Recently, the news of "Turkey found nearly 700 million tons of rare earth elements" has aroused heated discussion, although the data of newly proved reserves has yet to be further verified, and the impact on the global rare earth market in the short term is very limited, but it undoubtedly highlights the important strategic value of rare earth resources.
This paper evaluates the distribution and development potential of global rare earth resources, points out that China must strengthen the exploration of its own rare earth resources, grasp the latest trend of the development of the international rare earth industry, actively plan the layout, make full use of foreign resources and seize the scientific and technological commanding heights of the industry, and strive to ensure the supply security of China's rare earth resources and the advantages of the industrial chain
Due to its excellent physical properties such as light, electricity and magnetism, it can compose new materials with different properties and varieties with other materials and greatly improve the quality and performance of other products, rare earths have become indispensable key raw materials to support the development of high technology, and are known as the "mother of new materials".
Rare earths are important strategic resources and non-renewable resources, but the current global rare earth reserves are difficult to meet future demand, so it is urgent to find and develop potential rare earth resources.
With the continuous expansion of application fields, the global demand for rare earths is growing rapidly. Up to now, China is still the country with the richest reserves of rare earths, the most complete types of elements and the largest supply of rare earth products in the world, but due to the rapid consumption of China's rare earth resources, its proportion in the global total reserves has gradually declined.
It is not only necessary to increase the exploration and development of domestic rare earth resources, but also to strengthen investment in overseas rare earth industries.
Global rare earth ore point information combing
At present, there are more than 600 rare earth mines under development in the world, mainly in Asia, the Americas and Africa.
China, the United States, Australia, Canada, Brazil and Russia are countries with large reserves of rare earth resources and mineral sites.
- China
China is rich in rare earth resources, showing the characteristics of "light in the north and heavy in the south", and rare earth resources have been discovered in more than 2/3 of the provinces (regions), accumulating more than 1,000 deposits and mineral (chemical) points.
Light rare earth mines are represented by Baotou Baiyun Obo Mine, Shandong Weishan Mine and Sichuan Yakping Mine, with total reserves accounting for more than 94% of the country; Medium and heavy rare earth ore are distributed in Jiangxi, Guangdong, Fujian and other southern provinces, of which Jiangxi Ganzhou has the largest reserves of ionic rare earth ore, accounting for more than 1/3 of the total reserves of such deposits.
- United States
The United States is also rich in light and heavy rare earth resources.
At present, the light rare earth mine represented by the Mountain Pass Mine and the heavy rare earth mine represented by round Top are in the operation state and trial production stage respectively, and other known deposits are in exploration or planning.
The "Earth Map Filling Initiative" of the United States will search for key potential areas of key minerals such as rare earths nationwide, encourage the exploration of key minerals, and the total reserves of rare earths and the number of ore points in the United States will gradually increase in the future.
- Australia
Australia is currently the world's second largest exporter of rare earth mineral products, and the main rare earth minerals exported are light rare earth products produced by mount Weld mine.
The Browns Range Mine is a high-grade dysprosium, terbium-based heavy rare earth phosphorus yttrium ore, and is currently exploring the rare earth resources in and around the mine, which is expected to increase the mine service life by 20 years or double.
In the future, Australia's light and heavy rare earth resource reserves and production will continue to rise.
- Canada
Canada is very rich in rare earth resources, with many rare earth projects under exploration, but has not yet formed an effective capacity.
Strange Lake, Nechalacho, Foxtrot and other rare earth mines are abundant, and Vital Metals has signed a mining agreement with local companies to prepare for mining at the Nechalacho mine.
- Brazil
Brazil has great potential for light and heavy rare earth resources.
The Araxá Rare Earth Mine is a light rare earth deposit dominated by alkaline carbonate rocks and is the most advanced rare earth project in Brazil.
At present, Serra Verde has invested in the construction of a rare earth concentrator, mainly producing heavy rare earth products.
Brazil's rare earth reserves and production will continue to increase as new exploration and development projects are deployed.
- Russia
Russia has abundant reserves of rare earths, but the grade is low, and many mines are under-mining conditions.
In 2013, the Russian ICT Group, in collaboration with Rostec, jointly developed the rare earth mine Tomtor, but it has not yet been mined.
In 2019, the Russian government lowered the rare earth mining tax from 8% to 4.8% to stimulate the enthusiasm of enterprises for rare earth development.
- Other countries or regions
In addition, the Kvanefjeld mine in Denmark (Greenland) is very rich in reserves, including several large multi-element deposits rich in rare earths, uranium and zinc, and the proportion of heavy rare earths is very high, but due to the high environmental protection voice of the local people, the government has not yet mined it.
Vietnam and Myanmar are countries with more reserves of medium and heavy rare earth resources, and they are also the countries that export the most medium and heavy rare earth resources to China, but due to domestic political instability and perennial private mining, the reserves have declined sharply.
The Gakara mine in Burundi, Africa, is the only light rare earth mine in Africa that is being mined, and production is rising year by year.
Analysis of global rare earth ore prospective reserves
- Analysis of total rare earth reserves
China's Baiyun Obo Mine ranked No. 1, Australia's Olympic Dam Mine ranked No. 2, and Brazil's Morrodos Seis Lagos Mine ranked No. 3.
Since the rare earth prospect reserve data of some countries do not limit the grade of rare earth in the statistical process, many ore sites that do not currently have actual mining value are also counted.
Global rare earth ore prospect reserve ranking
The grade of rare earth ore is a key factor in judging whether it has economic value, and is an important indicator for evaluating the development potential of rare earth ore.
In addition to the monazite placer mines, the Prado rare earth mine in Brazil ranked 1st, the Steenkampskraal rare earth mine in South Africa ranked 2nd in grade, and the Pea Ridge rare earth mine in the United States and the Totor rare earth mine in Russia jointly ranked 3rd.
Although these rare earth ores have high grades, the prospective reserves are small, and the economic, cultural, transportation and other factors of the rare earth mines should also be considered.
Global rare earth ore grade ranking
In order to make the reserves comparable and identify the sites of development value, this study counted the rare earth ore sites with a grade of more than 1%.
China Baiyun Obo Mine still ranks first in the world in terms of reserves; The Niobec mine in Canada is ranked No. 2, but the rare earth reserves that have been disclosed are only valuations; Denmark (Greenland) Kvanefjeld rare earth ore reserves rank 3rd.
Global Ranking of Prospective Reserves of Rare Earth Ore (grades>1%)
- Analysis of rare earth sub-element reserves
After screening the world's major rare earth ore sites according to the ≥1% of the rare earth grade, the sieved ore points are ranked by element reserve.
Global Rare Earth Ore Prospect Reserve Ranking (by element, total rare earth grade≥1%)
Among the light rare earth elements (lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium), China Baiyun Obo Mine ranked No. 1, followed by Niobec Mine in Canada and Kvanefjeld Mine in Greenland.
In the ranking of medium and heavy rare earth elements, the China Baiyun Obo Mine ranks 1st in the reserves of samarium, europium, gadolinium and yttrium, and the Greenland Kvanefjeld Mine ranks 1st in the reserves of dysprosium, erbium, holmium, thulium and ytterbium. Medium and heavy rare earth reserves are also abundant at the Nechalacho Basal in Canada and the Mrima Hill Main mine in Kenya.
At present, the Niobec mine in Canada and the Nechalacho Basal mine and the Mrima Hill Main mine in Kenya are still in the early stages of geological exploration, and the reserve data will increase with the continuous deepening of geological surveys.
In the future, the global supply of light rare earth elements will still depend on China's Baiyun Obo Mine, and the supply of medium and heavy rare earth elements may be diversified.
Foreign rare earth resource development plan
At present, countries have begun to increase the exploration and development of their own rare earth resources, establish cooperation alliances with foreign countries, and seek diversified supply markets to ensure the security of the supply of their own rare earth resources.
The trend of overseas rare earth production from 1993 to 2025
- United States
The United States has abundant rare earth resources and mines that are being mined, but due to high demand, it still faces the problem of insufficient resource supply.
In 2023, the Round Top mine is expected to be commercialized, with an annual mining capacity of about 20,000 tons; In 2024, the Mountain Pass mine will start the second phase of the plan, with an annual mining capacity of 40,000 tons.
In addition, the geology departments of Australia and the United States recently signed a cooperation agreement to jointly explore and develop key minerals, including rare earths, and Linus Australia has also signed a related contract with the US Department of Defense.
- Australia
Australia is the world's second largest supplier of rare earth minerals and is mining Mount Weld, Dubbo Zirconium, Nolans and more.
In 2022, Mount Weld Mine plans to mine 26,500 tons of rare earth ore; in 2023, the Browns Range Mine and Yangibana Mine are put into operation, with an estimated annual mining capacity of 0.32 million tons and 0.89 million tons, respectively; In 2024, the Nolans mine will be put into operation, and the annual output is expected to reach 20,000 tons; In 2025, the Dubbo Zirconium mine is put into production and is expected to produce 0.12 million tons per year.
- Canada
Natural Resources Canada has published the country's list of critical minerals, which positions Canada as a major supplier of key minerals and materials, including rare earth elements.
Although Canada has not yet begun to develop rare earth resources, the Range Lake mine, Nechalacho mine, Foxtrot mine, etc. all have high rare earth grades and reserves, and the mining value is very large.
In the past 2 years, Canada has stepped up the development of rare earth mines and has been preparing for mining at the Nechalacho mine.
- Japan
Due to the lack of local rare earth resources, Japan needs all the rare earths needed by imports, and the current reserves of rare earths can meet the country's 50-year demand.
In addition, the Japanese government facilitated a $250 million loan from the Japan Oil and Gas Metals Corporation (JOGMEC) to The Australian Linus Company. The Bank of Japan Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is also investing in the mine.
During the period of difficulties in the operation of Linus, the Japanese government extended the loan term, lowered the interest rate of the loan, and ensured the normalization of the company's business.
At the same time, the company keeps its commitment to give priority to the supply of rare earth products to the Japanese market. Most of the praseodymium neodymium oxides currently purchased in Japan are supplied by the company, making it the company's largest buyer in the world.
- Europe
In 2020, the European Union initiated the establishment of the European Industrial Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA), with the intention of establishing a complete raw material supply chain in the EU, enhancing the "resilience of the EU in the supply chain of rare earth permanent magnet materials", reducing external dependence, and improving the ability of raw materials from mining to waste recycling.
By diversifying supply chains and enhancing the EU's own capacity for rare earth extraction, processing and recycling, the European rare earth supply chain is becoming more resilient and sustainable.
- Other countries or regions
At present, Russia is stepping up the development of rare earth resources, expecting to mine rare earth mines 0.7 million tons in 2025; The Hakkara rare earth mine in Burundi is expected to mine 0.5 million tons in 2022; the Lofdal rare earth mine in Namibia is expected to mine 0.15 million tons in 2024; the Tantalus rare earth mine in Madagascar is expected to mine 0.3 million tons in 2022; and India is expected to mine 0.5 million tons of rare earth ore in 2025.
In addition, Mongolia, Myanmar, Vietnam and other countries are also rich in rare earth resources. Mongolia has large reserves of rare earths, but due to inconsistencies between exploration norms and foreign countries, it has not been recognized by the international community. Myanmar is currently one of the most important suppliers of medium and heavy rare earth resources in the world, but because it is generally privately mined, detailed data is difficult to calculate.
Assessment of the development potential of foreign rare earth mines
At present, the most potential rare earth mines are mainly distributed in Russia, Denmark (Greenland), Australia, Canada and the United States. Among them, in addition to the greater development potential of rare earth mines in Canada, the number of mine sites is also large.
However, with the gradual development of foreign rare earth resources, China's advantages in rare earth resources are gradually weakening.
Therefore, it is of great significance to strengthen the exploration of Rare Earth resources in China, carry out resource exploration in deep and peripheral and unknown areas of known ore bodies, and grasp China's rare earth resource endowments, which is of great significance to the formulation of rare earth industry development strategies.
At present, there are a large number of rare earth mines with great development potential abroad, and China can jointly develop rare earth resources by strengthening cooperation, alleviating the supply pressure of China's rare earth resources and increasing the anti-risk ability of the rare earth supply chain.
In addition, by measuring the ecological environment loss cost and environmental pollution of the development of rare earth mines in various countries, the most suitable rare earth mines for development can be identified and the ecological and environmental problems caused by rare earth mining can be reduced.
Conclusion
In view of the current situation of global rare earth resources, the situation of rare earth supply and the development potential of overseas rare earth mines, this study makes suggestions for the future development of China's rare earth industry from the national level, enterprise level and research level:
1）
Relying on China's "Belt and Road" initiative, through the analysis of the mining investment environment of countries along the route, the target countries suitable for investment and cooperation of Chinese rare earth enterprises are selected, and the industrial layout is carried out in advance.
At the same time, combined with the technical advantages, talent advantages, industrial chain advantages, research and development advantages of China's rare earth industry, formulate foreign rare earth resources cooperation and trade strategies, improve the safeguard measures for national cooperation and investment, and provide policy support for Chinese enterprises to invest and cooperate abroad.
2）
Domestic rare earth enterprises should find their own positioning, combine advantages, on the basis of fully analyzing the investment environment of the target country, screen real and reliable high-quality projects, seek reliable international partners, intervene in the exploration and development stage they are good at, build on their strengths and avoid weaknesses, combine local characteristics, optimize the equity ratio, reduce investment risks, build an enterprise consortium, jointly operate international projects, and give full play to their respective advantages through cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win results.
Strictly abide by the relevant laws and policies of local mining investment, strengthen cooperation with local governments and enterprises, establish a good corporate image, and prevent possible political risks and corporate investment risks in advance to minimize risks.
At the same time, enterprises should strengthen the construction of talents, hire and cultivate outstanding talents according to their own conditions, strengthen core technology research and development, and establish an effective intellectual property protection system.
3）
In view of the long-standing problems of ecological environment pollution of rare earth mining and smelting, balanced utilization of light and heavy rare earths, green process technology for cleaner production, recovery process and strategy of rare earth products, comprehensive utilization of secondary resources, price system of rare earth products, value appreciation of rare earth industry chain, international trade strategy and policy guarantee of rare earth industry chain, corresponding research topics have been set up to support academic research work.
At the same time, we will accelerate the construction of rare earth industry databases, strengthen the application of information technology in the rare earth industry, and support big data analysis research and the development of related models and tools.
Increase investment in the research and development of key technologies for rare earth materials, make up for the shortcomings of China's lack of high-end applications of rare earths, support medium- and long-term coupling research on rare earth-energy-environment-economy based on the system perspective, and give play to the value and supporting role in the field of rare earth energy conservation and environmental protection.
Authors: Wang Lu, Wang Peng, Wang Yichu, Liu Ying, Zhang Biao, Chen Weiqiang
About author:Lu Wang, Associate Researcher, Ganjiang Innovation Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, research direction is key metal resources and environmental strategy; Wang Peng (Corresponding Author), Associate Professor, Ganjiang Innovation Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, research direction is modeling and analysis of metal-energy correlation systems; Chen Weiqiang (co-corresponding author), Researcher, Ganjiang Institute of Innovation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, research interests in environmental systems engineering, resource security and sustainable development strategy.
The full text of the paper was published in science and technology herald, No. 8, 2022, originally titled "Global Distribution and Development Potential Assessment of Rare Earth Resources"
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