# Yttrium: Extraction

Why southern China's clays are the richest source

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/yttrium/extraction/

Why southern China's clays are the richest source 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.

Yttrium behaves like a heavy rare earth and occurs with them. The richest commercial sources are ion-adsorption clays in southern China and Burma, which are leached rather than milled. Xenotime and monazite from heavy-mineral sands, carbonatites and uranium ores also carry yttrium. In bastnaesite, as at Mountain Pass in California, yttrium is only about 0.12% of the rare earths. Separating it needs long solvent-extraction circuits. Humphreys notes the southern Chinese clay deposits are small, low grade and fragmented (pdf p. 91). The US has no commercial separation plant.

Yttrium is a heavy rare earth that is mined with the other rare earths, never alone. The richest commercial sources are ion-adsorption clays in southern China and Burma, where rare earths are loosely held on clay and can be leached with salt solutions. Mineral sands give monazite with some yttrium and xenotime, an yttrium phosphate. After mining, separation into pure yttrium oxide by solvent extraction is the key step, and in 2025 China held almost all of it. New projects outside China, such as recovery from phosphogypsum in South Africa, aim to break that hold.

#### Methods compared

| Method | Share of supply | Typical scale | Recovery / efficiency | By-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Ion-adsorption clay leaching (southern China, Burma)** | most of world yttrium (USGS: China produced most and Burma a significant share in 2025) | Burma rare-earth output about 22,000 t REO in 2025e (all rare earths, USGS) | not published | dysprosium, terbium and other heavy rare earths | not published |
| **Heavy-mineral sands: monazite and xenotime** | minor; not published | India produced about 4,100 t of monazite a year (Lok Sabha reply, Dec 2023); xenotime is rarer | not published | titanium minerals, zircon, thorium residue | not published |
| **Solvent-extraction separation and refining** | China about 100% of processing (EU CRM 2023) | Chinese exports about 1,600 t Y2O3 equivalent in 2025 (USGS) | not published | all other separated rare earths | not published; oxide sold at $6-12/kg FOB China in 2021-2025 (Argus via USGS) |
| **Recovery from phosphogypsum and other wastes (projects)** | none yet | about 213 t/yr Y2O3 planned | not published | neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium | not published; at the low end of 2025 European prices yttrium could add about $30 million a year to EBITDA (company estimate) |

#### How each method works
**Ion-adsorption clay leaching (southern China, Burma)**

Weathered granite clays are leached in heaps or in place with ammonium sulphate or similar salt solutions, which swap rare-earth ions off the clay. The leach liquor is precipitated as a mixed carbonate rich in yttrium and other heavy rare earths, then sent for separation.

Cheap and rich in heavy rare earths, but in-situ leaching has caused serious water and soil pollution.
 USGS MCS 2026, Yttrium and Rare Earths **Heavy-mineral sands: monazite and xenotime**

Beach and river sands are mined for ilmenite, rutile and zircon; monazite and xenotime are separated magnetically and electrostatically. The concentrates are cracked with acid or alkali and the rare earths, including yttrium, are recovered after thorium removal.

Uses existing mineral-sand mines, but thorium makes monazite processing a licensed, radioactive operation.
 USGS MCS 2026; Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 1788 (13 Dec 2023) **Solvent-extraction separation and refining**

The mixed rare-earth solution passes through long cascades of mixer-settlers using organic extractants that each favour slightly different elements. Yttrium is pulled out as a pure fraction, precipitated and calcined to 99.999% oxide, or reduced to metal.

Mature in China; Western plants take years to build and qualify.
 EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026 **Recovery from phosphogypsum and other wastes (projects)**

Rainbow Rare Earths plans to leach rare earths from phosphogypsum stacks at Phalaborwa, South Africa, and make a mixed medium and heavy rare-earth product. The project expects about 213 t a year of yttrium oxide.

No new mining, but depends on Western yttrium prices staying high.
 Modern Mining (crown.co.za), 25 Nov 2025 Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs vary widely by deposit, region and year.

#### By-product supply

Yttrium has a companionality of about 35% (Nassar et al. 2015): it is often recovered with heavy rare earths from ion-adsorption clays, where it is a major part of the mix, but it is still mined only alongside other rare earths. Supply depends on Chinese mining and separation quotas, which were not published for 2025, and on Burmese clay output. A higher yttrium price outside China does not quickly raise supply because separation plants elsewhere are few.

#### Share produced as a by-product
 About 35% of primary supply comes as a by-product (Nassar, Graedel & Harper 2015, approximate).

#### Who does it: global

| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **China Rare Earth Group and other Chinese state rare-earth groups** China produced most of world yttrium in 2025, but MIIT did not publish 2025 quotas; company volumes not published. | China | ion-adsorption clay mining and heavy rare-earth separation | not published | 2025 | [USGS MCS 2026](https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/rare-earths-statistics-and-information) |
| **Burmese ion-adsorption clay miners (Kachin State)** Significant share of world yttrium; operators and volumes not published. Total Burmese rare-earth output about 22,000 t REO in 2025e. | Burma (Myanmar) | mixed heavy rare-earth carbonate, exported to China | not published | 2025 | [USGS MCS 2026](https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/rare-earths-statistics-and-information) |
| **Rainbow Rare Earths** | South Africa (UK-listed) | Phalaborwa phosphogypsum rare-earth project | 213 t/yr Y2O3 planned | 2025 (project estimate) | [Modern Mining (crown.co.za), 25 Nov 2025](https://www.crown.co.za/latest-news/modern-mining-latest-news/34908-surge-in-yttrium-pricing-materially-enhances-phalaborwa-economics) |
| **MP Materials** Yttrium is about 0.12% of rare earths in Mountain Pass ore and its output is not reported. | US | Mountain Pass bastnaesite mine; heavy rare-earth separation plant under construction | not published | 2025 | [USGS MCS 2026 ($150 million US Department of War loan for heavy-rare-earth separation, Aug 2025)](https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/rare-earths-statistics-and-information) |

#### Who does it: India

| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **IREL (India) Ltd** Yttrium output not published. IBM describes the Kerala plant as India's main yttrium source; India's total rare-earth output was about 2,900 t REO in 2025e. | India | mineral-sand mining, monazite processing at OSCOM, rare-earth refining at Aluva (Kerala) | not published | 2025 | [IBM Rare Earths 2022; USGS MCS 2026 (India rare-earth output 2,900 t REO in 2025e)](https://ibm.gov.in/writereaddata/files/17125771666613da8e2e6a6Rare_Earths_2022.pdf) |

India mines rare earths only through IREL, mostly from monazite, which is light-rare-earth rich and low in yttrium. India's total rare-earth output was 2,900 t REO in 2025e (USGS). In November 2025 the Cabinet approved a Rs 7,280 crore scheme for 6,000 t a year of rare-earth magnet capacity (IANS, Feb 2026), which will need separated rare earths but not much yttrium.

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/yttrium/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/yttrium/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/yttrium/correlation/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/yttrium/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/yttrium/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/yttrium/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/yttrium/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/yttrium/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/yttrium/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/yttrium/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/yttrium/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/yttrium/links/index.md)