How Terbium Is Mined and Processed
Facts checked against sources on . How we check facts.
Terbium is a heavy rare earth element and the most valuable of the itemised rare earths, with an oxide price of $1,010 per kilogram in 2025. USGS reports production only for all rare earths combined: in 2025 China produced an estimated 270,000 t of rare earth oxide equivalent, 69% of the world total (USGS world total: 390,000 t).
390,000 t
estimated world production of all rare earths combined in 2025
$1,010/kg
terbium oxide, 99.99% minimum, average in 2025 (+24% on 2024)
Which countries produce terbium?
| Country | 2024 | 2025 (estimate) | Share of 2025 world | Reserves (t) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 270,000 | 270,000 | 69% | 44,000,000 |
| United States | 45,500 | 51,000 | 13% | 1,900,000 |
| Australia | 29,000 | 29,000 | 7.4% | 6,300,000 |
| Burma | 27,000 | 22,000 | 5.6% | NA |
| All other countries | 12,500 | 17,310 | 4.4% | NA |
| World total (USGS, rounded) | 380,000 | 390,000 | 100% | >75,000,000 |
Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Rare earths. Shares are calculated from the country figures and can differ by a point or two from percentages USGS states in its text, because USGS rounds its figures. NA means not available; Withheld means USGS withheld the figure to avoid disclosing company data. USGS reports mine production only for all rare earths combined (as rare earth oxide equivalent), not for individual elements.
How is terbium mined and processed?
- USGS reports terbium only within the rare earths as a group. Bastnaesite is mined as the primary rare earth source at Mountain Pass, California, and monazite is produced from heavy-mineral-sand concentrates in the southeastern United States.
- Heavy rare earths are less abundant than light rare earths but are elevated in some ores, including ion-adsorption clays; a mine in Brazil produced mixed concentrates from ionic clays with elevated terbium and dysprosium.
- At least five US companies were developing commercial-scale heavy rare earth processing and refining capacity in 2025, and several produced small-scale quantities of heavy rare earth compounds and metals, but none produced sustained commercial-scale quantities.
- All the terbium compounds and metals the United States imported in 2021 to 2024 came from China, according to shipping records cited by USGS.
Frequently asked questions
Which country produces the most terbium?
USGS does not report terbium separately; China produced the most rare earths of any country in 2025, an estimated 270,000 t (69%) of the world's 390,000 t of rare earth oxide equivalent.
What is terbium used for?
Terbium is used in high-strength magnets, fluorescent lamps and other heavy rare earth uses. High-strength magnets: among the heavy rare earth uses USGS lists.
Is terbium a critical mineral?
Yes. Terbium is on all four official critical minerals lists: the US, EU, Australian and Canadian. Terbium was already on the 2022 US list and stays on the final 2025 list of 60 minerals. US net import reliance for terbium in 2025 was 100% for heavy rare earth compounds and metals.
Can terbium be recycled?
Small quantities of heavy rare earths were recovered from permanent magnets.
Sources
Read on October 13, 2026. Figures on this page come from these documents; where a number is an estimate, the source says so.
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rare earths. Production, reserves, uses, substitutes, recycling and events
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rare earths (heavy)
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: introduction (Table 7 and Figures 10A and 10B). Net import reliance, leading producer and price changes for critical minerals
- Lynas Rare Earths: 2026 Annual Report and Appendix 4E (26 August 2026). Company statements on its heavy rare earth products and plans
- Iluka Resources: 2026 Half Year Results presentation (19 August 2026). Company statements on the Eneabba refinery design
- USGS Fact Sheet 087-02: Rare Earth Elements, Critical Resources for High Technology (2002). Used for the uses of individual elements; it dates from 2002
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1252, Annex I. Lists neodymium, praseodymium, terbium, dysprosium, gadolinium, samarium and cerium as rare earths for permanent magnets
- Federal Register: Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2024/1252
- Department of Industry, Science and Resources: Australia’s Critical Minerals List and Strategic Materials List
- Government of Canada: Canada’s critical minerals
- EarthRarest price list. Dealer list price, read October 14, 2026; our sister business
- Energy Fuels, Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026
- Neo Performance Materials: heavy rare earth line commissioned at Silmet (10 April 2026)
- Solvay: roadshow presentation after first-quarter 2026 results
- MP Materials, Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026
- Aclara Resources: release on the Carina and Project Dynamo technical reports (13 April 2026)
- NioCorp: Elk Creek project page (2026 technical report of 10 August 2026)
- China Northern Rare Earth: 2025 annual report, in Chinese (17 April 2026)
- China Rare Earth Group Resource Technology: 2025 annual report, in Chinese (April 2026)
- Xiamen Tungsten: 2025 annual report, in Chinese (24 April 2026)
Related topics
Terbium: full profile
Uses, producers, price, substitutes and critical list status for terbium.
Terbium price
The price page for terbium.
Terbium substitutes
The substitutes page for terbium.
Terbium supply chain and top producers
The supply chain page for terbium.
China profile
Production, policy and projects in China.
Critical Minerals Lists Compared
The US, EU, Australian and Canadian lists side by side.
