General Chat / Discussion, page-5812

Worth reading all this, plus very good slide showing, Dominant producers of critical minerals (% of total) Extraction. Processing. Note HREEs.


https://www.copyright link/companies/mining/the-critical-minerals-boom-is-about-geopolitics-not-geology-20230519-p5d9t7

The critical minerals boom is about geopolitics not geology

It’s easy to confuse rare earths with critical minerals. So here’s a dummies guide to help you navigate Wednesday’s inaugural Financial Review Mining Summit.

Peter KerResources reporter May 22, 2023

**What about rare earths?
The terms “rare earths” and “critical minerals” are often used interchangeably.

It’s an easy mistake to make because most of the 17 elements dubbed “rare earths” are on the critical minerals lists of most nations. But it’s still a mistake.

Just as labradors are a subset of dogs, rare earths such as dysprosium are a subset of the critical minerals lists published in the US and Australia. But not all dogs are labradors.

Lithium is classified as a “critical mineral” by governments in Australia, the US and Europe, but it is not a rare earth.

The best-known rare earths are neodymium and praseodymium; partly because they are the main product of Australia’s flagship rare earths producer, Lynas.

China controls 85 per cent of the world’s neodymium and praseodymium supply the EU’s 2023 report on critical materials shows.

Companies like Lynas and Iluka Resources are increasingly talking about two other rare earths – terbium and dysprosium. Often described as “heavy” rare earths, they are particularly strategic because China controls 100 per cent of global supply the EU says.

Eight other minerals are also entirely supplied by China according to EU research; erbium, europium, gadolinium, holmium, lutetium, thulium, yttrium and ytterbium.

As we mentioned earlier, rare earths like neodymium, praseodymium, terbium and dysprosium are important for defence applications like drones, lasers and night-vision goggles.**

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