Rare Earth Report

The Pentagon recently submitted a report to Congress on rare-earth materials in defense applications. The study looked at the seven most prevalent elements used by defense contractors: Dysprosium, Erbium, Europium, Gadolinium, Neodymium, Praseodymium and Yttrium, and states:

The assessment determined that by 2013, U.S. production could satisfy the level of consumption required to meet defense procurement needs, with the exception of yttrium (estimates based on model using 2010 data). Since 2010, both expected DOD demand, and, more significantly, actual U.S. commercial demand have decreased significantly. As importantly, the U.S. and global market has responded to market conditions with new investments, corporate restructuring, and technical advances. All are trending positive for a market capable of meeting future U.S. Government demand. It is anticipated the domestic supply of REEs and rare-earth-containing products will continue to grow between now and 2015, and it will be possible for manufacturers within the defense industrial base to obtain some rare-earth-containing products from reliable foreign sources of supply.