Barakos, et al., reported in 2016 that the rare earth elements (REEs) are a group of 16 chemical elements consisting of the 15 lathanides plus yttrium. The term ‘rare earths’ is misleading, as it does not refer to their abundance in the earth’s crust, but to the inconspicuous appearance of the minerals from which they were originally isolated. Almost all REEs in the earth’s crust are more abundant than gold, silver or platinum, while Cerium (Ce) is the most abundant of all REEs and is more common in the Earth’s crust than copper or lead. Admittedly, rare earths are not present in equal amounts in REE ores. They are generally divided into the light rare earth elements (LREEs) and the heavy rare earth elements (HREEs), with the HREEs being much less abundant and thus much more valuable. The attributions to these groups are not distinct, but in general Lanthanum to Gadolinium are called LREEs while Terbium to Lutetium are called HREEs.
REEs have gained visibility to the general public through the crisis of 2010 and the price spike of 2011 (Massari and Ruberti, 2013). Numerous headlines about REEs have appeared in the media, and suddenly the world became alarmed that China was about to crush high-tech industries of Western economies due to imposition of export restrictions. China at the time was holding a share of 95 per cent of global production of REEs. The crisis did not last for long. Nonetheless, this short-lived alarm was sufficient to initiate a treasure hunt by way of exploration for REE deposits all over the world. The continuously growing demand on the one hand, and the Chinese sovereignty of the REE-market on the other, led the rest 5/12/2016 An outlook on the rare earth elements mining industry of the world to explore their own REE resources. In just a few years, more than 400 projects were initiated to explore REE deposits outside China. But the flurry of exploration did not solve the vital problems of the REE market. Indeed, little has changed in the conditions that govern the REEindustry.
The global market of rare earth elements:
Supply and Demand
Rare earths are vital to some of the world’s fastest growing markets: catalysts, magnets, ceramics and electronics. REEs underpin technologies that are critical for clean energy, transport and communication (Haque et al, 2014). Their application in nuclear energy is significant, while the variety of uses in defense applications is remarkable too. Their chemical similarity justifies their combined use or reciprocal substitution in some applications, yet the end uses of the individual REEs are diverse. This is one of the factors that determine the criticality of some of the elements compared to others.
The importance of REEs to the modern world is undeniable and it is certain that global demand will continue to grow. In contrast to this growth, however, the REE market remains small. In fact it could be said that there is no global ‘rare earths market’. There are local and regional markets for individual REEs, and due to the fact that trading is restricted to a few suppliers who have no long-term contracts, it is almost impossible to predict the potential prices with any certainty. Big mining companies are deterred from getting involved into the REE industry. There are fewer than twenty large companies that trade REEs, and these are distributed to a handful of countries: China, Canada, Australia, USA, Russia, India and Japan.
China is the biggest supplier of REEs in the world, while United States, Japan and Germany are the biggest importers (Roskill, 2015). Several market analysts had forecasted that demand for some REEs would soon exceed supply (Alonso et al, 2012; Humphries, 2012). Indeed, there is a shortage of some certain rare earths; nevertheless there is no disruption of the supply chain. Since China is dominating the market, the supply of REEs to the world outside China almost coincides with the export quotas set by the Chinese government. Consequently, the fast growing domestic demand for REEs from their booming industry is crucial in terms of supplies to the rest of the world. However, despite the restrictions, global supply of REEs is still sufficient.
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