China Rare Earth Raw Material Import 2023
28 01 24 13:39
Imports of rare earth raw materials increased nearly 40% to 217,071 t, the import value increased 30% to US$2.23 billion.
2023 imports by item and percent change year-on-year:
China’s 2023 imports of heavy mineral sands (HMS) increased 17% to 5.5 mio t, value up 3% to US$2.9 billion. HMS contain some monazite. Our conservative estimate is, that China’’s 2023 HMS import quantity could contain ca. 40,000 t TREO.
2023 imports by item and percent change year-on-year:
Bastnaesite
66,364 t, down 13.5%, value US$291.5 million, down 48%.
Except for minor quantities from DR Congo, Laos and Malaysia, all of the bastnaesite imports are from MP Materials, USA (share 99.83%) - you can guess, that this affects MP substantially.Monazite
47,717 t, up 4%, value US$163.7 million, down 24%
The three largest origins are Madagascar (55%), Nigeria (25%) and Thailand (13%).Mixed rare earth oxides
43,906 t, up 208%, value US$1.32 billion , up 92%.
The largest origin is Myanmar (95%), followed by Malaysia (2.6%) and Laos (1.3%).Mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC)
15,125 t, up 850%, value US$105.4 million, up 566%.
The top 3 origins are Malaysia (55%), Laos (38%) and USA (3.2%).Other compounds of rare earth metals
43,960 t, up 155%, value US$354 million, up 53%.
The largest origins are Myanmar (69%), Malaysia (16%) and Laos (12%).
Heavy Mineral Sands
China’s 2023 imports of heavy mineral sands (HMS) increased 17% to 5.5 mio t, value up 3% to US$2.9 billion. HMS contain some monazite. Our conservative estimate is, that China’’s 2023 HMS import quantity could contain ca. 40,000 t TREO.
