportunities to collaborate on "green energy, sustainable mining, and rare earths."

3. Brazil and Russia
Reserves: 21 million MT

Brazil and Russia are tied for third largest rare earths reserves globally. Brazil was not a major producer of rare earths in 2022, with production falling to a tiny 80 MT, even lower than its 2021 total of 500 MT. A rare earths deposit worth US$8.4 billion was found in 2012 in the country, although not much has come out of the discovery.

Russia produced 2,600 MT of rare earths in 2022, more than Brazil and Vietnam. The Russian government shared plans in 2020 to invest US$1.5 billion in order to compete with China in the rare earths market. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused some concern over possible disruptions to the rare earths supply chain in the US and Europe, and it remains to be seen how the war will affect its at-home rare earths development plans as well.

4. India
Reserves: 6.9 million MT

India’s rare earths reserves sit at 6.9 million MT, and it produced 2,900 MT of rare earths in 2022. India has nearly 35 percent of the world’s beach and sand mineral deposits, which are significant sources of rare earths. The country's Department of Atomic Energy released a statement in December 2022 breaking down the country's production and refining.

5. Australia
Reserves: 4.2 million MT

While Australia was the third largest rare earths-mining country in 2022 at 18,000 MT of production, it has the fifth largest reserves in the world. Currently, its reserves stand at 4.2 million MT.

Rare earths have only been mined in Australia since 2007, but extraction is expected to increase moving forward. Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC,OTC Pink:LYSCF) operates the Mount Weld mine and concentration plant in the country; it also runs a rare earths refining and processing facility in Malaysia. The company is considered the world’s largest non-Chinese rare earths supplier.

6. United States
Reserves: 2.3 million MT

While the US reported the second highest output of rare earths in 2022 at 43,000 MT, the country takes the sixth top spot in global rare earths reserves. Its reserves saw a big bump from 2021's total of 1.8 million MT.

Rare earths mining in the US now happens only at California’s Mountain Pass mine. In February 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order aimed at reviewing shortcomings in America’s domestic supply chains for rare earths, medical devices, computer chips and other critical resources. The next month, the US Department of Energy announced a US$30 million initiative to research and secure domestic supply chains for rare earths and battery metals such as cobalt and lithium. The government released a follow-up fact sheet about the progress made in these initiatives in February 2022.

7. Greenland
Reserves: 1.5 million MT

Although Greenland’s rare earths reserves number is close to that of the US, the island nation hasn’t made much of an effort to bring them into production. The country’s current government ran on a platform that included canceling Greenland's only (and highly controversial) rare earths-mining project, Energy Transition Minerals' (ASX:ETM,OTC Pink:GDLNF) Kvanefjeld. The government followed through with rejecting the project's exploitation license, and the company's request for interim orders against the decision was declined in September 2022.