Prices of selected rare earth oxides 2008-2013

This statistic depicts the prices of selected rare earth oxides from 2008 to 2013, in U.S. dollars per kilogram. In 2008, neodymium cost 27 U.S. dollars per kilogram. Rare earth supply in the United States are largely dependent on imports, primarily from China. Rare earth elements today are commonly used in automobile catalysts and petroleum refining catalysts, televisions, magnets, batteries, and medical devices.

Rare earths

A rare earth element or metal includes the fifteen lanthanides as well as scandium and yttrium. These elements are quite common within the Earth’s crust, however, they tend to be widely distributed due to their properties. There was approximately 140 million metric tons of rare earth reserves worldwide as of 2013, with 55 million metric tons located in China alone. Rare earth oxides in particular are usually an opaque black or dark brown color and often streaked with brown. They are also often coated in an earthy surface alteration which is part of the mineral.

Rare earth metals are often used within the nuclear industry for practical and experimental applications. They can also be used for ceramics, dyes, lasers, and electric components. In 2011, 20 percent of mined rare earth material was used in magnets and metal alloys each, catalysts accounted for another 19 percent of the global application share. Molycorp, Inc of the United States and Iluka Resources Ltd, headquartered in Australia, are among the world’s largest rare earth companies, totaling 207 million U.S. dollars and around two billion U.S. dollars, respectively, in market capitalization as of December 2014.