- Reuters
In race to regain rare earth glory, Europe falls short on mineral goals
LONDON (Reuters) -Four decades ago, a rare earth processing plant on France's Atlantic coast was one of the largest in the world, churning out materials used to make colour televisions, arc lights and camera lenses. Its current owner Solvay is racing to return the plant at La Rochelle to its former glory after years of diminished output as Europe seeks to boost production of the minerals fuelling the green energy transition. The factory's 76-year history is a microcosm of the challenges Europe and the United States face as they seek to reverse massive migration of rare earth processing to China that took place around 25 years ago.
- Reuters
Factbox-Companies forging a rare earths industry in the EU
In the rare earths sector, the EU will struggle to meet most of its ambitious goals in new legislation designed to boost domestic output of critical minerals and reduce dependence on China. Below are some key companies working on rare earths, with production figures in metric tons per year. Neodymium and praseodymium (referred to in the industry by their joint elemental abbreviation, NdPr) are key rare earths needed to make permanent magnets.
