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US rare earth strategy pivots to processing economics over mine size
The article argues that success hinges on whether deposits can economically produce magnet metals like neodymium and praseodymium, not on how much ore is present.
Mining.com says the West has often treated rare earths as a mining problem, while US investment signals a shift toward the chemistry and processing economics needed to supply elements industry actually uses.
The outlet notes that rare earth value is not evenly distributed across the 17 elements, with most strategic and economic importance concentrated in magnet metals neodymium and praseodymium that underpin permanent magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and defence systems.
It says many hard rock deposits are dominated by lanthanum and cerium, which typically make up 60% to 70% of ore, and that producing more Nd and Pr can mean generating larger volumes of these lower value elements that must be processed or monetised.
Mining.com also points to ionic adsorption clay deposits as an alternative approach, arguing they can recover rare earths through chemical leaching rather than energy-intensive roasting, and may offer higher proportions of Nd, Pr, and heavy rare earths such as dysprosium.