|
| Location | Primarily in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, with Meteoric's Caldeira project and Verde AgriTech's discoveries among the most prominent. |
Mountain Pass
, California, is the only active rare-earth mine in the United States.
|
| Geology | Ionic adsorption clay deposits, which are softer and easier to mine and process than hard-rock deposits. | Carbonatite hard-rock deposit, with a more complex mining process than ionic clays.
|
| Ore Grade (TREO) | Reported at thousands of parts per million (ppm), with
Meteoric's Caldeira
resource at 2,413 ppm and Verde AgriTech's samples averaging 3,532 ppm.
| Exceptionally high ore grade for a hard-rock deposit, averaging 6% (60,000 ppm) total rare-earth oxides (TREO). |
| High-Value Rare Earths | Notable for their enrichment in magnetic rare-earth oxides (MREO), including heavy rare earths like dysprosium and terbium. | Primarily a source of light rare-earth elements (LREEs) such as neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr). |
| Tonnage and Scale |
Meteoric's Caldeira
is the world's largest ionic clay deposit by tonnage, with a resource of 1.1 billion tonnes.
|
Mountain Pass
has a significant resource base, estimated at 1.9 million metric tons of contained rare-earth oxides. |
| Processing and Supply Chain | Brazil is building a domestic processing and magnet manufacturing supply chain, with support from miners and tech companies. |
MP Materials
is a fully integrated rare-earth producer with capabilities from mining and processing to magnet manufacturing. |
| Strategic Importance | Represents an emerging and potentially significant alternative source for rare earths outside of China. | A cornerstone of the United States' strategy to restore its rare-earth supply chain dominance and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers. |
