Margins of the North Atlantic Craton: the world’s most prospective zone for the critical rare earth elements?

Seven years after the “rare earth element crisis” of 2009, the rare earth elements (REE) remain among the most critical of metals, with supply concentrated in China. Despite intense global exploration efforts, it has proved difficult for mining projects outside China to successfully commence production of the REE, due to a complex set of financial, environmental and technical concerns. REE prices have fallen, but demand remains strong – part icularly for the most critical REE used in high- strength magnets that are essential to modern technology and green energy applications, notably Nd, Dy and Pr. Phosphors also represent an important market, using Eu, Y and Tb.