25/07/2024
A more important but less discussed fact about China's rare earth industry is its dominance of the rare earth metals industry.
Rare earth metals are a group of 17 chemically similar elements that are integral to modern technology, such as neodymium for magnets, lanthanum for camera lenses and batteries, and cerium for catalytic converters.
China has dominated the rare earth metals industry for the past three decades, accounting for more than two-thirds of global production by 2023. The United States has made a big comeback in rare earth metal production, especially since 2017. U.S. production jumped from 15.4 kilotons in 2017 to 43 kilotons in 2023, indicating that the United States is working to reduce its dependence on Chinese supplies and boost domestic production.
The data comes from the Statistical Review of World Energy 2024 by the U.S. Energy Institute.
