American rare earth dominance ends only recently

Kidela.com reports that the United States was the world’s leading producer of rare earths as recently as 1995.

The editorial is quoted as saying:

Until 1948, most of the world’s rare earths were mined in India and Brazil. In the 1950s, South Africa assumed the status of world’s leading rare earth source, but a single mine in the United States eventually overtook South Africa’s production output. From the late 1950s, into the mid-1980s the Mountain Pass rare earth mine in California was the world’s leading producer of REEs. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Mountain Pass mine produced more than 70 percent of the world’s supply of these valuable minerals. At the peak of its operations, the mine produced 20,000 tonnes of rare earth oxides a year. However, during the mid-90’s commodity prices bottomed out and the mine found it increasingly difficult to compete with cheaper Chinese imported rare earths. Whether focusing on REEs was a deliberate and clever trade strategy or a happy accident, China now had firm control of the world supply of REEs. And while demand remained stable and China exported its REEs at low price points, the US became complacent.
Remaining REE stockpiles around the country were sold off and the US as a whole let the REE market completely get away from them.

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