Dysprosium producers are overwhelmingly concentrated in southern China, where ionic clay deposits in Jiangxi and neighbouring provinces account for the majority of global heavy rare earth supply. China controls an estimated 90%-plus of dysprosium extraction and all but a fraction of global refining capacity — a dependency that has intensified since China halted heavy rare earth exports to several destinations in 2025. Outside China, commercial-scale production of separated dysprosium oxide began only in May 2025, when Lynas Rare Earths commissioned a dedicated separation circuit at its Malaysian facility. This list ranks the ten leading dysprosium producers and supply sources by current output and strategic weight, from the dominant state-owned Chinese groups to the emerging Western challengers working to close the gap.
How We Ranked the Top 10 Dysprosium Producers
Dysprosium producers are ranked by a combination of confirmed current output, processing capacity, and strategic position in the supply chain. Because dysprosium is a heavy rare earth element (HREE) recovered as a co-product of broader rare earth mining rather than in standalone deposits, output figures are reported as total rare earth oxide (TREO) for mining-stage producers and as separated dysprosium oxide where processing-stage data is available. Chinese state-owned entities dominate the top five positions by volume. Western challengers are ranked by production milestone achieved and proximity to commercial scale, drawing on USGS production data, company disclosures, and DFS outputs.
For background on dysprosium’s properties and end-uses, see our guide to what dysprosium is and why it matters. Current dysprosium prices are tracked monthly using Shanghai Metals Market benchmark data.
1. China Rare Earth Group — China
China Rare Earth Group (CREG) is the single most important dysprosium producer on earth. Formed in 2021 through a state-directed consolidation of six major southern Chinese rare earth enterprises, CREG holds primary authority over the ionic clay deposits of Jiangxi province — the world’s principal geographic source of heavy rare earths including dysprosium and terbium. The group controls extraction quotas, processing infrastructure, and domestic distribution for the elements most critical to high-performance permanent magnet manufacturing.
Ionic clay deposits, also called in-situ leaching deposits, are uniquely suited to HREE production: dysprosium and terbium are adsorbed onto clay particles and recovered by percolating ammonium sulphate or magnesium sulphate solution through the ore body, a lower-cost and lower-grade process than hard rock mining. The Wuxi refinery in Jiangxi — cited as the world’s only facility capable of refining dysprosium at scale as of 2025 — sits within CREG’s operational footprint. No published annual dysprosium output figure is disclosed by CREG, consistent with Beijing’s broader opacity on HREE quota data.
2. China Northern Rare Earth Group — China (SHA: 600111)
China Northern Rare Earth Group High-Tech is the world’s largest rare earth company by revenue and production volume, anchored by the Bayan Obo deposit in Inner Mongolia — the largest known rare earth reserve by volume. Bayan Obo’s ore body is light rare earth-dominant, delivering neodymium, praseodymium, and cerium in large quantities. Dysprosium and terbium are present only in trace concentrations, but the sheer scale of processing at Bayan Obo means that Northern Rare Earth extracts and refines more HREE by absolute mass than most dedicated producers globally.
The group operates under the 2025 production quota system administered by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Like CREG, Northern Rare Earth does not publish element-specific dysprosium output. Its strategic relevance as a dysprosium producer lies in processing infrastructure — it has the capacity to handle imported ionic clay feedstock from Myanmar and other sources when domestic southern quotas are constrained.
3. Myanmar Ionic Clay Region — Myanmar
Myanmar is not a single company but a geographic supply corridor that functions as the primary upstream feedstock source for Chinese HREE processing. Myanmar’s rare earth operations are concentrated in Kachin and Wa states near the Yunnan border, operated largely by small-scale miners and armed militia groups with no formal environmental controls. According to USGS data, Myanmar produced 31,000 metric tons of rare earth oxides in 2024, down from 43,000 MT in 2023 following disruptions linked to the Kachin Independence Army seizing key mining hubs including Panwa.
China sources an estimated 70% of its medium and heavy rare earth feedstock from Myanmar, including the dysprosium and terbium-rich ionic clay concentrate processed at facilities in Yunnan and Jiangxi. Supply disruptions in Myanmar translate directly into Chinese HREE price spikes — the terbium price surge of +20.7% recorded by SMM in April 2026 was driven in part by ongoing Kachin instability. Myanmar’s importance as a dysprosium supply source is structural, not incidental, which is why it appears on this list despite the absence of a formal corporate entity.
4. Shenghe Resources — China (SHA: 600392)
Shenghe Resources is one of China’s most globally connected rare earth companies, operating both domestic mining and processing assets and an extensive network of international offtake agreements. The company holds stakes in MP Materials (NYSE: MP) through an offtake arrangement on Mountain Pass ore concentrate, and has pursued feedstock supply agreements with projects in Africa and Southeast Asia. Its domestic operations span light and heavy rare earths, with southern Chinese processing facilities handling dysprosium-bearing concentrate.
Shenghe’s strategic value as a dysprosium producer lies as much in its trading and processing capacity as in direct mining output. The company processes ionic clay concentrate purchased from third parties and re-exports refined HREE oxides, giving it influence over dysprosium supply reaching Japan, South Korea, and European magnet manufacturers. Element-specific output data is not publicly disclosed.
5. Xiamen Tungsten — China (SHE: 000549)
Xiamen Tungsten operates key heavy rare earth separation facilities in Fujian province and holds mining concessions in southern China’s ionic clay belt. The company is one of China’s five state-authorised rare earth producers and operates dedicated solvent extraction circuits for HREE separation, including dysprosium. It also has downstream exposure through rare earth magnet alloy production, giving it an integrated position from extraction through to functional materials for the EV and wind sectors.
Xiamen Tungsten is a significant but mid-tier dysprosium processor relative to CREG, with operations focused on medium and heavy rare earth products for the domestic magnet industry and export markets in Japan and South Korea. Confirmed output volumes for dysprosium oxide are not publicly reported.
6. Guangdong Rare Earth Industry Group — China
China Southern Rare Earth encompasses several state-controlled entities operating in Guangdong province, including Guangdong Rising Nonferrous Metals and the Guangdong Rare Earth Industry Group. These operations hold mining concessions across ionic clay deposits in northern Guangdong and manage processing infrastructure within the broader southern Chinese HREE production framework overseen by CREG.
Guangdong’s ionic clay deposits yield a basket composition weighted toward medium and heavy rare earths, including dysprosium and europium. The provincial operations supply concentrate to centralised separation facilities in Jiangxi and Fujian. As with other Chinese state producers, element-specific dysprosium output is not disclosed publicly.
7. Lynas Rare Earths — Australia / Malaysia (ASX: LYC)
Lynas Rare Earths achieved a landmark in May 2025, becoming the world’s first commercial producer of separated dysprosium oxide outside China. The company commissioned a dedicated heavy rare earth separation circuit at its Lynas Malaysia facility near Kuantan, processing xenotime and other HREE-bearing material derived from its Mount Weld mine in Western Australia. Terbium oxide production followed in June 2025. In Q1 2026, Lynas produced a combined 8 tonnes of dysprosium and terbium.
In October 2025, Lynas announced a further expansion — a new 5,000 tonne per annum HREE separation facility at Kuantan, self-funded after a A$750 million equity raise, with initial samarium production expected from April 2026 and expanded dysprosium and terbium capacity to follow. A US Department of Defense contract worth close to US$300 million is supporting development of a complementary processing facility in Seadrift, Texas, targeting 2,500–3,000 tpa of HREE oxides. Lynas is the only entity currently producing separated dysprosium oxide at commercial scale outside China.
8. Energy Fuels — United States (NYSE: UUUU, TSX: EFR)
Energy Fuels reached a significant milestone in August 2025, producing the first kilogram of 99.9%-purity dysprosium oxide at its White Mesa Mill in Utah — the first US company to publicly disclose dysprosium oxide production at this purity level. The oxide is produced from monazite sourced from Florida and Georgia mineral sands operations and has passed qualification testing by a major South Korean permanent magnet manufacturer. Terbium oxide pilot production commenced at White Mesa in early 2026, producing approximately 1 kilogram per week.
Energy Fuels is targeting commercial-scale dysprosium and terbium separation at White Mesa by Q4 2026, with a projected capacity of approximately 35 metric tons of dysprosium oxide and 12 metric tons of terbium oxide annually at full ramp, subject to regulatory approvals and monazite feedstock supply. A US$700 million convertible notes raise in October 2025 provides capital for the White Mesa Phase 2 expansion. At current pilot rates, output remains at demonstration scale — but White Mesa is the most advanced HREE separation operation in the United States.
9. Northern Minerals — Australia (ASX: NTU)
Northern Minerals is developing the Browns Range Heavy Rare Earths Project in Western Australia’s East Kimberley region, targeting production of dysprosium and terbium-rich xenotime concentrate from the Wolverine deposit — described as Australia’s highest-grade dysprosium and terbium orebody. A Definitive Feasibility Study released in September 2025 confirmed the project’s technical and financial viability. The DFS projects annual output of 17,500 tonnes of xenotime concentrate at 25% TREO, sufficient to supply approximately 8% of global dysprosium and terbium demand.
Northern Minerals has a binding agreement to supply xenotime concentrate to Iluka Resources’ Eneabba rare earth refinery, currently under construction in Western Australia. The company raised A$60.5 million in October 2025 and is targeting a Final Investment Decision by Q4 2026, with first production scheduled for 2028. CRU and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence forecast a dysprosium supply deficit exceeding 50% of demand by 2025 levels, rising toward 70% by 2030 — the market gap Browns Range is designed to address.
10. Iluka Resources — Australia (ASX: ILU)
Iluka Resources is constructing Australia’s first fully integrated rare earth refinery at Eneabba in Western Australia, with AU$1.25 billion in funding from the Australian government’s National Reconstruction Fund. The refinery is designed to process both light and heavy rare earth oxides, including dysprosium, from mineral sands by-product stockpiles and third-party concentrate including Northern Minerals’ Browns Range xenotime. First production is targeted for 2026–27, which would make Iluka the second entity outside China producing separated dysprosium at commercial scale.
Iluka’s refinery represents a downstream anchor for the emerging Australian HREE supply chain. Unlike Lynas, which controls its own feedstock from Mount Weld, Iluka is positioning as a processing hub for third-party concentrate — a model that requires sufficient upstream supply agreements to sustain operations. The Northern Minerals binding supply agreement provides the clearest confirmed feedstock source.
Dysprosium Producers — Comparison Table
| Dysprosium Producer | Country | Stage | Key Asset / Route | Dy Output (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China Rare Earth Group | China | Producing | Jiangxi ionic clay; Wuxi refinery | Not disclosed — dominant share |
| China Northern Rare Earth | China | Producing | Bayan Obo — trace HREE at scale | Not disclosed |
| Myanmar (ionic clay region) | Myanmar | Producing | Kachin / Wa states feedstock → China | Part of 31,000 MT REO (2024, USGS) |
| Shenghe Resources (SHA: 600392) | China | Producing | Southern China processing + offtake network | Not disclosed |
| Xiamen Tungsten (SHE: 000549) | China | Producing | Fujian HREE separation circuits | Not disclosed |
| Guangdong Rare Earth Industry Group | China | Producing | Guangdong ionic clay; centralised separation | Not disclosed |
| Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC) | Australia / Malaysia | Producing | Mount Weld → Kuantan HREE circuit | 8t combined Dy+Tb (Q1 2026); 5,000 tpa HREO capacity planned |
| Energy Fuels (NYSE: UUUU) | United States | Pilot → Commercial Q4 2026 | White Mesa Mill — monazite feedstock | ~35 MT Dy/yr target at full commercial scale |
| Northern Minerals (ASX: NTU) | Australia | DFS complete; FID Q4 2026 target | Browns Range Wolverine → Eneabba refinery | ~8% global Dy/Tb demand (at full scale, 2028 target) |
| Iluka Resources (ASX: ILU) | Australia | Refinery under construction | Eneabba refinery — third-party concentrate | First production targeted 2026–27 |
The Outlook for Dysprosium Producers
The outlook for dysprosium producers outside China is structurally bullish but supply constrained for the remainder of this decade. McKinsey, CRU, and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence all project that non-China dysprosium supply will meet less than one-fifth of ex-China demand by 2035, even accounting for Lynas, Energy Fuels, and Browns Range reaching full capacity. Global dysprosium and terbium demand runs into thousands of tonnes annually; in Q1 2026, Lynas produced 8 tonnes of the two elements combined — illustrating the scale of the gap.
China’s export controls, introduced in 2025, have elevated the urgency for Western governments to accelerate alternative dysprosium producers. US Department of Defense contracts with Lynas and Energy Fuels, combined with Australian government funding for Iluka’s Eneabba refinery, are the primary policy levers deployed so far. The capital and time required to develop heavy rare earth separation outside China remain the binding constraints — the average rare earth facility requires close to two decades from discovery to commercial production. The top 10 dysprosium uses — spanning EV motors, wind turbine generators, and defence systems — underpin demand that will not wait for supply chains to catch up.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Prices are subject to change without notice.
Who is the world’s largest dysprosium producer?
China Rare Earth Group (CREG) is the largest dysprosium producer globally, controlling the ionic clay deposits of Jiangxi province — the primary geographic source of heavy rare earths worldwide. CREG was formed through a state-directed consolidation of six major southern Chinese rare earth enterprises in 2021 and holds primary authority over China’s heavy rare earth extraction quotas and processing infrastructure.
Are there any dysprosium producers outside China?
Yes, but output remains small relative to Chinese production. Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC) became the first commercial producer of separated dysprosium oxide outside China in May 2025, operating a dedicated separation circuit at its Kuantan facility in Malaysia. Energy Fuels (NYSE: UUUU) is producing dysprosium oxide at pilot scale at its White Mesa Mill in Utah and is targeting commercial-scale output by Q4 2026.
Why is dysprosium so hard to produce outside China?
Dysprosium is a heavy rare earth element recovered from ionic clay deposits concentrated in southern China and Myanmar. The ion adsorption clay ore bodies that yield dysprosium and terbium are geographically scarce outside this region, and the solvent extraction circuits required to separate dysprosium from co-produced rare earths require specialist chemistry and long commissioning timelines. China controls an estimated 90% or more of global dysprosium extraction and virtually all commercial-scale refining capacity as of 2026.
What is the Browns Range project and when will it produce dysprosium?
Browns Range is a heavy rare earth project in Western Australia’s East Kimberley region, owned by Northern Minerals (ASX: NTU). Its Wolverine deposit is considered Australia’s highest-grade dysprosium and terbium orebody. A Definitive Feasibility Study released in September 2025 confirmed the project can supply approximately 8% of global dysprosium and terbium demand. Northern Minerals is targeting a Final Investment Decision by Q4 2026 and first production in 2028, with xenotime concentrate to be processed at Iluka Resources’ Eneabba refinery.
How much dysprosium does Lynas produce?
Lynas Rare Earths produced a combined 8 tonnes of dysprosium and terbium in Q1 2026 from its heavy rare earth separation circuit at Kuantan, Malaysia — the first such production outside China. Lynas has announced a further 5,000 tonne per annum HREE separation facility expansion at Kuantan, funded by a A$750 million equity raise, alongside a US Department of Defense-supported processing facility in Seadrift, Texas targeting 2,500–3,000 tpa of heavy rare earth oxides.
