Infographic: Visualizing 30 Years of Rare Earth Production, by Country

Key Takeaways

China’s share of rare earth oxide (REO) mine output climbed from around 47% (1994) to almost 70% (2024), cementing its dominance.
Global REO production more than doubled since 2018.

The global rare earths industry has transformed over the last three decades.

In the 1990s, the U.S. was still a major producer, anchored by the Mountain Pass mine in California. However, after a wastewater-related legal action in 1997 involving the mine, U.S. output collapsed, creating space for China to scale rapidly.

This visualization tracks those shifts in mine production from 1994 to 2024. The data comes from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

REO Mine Production	1994	2004	2014	2024
🇺🇸 United States	20,700	0	5,400	45,855
🇦🇺 Australia	3,300	0	8,000	13,000
🇧🇷 Brazil	400	0	0	20
🇨🇳 China	30,600	95,000	105,000	270,000
🇮🇳 India	2,500	2,700	0	2,900
🇲🇾 Malaysia	234	250	240	130
🇹🇭 Thailand	150	2,200	2,100	13,000
🇷🇺 Russia	6,000	0	2,500	2,500
🇳🇬 Nigeria	0	0	0	13,000
🇲🇬 Madagascar	0	0	0	2,000
🇻🇳 Vietnam	0	0	0	300
🇲🇲 Myanmar	0	0	0	36,125
🌍 Other countries	548	2,000	0	1,100
🌐 Total	64,500	102,000	123,000	399,930