Rare Earths

Praseodymium

A light rare earth usually produced and traded jointly with neodymium as NdPr oxide.

PrStrategic score 86US Critical MineralEU Critical Raw Material

Price

$66 / USD/kg NdPr oxide

Price change

7.5%

Producing assets

Technologies

Context

Why it matters

Praseodymium substitutes for neodymium in the magnet lattice and shares its demand drivers almost exactly.

Profile

Applications: NdFeB permanent magnets, Aircraft alloys, Glass colouring, Fibre optic amplifiers
Supply risk: High, and structurally linked to neodymium supply.
Geopolitics: Same separation bottleneck as neodymium; almost always co-produced.
Substitutes: Interchangeable with neodymium within limits in magnet formulations.
Recycling: Low, tied to magnet recycling economics.
Sustainability: Shares the separation waste profile of the light rare earth group.
Forecast: Tracks NdPr demand growth; rarely traded independently.

Methodology

Version v0.1

Demand Outlook: 88 (weight 1.2) — Projected demand growth relative to the broader mineral economy over the next decade.
Supply Risk: 89 (weight 1.2) — Likelihood of supply falling short of demand, accounting for project pipeline and lead times.
Geographic Concentration: 96 (weight 1) — How concentrated mining and processing are across countries and companies.
Geopolitical Risk: 91 (weight 1) — Exposure to export controls, sanctions and jurisdictional instability.
Technology Importance: 88 (weight 1.1) — How central the mineral is to strategically important technologies.
Strategic Importance: 87 (weight 1) — Recognition in national critical mineral lists and defence supply chains.
Substitutability: 84 (weight 0.8) — How readily the mineral can be replaced without material performance loss. Higher is harder to substitute.
Recycling Potential: 77 (weight 0.7) — Ability of secondary supply to relieve primary demand. Higher means less relief available.

Assets

The largest rare earth deposit in the world, mined alongside iron ore.

The largest rare earth separation facility outside China.

One of the highest-grade rare earth deposits in the world, feeding Lynas separation capacity.

The only operating rare earth mine in the United States and the anchor of domestic magnet ambitions.

Materials

A light rare earth element and the backbone of high-performance NdFeB permanent magnets.

A heavy rare earth added to magnets to preserve performance at high operating temperatures.

A scarce heavy rare earth used in high-temperature magnets and phosphors.