Rare Earth Elements

6 materials shown. Figures are from USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · as each source defines it for each commodity · source ↗

Scroll the table sideways for the remaining columns.

Material	Shelf	World production 2025	World reserves	Leading producer
☆Rare Earths (all) criticalA family of seventeen metals that are not actually rare in the ground, but are hard to separate…	Rare Earth Elements	390,000metric tons · Mine production	85,000,000	China69% of world production†
☆Neodymium criticalThe rare earth at the heart of the strongest magnet ever made — the kind in headphones, hard…	Rare Earth Elements	not published	—	—
☆Praseodymium criticalNeodymium's near-twin, so alike that magnet makers usually do not bother separating the two and…	Rare Earth Elements	not published	—	—
☆Dysprosium criticalA heavy rare earth added in small amounts to magnets so they keep working when they get hot.	Rare Earth Elements	not published	—	—
☆Terbium criticalThe scarcest of the four magnet rare earths, used in tiny quantities to make a magnet survive…	Rare Earth Elements	not published	—	—
☆Samarium criticalThe rare earth in the magnet that works where neodymium cannot: very hot, or very cold, or in a…	Rare Earth Elements	not published	—	—

† Worked out from the USGS production table: the leading country’s output divided by the world total. Where the USGS publishes the share itself, that figure is shown instead.