It is forecast that the price of yttrium oxide be some **** U.S. dollars per kilogram in 2030. The yytrium oxide price was **** U.S. dollars per kilogram in 2020.

There are ** rare earth elements and although they are fairly abundant in the Earth's crust, often they occur at sparse intervals are are less economically exploitable.

This statistic depicts the prices of selected rare earth oxides from 2008 to 2013, in U.S. dollars per kilogram. In 2008, neodymium cost ** U.S. dollars per kilogram. Rare earth supply in the United States are largely dependent on imports, primarily from China. Rare earth elements today are commonly used in automobile catalysts and petroleum refining catalysts, televisions, magnets, batteries, and medical devices.

Rare earths

A rare earth element or metal includes the fifteen lanthanides as well as scandium and yttrium. These elements are quite common within the Earth’s crust, however, they tend to be widely distributed due to their properties. There was approximately *** million metric tons of rare earth reserves worldwide as of 2013, with ** million metric tons located in China alone. Rare earth oxides in particular are usually an opaque black or dark brown color and often streaked with brown. They are also often coated in an earthy surface alteration which is part of the mineral.

Rare earth metals are often used within the nuclear industry for practical and experimental applications. They can also be used for ceramics, dyes, lasers, and electric components. In 2011, ** percent of mined rare earth material was used in magnets and metal alloys each, catalysts accounted for another ** percent of the global application share. Molycorp, Inc of the United States and Iluka Resources Ltd, headquartered in Australia, are among the world’s largest rare earth companies, totaling *** million U.S. dollars and around two billion U.S. dollars, respectively, in market capitalization as of *************.

In 2023, approx. 13 kg of compounds of rare-earth metals, of yttrium or of scandium or mixtures of these metals were imported into Paraguay; rising by 18% against 2022.

In 2023, approx. 132 kg of compounds of rare-earth metals, of yttrium or of scandium or mixtures of these metals were imported into Ghana; surging by 371% against the year before.

In 2023, purchases abroad of compounds of rare-earth metals, of yttrium or of scandium or mixtures of these metals decreased by -58.5% to 27 kg, falling for the second year in a row after two years of growth.

In 2023, supplies from abroad of compounds of rare-earth metals, of yttrium or of scandium or mixtures of these metals decreased by -10.3% to 140 kg, falling for the second consecutive year after two years of growth.