Rare Earth Element Production: This chart shows a history of rare earth element production, in metric tons of rare earth oxide equivalent, between 1950 and 2022. It clearly shows the United States’ entry into the market in the mid-1960s when color television exploded demand. When China began selling rare earths at very low prices in the late 1980s and early 1990s, mines in the United States were forced to close because they could no longer make a profit. When China cut exports in 2010, rare earth prices skyrocketed. That motivated new production in the United States, Australia, Russia, Thailand, Malaysia, and other countries. In 2018 production data in Burma / Myanmar became available and boosted the “others” category. Prior to 2018, some production from Burma / Myanmar may have been unreported. Graph by Geology.com using data from United States Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries and other publications.
