A number of rare earth projects in remote areas such as Greenland, Australia and Africa are gaining investor attention amid escalating trade tensions between China and the United States.
Australia's Lynas, the largest producer of rare earth metals outside of China, is the main beneficiary of international interest in non-Chinese supplies.
In January-March, Lynas produced 5,444 tonnes of mixed rare earth oxide, far more than all other non-Chinese projects combined.
Several promising development projects need to be financed to establish production and provide long-term alternative supplies of rare earths outside of China.
Chief among them is the Kvanefjeld project in Greenland, developed by Greenland Minerals & Energy in collaboration with Chinese partner Shenghe Resources. With an ore reserve of 108 million tonnes, Kvanefjeld is expected to become one of the world's largest producers of metals such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium.
Several companies are actively involved in promoting rare earth projects in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. The most famous of these are: Northern Minerals, developing the Range of Browns project; Arafura Resources - with the Nolans project; and Hastings Technology Metals - with the Yangibana project.
So far, none of these projects have received the necessary funding for the construction of commercial facilities, although pilot installations have been created and the necessary permits have been obtained.
Across the Indian Ocean, Peak Resources is promoting its Ngualla project in Tanzania. The Longfjo Rift Valley Resources project in Angola and two projects in South Africa and Namibia are at a much less advanced stage of development.
