Assessing Rare Earth Purification Networks

While rare earth element deposits are geographically dispersed, processing and refining capacity is significantly more concentrated. Once extracted from mines, unrefined rare earths must undergo extensive multi-step purification and separation to isolate individual elements in their pure, usable forms. However, the specialised facilities required to transform raw ores into refined rare earth oxides and metals are expensive to build and operate. As technologies raise demand for individual rare earths, understanding where processing infrastructure is located and which nations control downstream capacity is paramount from a supply chain security perspective. By mapping locations of plants that separate, refine, and convert raw ores into cell-ready materials, SFA (Oxford) seeks to illustrate areas of concentration and potential bottlenecks. The strategic implications of both international dependence on certain refiners and future needs to expand downstream capacity are also explored. With supply chains now shaped as much by refinement geography as reserves, achieving diversification throughout this multi-step network.