Scandium: Extraction
Why a not-so-rare element has no mine of its own
What this tab covers How it is mined, drilled or grown, and processed into a tradeable form: the main methods compared, their unit economics, by-products, and the companies that do this work globally and in India.Scandium is not especially rare in the crust, but it seldom concentrates. No mine produces it as the main product. It is recovered from nickel and titanium process streams and from old tailings and residues. In the Philippines, a nickel operation makes scandium oxalate, which Japan refines into oxide. In Quebec, scandium oxide is recovered at Sorel-Tracy from titanium processing. China, the leading producer, recovers it from by-product streams and residues. Mine projects are advancing at Nyngan in Australia and Elk Creek in Nebraska.
Scandium is common in the crust but rarely concentrated, so it is produced almost only as a by-product. The main routes are recovery from titanium dioxide pigment wastes, from nickel laterite processed by high-pressure acid leaching, and from old tailings and residues, mostly in China. A few primary scandium projects in Australia and the US aim to mine it as a main product but none produced at scale in 2025. Total world production was about 80 t of oxide in 2025, so a single 3-9 t plant is a large share of supply.
Methods compared
| Method | Share of supply | Typical scale | Recovery / efficiency | By-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recovery from titanium dioxide production wastes | a large share of world output (China leading); share not published | Rio Tinto: 3 t/yr at start in 2021-22, expanding to 9 t/yr | not published | scandium is the by-product; titanium dioxide slag and pigment are main products | not published; Rio Tinto's first plant cost about $6 million (Mining.com 2021) |
| Recovery from nickel laterite high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) | second main source; share not published | pilot target 10 kg/month in 2014; current commercial volume not published | not published | nickel and cobalt (main products) | not published |
| Reprocessing of tailings and residues | part of Chinese output; not published | not published | not published | depends on residue | not published |
| Primary scandium mining projects (laterite and polymetallic) | none yet (2025) | not published | not published | niobium and titanium at Elk Creek | not published |
How each method works
Recovery from titanium dioxide production wastesTitanium slag and pigment processes leave acidic waste streams that carry scandium. These are treated by solvent extraction and precipitation to make high-purity oxide. Rio Tinto does this at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, from Lac Tio ilmenite processing, and much Chinese output comes from titanium pigment waste.
No extra mining needed, but output is capped by the host plant's throughput.
USGS MCS 2026; Rio Tinto release (Nov 2025); Mining.com (2021) Recovery from nickel laterite high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL)At Coral Bay Nickel in the Philippines, Sumitomo Metal Mining recovers scandium from the HPAL leach solution after nickel and cobalt are removed. A scandium oxalate intermediate is shipped to Japan and refined into oxide. Japan supplied 89% of US scandium oxide imports in 2021-24.
Stable host operation; output limited by nickel plant feed.
Sumitomo Metal Mining letter (March 2013); USGS MCS 2026 Reprocessing of tailings and residuesPreviously processed tailings and residues from rare-earth, uranium and other operations are re-leached to recover scandium. USGS also reports a US award to separate and purify scandium from existing industrial waste at demonstration scale.
Uses waste already above ground; feed grades are low and variable.
USGS MCS 2026 Primary scandium mining projects (laterite and polymetallic)Projects such as Nyngan in New South Wales (mining licence granted October 2025) and the Elk Creek niobium-scandium-titanium project in Nebraska plan to mine ore for scandium as a main or co-product, then leach and refine on site.
Could scale supply independently of hosts, but only if long-term offtakes justify the capital.
USGS MCS 2026 Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs vary widely by deposit, region and year.By-product supply
Companionality is about 95%: scandium comes from titanium, nickel and uranium processing (Nassar et al. 2015). Output is set by those host plants and by whether they install recovery circuits. Capacity (over 90 t/yr) already exceeds use (about 60 t in 2025), yet buyers hesitate because supply is concentrated in China and a few plants; producers hesitate because demand is thin. This chicken-and-egg problem, not geology, limits supply.
Share produced as a by-product
About 95% of primary supply comes as a by-product of titanium, uranium, nickel (Nassar, Graedel & Harper 2015, approximate).Who does it: global
| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Tinto (Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium) Canada Growth Fund invests about C$25 million; US Defense Logistics Agency plans to buy more than 6,000 kg for the National Defense Stockpile over 5 years (USGS). | Canada | scandium oxide from titanium dioxide waste streams, Sorel-Tracy, Quebec | 3 t/yr Sc2O3 initial capacity (expansion to 9 t/yr nameplate announced) | 2021-2025 | Mining.com (2021); Rio Tinto release (1 Nov 2025) |
| Sumitomo Metal Mining Commercial volume not published; pilot target was 10 kg/month in 2014. | Japan/Philippines | scandium from HPAL nickel at Coral Bay, refined to oxide in Japan | not published | 2025 | Sumitomo Metal Mining letter (2013); USGS MCS 2026 |
| Chinese titanium-pigment and residue processors China is the leading producer; producer names and volumes not published. EU CRM 2023 put China at 67% of world processing. | China | scandium oxide from titanium and other process streams | not published | 2025 | USGS MCS 2026 |
| NioCorp Developments Development project; no production in 2025. | US | Elk Creek niobium-scandium-titanium project, Nebraska | not published | 2025 | USGS MCS 2026 (award of $10 million from the US Department of War for an Elk Creek mine-to-master-alloy chain) |
Who does it: India
India has no commercial scandium production and no published scandium reserves. India's rare-earth imports (which include scandium and yttrium) were 471 t in 2020-21, 94% from China (IBM Rare Earths 2022). Bauxite residue (red mud) and titanium streams are possible future sources, but no plant was operating in 2025.