Rare Earths: Reminder, Combined Brazilian and Vietnamese Resource Base Approximately Equals China's Proven and Probable Reserves

Mining the stuff is relatively straightforward. The huge difference is that Brazil and Vietnam do not have the refining and fabricating infrastructure that China does.

Here's a tidbit from the U.S. Geological Survey's Mineral Commodities Summaries 2023 [approved for publication January 31, 2023]:

Here's the US Geological Survey's Mineral Commodity Survey - Rare Earths - 2023:

                 Reserves
Brazil      21,000,000
China      44,000,000
Vietnam  22,000,000

[Data in metric tons of rare-earth-oxide (REO) equivalent content unless otherwise noted] 

We first posted the numbers, 2021 Survey, in March 2021's "Europe’s Rare Earth Dependency Dilemma".

The U.S.and the rest of the West  should stop pissing off Brazil and definitely should not piss off Vietnam.

If interested see also:

April 5, 2023
Uh Oh: "China Weighs Rare Earth Magnet Export Ban In Retaliation To Biden Chip Crackdown"

Mach 22, 2023
RAND: "The Time to Prevent Shortfalls in Critical Materials Is Now" (TSLA)

Mr. Musk is working very hard to remove rare earths—just as he did with cobalt—from electric vehicles. Unfortunately many other industries including defense/aerospace haven't yet figured out that being beholden to China is downright dangerous. 

Another 2023 post on rare earths, this one January 14:

"Huge rare earth metals discovery in Arctic Sweden"

They aren't that rare. Just hard to find in the right proportions of the different rare earth elements. And in concentrations high enough to make extraction a paying proposition.

And requiring some technical expertise to fabricate into end products. It's not as if there are neodymium magnets just laying around...