Critical Minerals Companies
Facts checked against sources on . How we check facts.
Critical minerals companies fall into six groups along the supply chain: miners, refiners and processors, magnet makers, battery material makers, semiconductor material producers and recyclers. The groups differ in concentration. Hunan Yuneng alone shipped 1.14 million tonnes of the world's 4.95 million tonnes of cathode material in 2025, while Lynas is the only commercial producer of both light and heavy rare earth oxides outside China by its own account, and many mining and recycling projects have yet to report output.
13,089 t
rare earth oxide produced by Lynas in the year to 30 June 2026, including 7,260 t of NdPr
Source: Lynas 2026 Annual Report
2,000 t
a year of first-phase magnet capacity at Neo Performance Materials' Estonian plant
Source: Fastmarkets, September 2026
What are the company categories?
The table lists each category, what it does and examples that the sources used by this site document, with the page that profiles it. The examples are not a ranking or a recommendation.
| Category | What they do | Documented examples | Read more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miners | Extract ore and produce concentrates | Codelco and SQM formed the Nova Andino Litio joint venture for the Atacama salt flat in December 2025 (Codelco); MP Materials mines Mountain Pass, California, where bastnaesite is the primary source of the 51,000 t of rare earth oxide in concentrates the US produced in 2025 | Miners |
| Refiners and processors | Turn concentrates into oxides, chemicals and metals | Lynas and MP Materials separate rare earths; Energy Fuels and Iluka are developing capacity (Lynas) | Refiners and processors, rare earth separation |
| Magnet makers | Make permanent magnets from oxides and alloys | Neo Performance Materials, eVAC, MP Materials, Vulcan Elements and Noveon outside China (Fastmarkets) | Magnet makers |
| Battery material makers | Make cathode, anode and electrolyte materials | Hunan Yuneng and Hubei Wanrun in cathodes; Shanshan and BTR in anodes (SNE Research) | Battery materials |
| Semiconductor material producers | Produce gallium, germanium, indium and related materials | Alcoa and Sojitz's planned gallium recovery project in Western Australia, which the Minerals Council of Australia says will deliver around 10% of world gallium | Semiconductor materials |
| Recyclers | Recover metals from scrap and end-of-life products | HyProMag, Cyclic Materials, Noveon, ReElement Technologies and Proterial in magnets (SMM) | Recyclers |
How concentrated is each stage?
Concentration rises from mining towards manufacturing. China produced 69% of world rare earth oxide in 2025 but is estimated to hold about 90% of processing and magnet fabrication capacity, and Chinese companies supplied more than 94% of electric vehicle anode material. The pages on the supply chain and manufacturing chokepoints show the figures.
What should a reader check in company news?
- Output or capacity. Nameplate capacity and targets are not production. Lynas reports quarterly output; many plants announce only capacity.
- Binding or not. A memorandum of understanding or a letter of intent is not an offtake agreement. See offtake agreements.
- Government support. Loans, equity and price floors, such as the $110 per kilogram NdPr floor, change a company's risk and are announced separately from operations.
- Source. A company's own filing is stronger than a press report of the filing. The pages on this site say which one they used.
This site publishes information, not investment advice, and the company mentions here are not recommendations.
Frequently asked questions
What types of companies are in the critical minerals supply chain?
The critical minerals supply chain includes miners, refiners and processors, magnet makers, battery material makers, semiconductor material producers and recyclers. Concentration is highest at the refining and manufacturing stages.
Who is the largest cathode material producer?
Hunan Yuneng was the largest cathode material producer in 2025, shipping 1.14 million tonnes of the world's 4.95 million tonnes according to SNE Research.
Which companies produce rare earths outside China?
Lynas Rare Earths and MP Materials are the main producers of separated rare earths outside China. Lynas produced 7,260 tonnes of NdPr in the year to June 2026 and MP Materials 840 tonnes in the June 2026 quarter.
How do I tell whether a company announcement is firm?
Check whether it reports output or only capacity, whether an agreement is binding or a memorandum of understanding, and whether the figure comes from a company filing or a press report. Capacity targets and letters of intent can change.
Sources
Read on October 13, 2026. Figures on this page come from these documents; where a number is an estimate, the source says so.
- SNE Research: LFP dominates cathode market with 72% share in 2025 (June 2026)
- Lynas Rare Earths: 2026 Annual Report and Appendix 4E (26 August 2026)
- MP Materials: Second quarter 2026 results
- Fastmarkets: Neo begins commercial shipments from Estonia rare earth magnet plant (17 September 2026)
- Codelco: Codelco and SQM form NovaAndino Litio
- SMM: Global rare earth recycling surges (31 August 2026)
- Minerals Council of Australia: US-Australia framework (October 2025)
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rare earths
