Rare Earth Separation Plants and Projects
Facts checked against sources on . How we check facts.
Outside China, rare earth separation runs mainly at two sites. Lynas produced 13,089 tonnes of rare earth oxide in the year to 30 June 2026, including 7,260 tonnes of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) and 62 tonnes of dysprosium and terbium (the sum of its four quarterly figures), and MP Materials produced 840 tonnes of NdPr in the June 2026 quarter. New plants are being funded: the Department of War lent MP Materials $150 million in August 2025 for a heavy rare earth separation facility, and the EU's strategic project lists name 11 rare earth projects, from separation at Pulawy in Poland to magnet-grade processing at Silmet in Estonia.
13,089 t
of rare earth oxide produced by Lynas in the year to 30 June 2026, of which 7,260 t NdPr and 62 t dysprosium and terbium (summed from its quarterly reports)
840 t
of NdPr produced by MP Materials in the June 2026 quarter, up 41% on a year earlier
$150 million
Department of War loan to the Mountain Pass producer in August 2025 to build a heavy rare earth separation facility
11
rare earth projects on the EU strategic project lists, including separation, magnet recycling and mining
What separation capacity exists outside China?
The table sets the operating producers beside the funded plants that USGS records for 2025. The figures for output are from company reports, and the funding items are from USGS.
| Operator | What is recorded | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Lynas, Australia and Malaysia | Year to June 2026: 13,089 t total oxide, 7,260 t NdPr, 62 t dysprosium and terbium (19 t in the June quarter, against 8 t in the March quarter). A 10-year Malaysian operating license runs from 3 March 2026. | Lynas annual report; June 2026 quarterly report |
| MP Materials, Mountain Pass, California | June 2026 quarter: 840 t NdPr. In August 2025 the Department of War provided a $150 million direct loan to build a heavy rare earth separation facility. | MP Materials; USGS |
| Recyclers in Marion, Indiana and Houston, Texas | In 2025 the Department of War provided an $80 million loan to one recycler in Marion and awarded $5.1 million to another in Houston to recover rare earths including terbium and dysprosium. | USGS |
| A mine in Brazil producing ionic clay concentrates | Mixed concentrates with elevated terbium and dysprosium; in November 2025 the US International Development Finance Corporation approved a $465 million loan to increase heavy rare earth production. | USGS |
| An Australian producer, planned facility in Malaysia | In October 2025 it announced an intention to build a facility to separate heavy rare earths, including terbium, dysprosium and lutetium. | USGS |
Sources as shown. USGS does not name the recycler, Brazilian mine or Australian producer in these passages. Output figures are for one quarter and are not annual capacity. The US as a whole produced an estimated 8,900 t of rare earth compounds and metals in 2025, up from 120 t in 2021 (USGS), and a 2026 European Parliament study cited by BISI puts US separation capacity at about 15,000 t a year against demand of about 45,000 t.
Which rare earth projects has the EU designated?
| Project | Country | Promoter | Stage | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAREMAG | France | Caremag SAS | Processing | EU, March 2025 |
| LIFE22-ENV- IT-INSPIREE | Italy | Itelyum Regeneration SpA | Recycling | EU, March 2025 |
| MagFactory | France | MagREEsource | Recycling | EU, March 2025 |
| Pulawy Rare Earths Separation Plant | Poland | Mkango Resources Ltd. | Processing | EU, March 2025 |
| ReeMAP: Malmberget, Per Geijer and Lulea Industrial Park | Sweden | Luossavaara-Kirunavaara AB (LKAB) | Integrated | EU, March 2025 |
| BREES (Best Rare Earth Element Separation) | France | Rhodia Operations | Recycling | EU, October 2026 |
| HyProMag GmbH | Germany | HyProMag GmbH | Recycling | EU, October 2026 |
| Silmet 2.0 | Estonia | NPM Silmet OÜ | Processing | EU, October 2026 |
| Sokli | Finland | Sokli Oy | Extraction | EU, October 2026 |
| Songwe Hill Rare Earths | Malawi | Mkango Resources Limited | Extraction | Outside the EU, June 2025 |
| Zandkopsdrift | South Africa | Frontier Rare Earths Limited | Extraction | Outside the EU, June 2025 |
Source: annexes to Commission Decision C(2025) 1904, C(2026) 8051 and C(2025) 3491, tallied by this site. "Rare earths" means the "rare earth elements for magnets" named in the annexes. Songwe Hill (Malawi) and Zandkopsdrift (South Africa) are outside the EU. Every project is described by the Commission as ongoing.
Why is heavy rare earth separation the constraint?
Heavy rare earths are a small share of ore and almost all of their separation is in China. Lynas's 62 tonnes of dysprosium and terbium in the year to June 2026, against 7,260 tonnes of NdPr, shows the scale of the gap, and USGS records that China controlled exports of terbium, dysprosium and the other medium and heavy rare earths from April 2025. The rare earth separation page explains the process and the capacity, and the rare earth processing page covers what each step does.
Frequently asked questions
Where are rare earths separated outside China?
Mainly at Lynas's plants in Malaysia and Western Australia and at MP Materials' Mountain Pass site in California. Lynas produced 7,260 tonnes of NdPr in the year to June 2026 and MP Materials 840 tonnes in the June 2026 quarter.
Which new heavy rare earth separation plants are funded?
USGS records a $150 million Department of War loan for a heavy rare earth separation facility at Mountain Pass, an $80 million loan to a recycler in Indiana, a $465 million US International Development Finance Corporation loan approved for a Brazilian ionic clay producer and an Australian producer's plan for a Malaysian heavy rare earth facility.
Which EU strategic projects involve rare earths?
They include Caremag in France, Pulawy in Poland, Silmet 2.0 in Estonia, BREES in France, the Sokli mine in Finland and the ReeMAP project in Sweden, as well as magnet recycling projects such as HyProMag in Germany and MagFactory in France.
How much dysprosium and terbium is produced outside China?
Lynas, the only commercial producer of these elements outside China by its own account, made 62 tonnes of dysprosium and terbium in the year to June 2026, 19 tonnes of them in the June quarter. Adamas Intelligence says China produced over 99% of refined dysprosium and terbium in recent years.
Sources
Read on October 13, 2026. Figures on this page come from these documents; where a number is an estimate, the source says so.
- Lynas Rare Earths: 2026 Annual Report and Appendix 4E (26 August 2026). Lynas figures read on 14 October 2026
- Lynas Rare Earths: Quarterly report for the period ended 30 June 2026 (22 July 2026). Read on 14 October 2026
- MP Materials: second quarter 2026 results
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: rare earths and rare earths (heavy)
- Bloomsbury Intelligence and Security Institute: China's rare earth processing dominance
- Commission Decision C(2025) 1904, annex (25 March 2025)
- Commission Decision C(2026) 8051, annex (9 October 2026)
- Commission Decision C(2025) 3491, annex (4 June 2025)
