The Top Companies Behind the Rare Earth Industry
Rare earth metals are critical to many green energy technologies, including the development of electric vehicles. And for decades, China has played a dominant role in mining, processing and producing them at scale. Beijing has also begun restricting access to them, for trade and diplomatic reasons. The world is now taking note, and looking for alternatives.
are earth elements consist of a group of 17 metals that are crucial to the development of modern technology and strategic industries, including defense, aerospace, electronics and electric vehicles. China dominates the market, controlling about 40 percent of the world’s rare earth mines and nearly 70 percent of global production, especially in heavy rare earths. This dominance has allowed China to exert significant trade and diplomatic leverage, raising concerns worldwide. To counter China’s influence, the U.S. and other major economies are now seeking to develop alternative sources and to build supply chain resilience. These efforts aim to mitigate geopolitical risks and ensure a stable supply of these essential materials. As nations diversify their rare earth supplies, the global landscape is set to evolve, reshaping high-tech and strategic industries. Below is a list of some of China’s biggest rare earth firms.
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1. China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-Tech Company Limited
- Registered location: Inner Mongolia
- Registered capital: CN¥3.62B
- Year incorporated: 1997
- China Northern Rare Earth Group High-Tech ("Northern Rare Earth") is a manufacturer and distributor of refined rare earth products, deep-processed rare earth products and advanced rare earth materials. Northern Rare Earth has built the world's largest production base for rare earth raw materials and a manufacturing base for rare earth functional materials. Northern Rare Earth's products include earth salts, rare earth magnetic metals, rare earth application products such as materials for power batteries and LED lamp beads. The company mines at the Baiyun Obo rare earths field which is controlled by Baotou Iron and Steel Group. China North Rare Earth was built on Baotou Steel 8861 Rare Earth Experimental Plant, which was established in 1961.
- Registered location: Ganzhou
- Registered capital: CN¥100M
- Year incorporated: 2021
- China Rare Earth Group was established in 2021 as part of China's push to consolidate the country’s rare earths industry. The company was formed by merging rare earths assets from three major mining conglomerates and two research and technology-oriented metallurgical organizations, namely China Minmetals Corp ("中国五矿集团"), Aluminum Corp of China ("中国铝业集团"), Ganzhou Rare Earth Group ("赣州稀土集团"), China Iron & Steel Research Institute Group ("中国钢研科技集团"), as well as China GRINM Group Corp ("有研科技集团"). Through a series of subsequent mergers and acquisitions, China Rare Earth Group now directly owns two publicly-listed companies dedicated to rare earths development: China Rare Earth Resources and Technology ("中国稀土", 000831.SZ) and Rising Nonferrous Metals Share ("广晟有色", 600259.SH). The company is primarily engaged in the development of rare earth resources, smelting and separation, deep processing, and the import and export of rare earth products. The Group has developed an extensive reach through the entire rare earth industrial chain, including scientific research and development, exploration and mining, smelting and separation, deep processing, comprehensive utilization of renewable resources, and advanced materials research and manufacturing.
3. Guangdong Rare Earth Industry Group Company Limited
- Registered location: Guangdong
- Registered capital: CN¥1B
- Year incorporated: 2014
- Guangdong Rare Earth Industry Group specializes in the investment, research and development, operation and trading of rare earth products, rare metals and other non-ferrous metal mining, smelting and new materials. The company was previously an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Guangdong Rising Holdings Group Co., Ltd. before being transferred to China Rare Earth Group Co., Ltd. in January 2024 as part of China's broader push to consolidate the rare earths industry. After this transaction, the de facto controller of the company changed from the Guangdong provincial government to the China Rare Earth Group.
4. Xiamen Tungsten Corporation
- Registered location: Xiamen
- Registered capital: CN¥1.42B
- Year incorporated: 1997
- Xiamen Tungsten is among China's top rare earth conglomerates. The company also manufactures battery materials and smelts, processes and distributes metal products. In February 2020, the company was referenced in a US federal case against TAN Hongjin, a former scientist of Phillips 66, a US petroleum company. Tan was sentenced in February 2020 to 24 months in federal prison for theft of proprietary information from Phillips. In October 2018, Tan allegedly received a job offer from Xiamen Tungsten to provide the company with "talent," according to the complaint filed by the US Department of Justice. Tan allegedly stole information related to Phillips' battery technology used in melting metal. Xiamen Tungsten was not charged in the matter, though a US Department of Justice official noted that, "This investigation and prosecution uncovered another instance of China's persistent attempts to steal American intellectual property."
5. Shenghe Resources Holding Company Limited
- Registered location: PRC
- Registered capital: CN¥1.75B
- Year incorporated: 1998
- Shenghe Resources Holding is a global producer and supplier of rare earths (REs) and related products, including concentrates, compounds, metals, metallurgical materials, and titanium concentrate. It has operations in the U.S., Southeast Asia, Greenland, Tanzania, and Australia. In mainland China, the company’s major production sites are located in Sichuan and Jiangxi Province. Shenghe's overseas assets include an 7.7 percent holdings in MP Materials Corp (MP.NYSE), a 90 percent stake in Vietnam Rare Earth Co., Ltd. and a 9.4 percent stake in Greenland Minerals Limited (ASX:GGG).
6. Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Union Company Limited
- Registered location: Inner Mongolia
- Registered capital: CN¥45.4B
- Year incorporated: 1999
- Baotou Steel Union is engaged in the production and sale of steel products and rare earth concentrates. Its subsidiary - Baoshan Mining - is among the world's largest rare earth production bases. The company's main products include thin board, rolled board, heavy axles, large-scale trough steel, heavy-caliber seamless tubes, and club materials. The company was established in 1954 and based in Baotou, Inner Mongolia.
7. Rising Nonferrous Metals Share Co., Ltd.
- Registered location: Hainan
- Reg cap: CN¥336.44M
- Year incorporated: 1993
- Rising Nonferrous Metals Share is a state-controlled enterprise engaged in nonferrous metals mining, processing, logistics, finance, trade, and resource exploration. The company holds all of its rare earth mining licenses in Guangdong Province. It owns three rare earths mining companies, four rare earths separation firms, five rare earths application companies and one trading firm. It controls more than 120,000 tons of medium and heavy rare earth resources. The company has a complete rare earths industrial chain of mining, which includes smelting and separation, deep processing and import and export operations.
8. China Southern Rare Earth Group Company Limited
- Registered location: Ganzhou
- Registered capital: CN¥752.85M
- Year incorporated: 2015
- China Southern Rare Earth Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Rare Earth Group Co., Ltd. The company mainly focuses on the development of rare earth resources in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province (mainly medium and heavy rare earths), integrating raw ore mining, smelting separation, comprehensive recycling, intensive processing, research and development and technical services.
9. GRINM Advanced Materials Company Limited
- Registered location: Beijing
- Registered capital: CN¥846.55M
- Year incorporated: 1999
- GRINM Advanced Materials specializes in the research, development and production of new materials such as rare earth materials, thin film materials for micro-optoelectronics, biomedical materials, rare and precious metals, infrared optics and optoelectronic materials. It is a backbone enterprise in China's nonferrous metal new materials industry.
10. Hengdian Group DMEGC Magnetics Company Limited
- Registered location: Zhejiang
- Registered capital: CN¥1.63B
- Year incorporated: 1999
- DMEGC is the world's largest ferrite permanent magnet and soft magnetic materials manufacturer. The firm produces a wide range of magnetic materials, as well as photovoltaic and lithium battery products. DMEGC is also a major solar manufacturer in China with 500MW wafers, 1.6GW solar cells and 900 MW solar modules. DMEGC is a supplier to Brose, Panasonic, Cooper, Nidec and Tesla.
The following graphic presents a list of the key companies at each step of the rare earth industry—from mining and extraction to end use and recycling—with a special focus on China’s footprint.
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