REE, Critical Metals Demand Surging as Western Nations Race to Secure Alternatives

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MiningNewsWire Editorial Coverage : Rare earth elements sit quietly inside electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, data centers, advanced defense systems — and much more. Yet one country dominates the mining, refining and magnet production, and global demand keeps climbing. That imbalance has turned the search for new, Western-aligned sources into an urgent economic and security priority. Greenland Mines Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRML) (profile) has made a significant move in that race, announcing that it has applied to more than double its footprint in West Greenland, which could turn one promising deposit into a full rare earth district. If approved, the move could position Greenland Mines squarely among other leaders, including MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP), USA Rare Earth Inc. (NASDAQ: USAR), Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) and Critical Metals Corp. (NASDAQ: CRML), that are working to advancing rare earth and critical-mineral resources aimed at strengthening Western supply chains for critical applications.

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Despite their name, rare earth elements (“REEs”) are not geologically scarce. The International Energy Agency (“IEA”) explains that these 17 elements are fairly plentiful in Earth’s crust. However, they are seldom found in concentrations that are economically viable to mine. Their value comes from performance.

High-performance neodymium-iron-boron magnets, built mainly from neodymium and praseodymium, underpin electric vehicles, wind turbines, industrial motors and AI data centers. They also appear in aerospace, medical and defense systems. According to the same IEA report, permanent magnets account for around 95% of rare earth consumption by value.

Demand is rising fast. The IEA finds that demand for the four magnet rare earths has doubled since 2015 and should grow by another third by 2030. Robotics, automation and digital technologies are expected to add momentum after that. Outside China, the agency projects demand for magnet rare earths will rise 50% by 2035, with electric vehicles contributing the most.

Supply, however, is highly concentrated. In 2024, China accounted for 60% of mined magnet rare earths, 91% of refined output and 94% of sintered magnet production. U.S. Geological Survey data show a similar picture at the mine level, putting China’s 2025 output at 270,000 of the 390,000 tons mined worldwide, or roughly 69%.

That concentration became a real-world problem in April 2025, when China imposed export controls on seven heavy rare earth elements. The IEA says some automakers in the United States and Europe cut utilization rates or temporarily halted production. China widened the controls in October 2025. In November, it suspended that expansion for one year, while the April controls stayed in place.