China accounts for the large majority of global gadolinium supply, with estimates ranging from roughly 60 percent of mine output to more than 90 percent of separated oxide capacity depending on the measure used, and gadolinium remains one of seven medium and heavy rare earths under Chinese export licensing since April 2025. Ranking the world’s leading gadolinium producers in 2026 means separating currently operating suppliers from the Western and Japanese processors still building toward commercial gadolinium output. The SMM industrial benchmark for gadolinium metal stood at $54.71/kg in June 2026, with gadolinium oxide trading at a discount to the metal form.
How We Ranked the Top 10 Gadolinium Producers
This list ranks gadolinium producers by production scale, resource base, refining capability, and current market position in the gadolinium and wider heavy rare earth supply chain. Entities are ordered by demonstrated commercial output first, with developing non-Chinese separation capacity ranked according to how close each facility is to producing separated gadolinium oxide at scale. No standalone gadolinium mine exists anywhere in the world; gadolinium is recovered exclusively as a byproduct of bastnasite and ion-adsorption clay processing for other rare earths.
1. China Northern Rare Earth Group (China)
China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-Tech Co., Ltd. (600111.SH) is the world’s largest rare earth producer by volume, processing concentrate from the Bayan Obo deposit in Inner Mongolia, the single largest rare earth deposit globally. Its subsidiary Northern Zhongxin Antai produced its first batch of gadolinium-iron alloy from a newly commissioned dedicated production line in Baotou in May 2026, extending the group’s downstream reach into gadolinium-specific alloy manufacturing rather than raw oxide alone. The company reported Q1 2026 revenue of 11.86 billion yuan, up 27.69 percent year on year, driven by higher rare earth product prices. China Northern Rare Earth sets the reference scale against which every other entry on this list is measured.
2. China Rare Earth Group (China)
Established in December 2021 to consolidate China’s southern rare earth industry, China Rare Earth Group controls China Southern Rare Earth Group, Guangdong Rare Earth Industry Group and Rising Nonferrous Metals. This gives it dominant influence over ion-adsorption clay production from Jiangxi and Guangdong, the ore type that yields gadolinium alongside dysprosium and terbium. As one of only two state enterprises holding China’s medium and heavy rare earth quota, China Rare Earth Group sits at the centre of the export-controlled gadolinium supply chain that Western manufacturers are now trying to diversify away from.
3. Shenghe Resources (China)
Shenghe Resources Holding Co., Ltd. (600392.SH) operates bastnasite processing in Sichuan and ion-adsorption clay operations in Jiangxi, giving it a broader gadolinium-relevant product portfolio than producers concentrated in a single ore type. Shenghe Resources also holds international positions including a stake in MP Materials’ Mountain Pass offtake and a majority interest in Vietnam Rare Earth Co., extending its reach into the global gadolinium producers trading network beyond China’s borders.
4. IREL (India) Limited (India)
State-owned IREL operates the Rare Earths Division at Aluva, Kerala, which commercially produces high-purity (greater than 99 percent) individual gadolinium oxide from monazite-derived mixed rare earth chloride, alongside lanthanum, cerium, NdPr, samarium and yttrium compounds. This makes IREL one of the very few entities outside China with confirmed current commercial gadolinium oxide output, not merely a development pipeline. India’s 2026-27 budget introduced dedicated Rare Earth Corridors across Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu that build directly on IREL’s existing monazite-processing infrastructure.
5. Solvay (France)
Solvay’s La Rochelle facility is one of the largest rare earth separation plants outside China and among the few sites globally capable of processing the full range of rare earth elements, including gadolinium, at industrial scale. The company signed a non-binding letter of intent with Viridis Mining and Minerals in June 2026 to secure gadolinium-bearing feedstock from Brazil, while targeting industrial-scale dysprosium and terbium separation at La Rochelle by September 2026. Solvay has supplied rare earth oxides and compounds, including gadolinium-based products, for decades through its Special Chem business.
6. Treibacher Industrie AG (Austria)
Founded in 1898 by Carl Auer von Welsbach, Treibacher is a privately held specialty chemicals producer headquartered in Althofen, Austria. The company currently manufactures GMP-grade gadolinium oxide (Gd2O3) for pharmaceutical customers, including MRI contrast agent precursor applications, and gadolinium nitrate hexahydrate for nuclear industry use. Treibacher’s volumes are smaller than the Chinese state producers on this list, but it represents an established, currently operating Western specialty gadolinium producer rather than a facility still under construction.
7. Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd (Japan)
Shin-Etsu Chemical operates Japan’s only large-scale rare earth separation and refining plant and supplies high-purity rare earth oxides and compounds, including gadolinium-containing products, for electronics, magnet and phosphor applications. Shin-Etsu Rare Earth announced a roughly $218 million new refinery in Fukui Prefecture in June 2026, with the Japanese government subsidising approximately half the capital cost, underscoring Tokyo’s elevation of rare earth processing to the same strategic priority tier as semiconductor supply.
8. Neo Performance Materials (Canada / Estonia)
Neo Performance Materials commissioned Europe’s first dedicated heavy rare earth solvent extraction line at its Silmet plant in Sillamäe, Estonia, in April 2026, currently producing separated terbium and dysprosium process solutions entirely within Europe. Gadolinium is not yet among Silmet’s separated products, but the facility’s HREE flowsheet is positioned to extend further as Neo’s adjoining Narva magnet plant scales toward commercial output later in 2026.
9. Lynas Rare Earths (Australia / Malaysia)
Lynas Rare Earths operates the Mt Weld mine in Western Australia and the Kuantan separation facility in Malaysia, the largest rare earth separator outside China. Lynas currently produces separated dysprosium, terbium and, since April 2026, samarium oxide. Gadolinium is included in the initial flowsheet for Lynas’s expanded Heavy Rare Earths facility, targeted for completion within a two-year build-out from October 2025, but gadolinium oxide was not yet in commercial production as of mid-2026.
10. MP Materials (United States)
MP Materials operates Mountain Pass, California, the only integrated rare earth mine-to-magnet operation in the United States. The company has stockpiled gadolinium-bearing SEG+ heavy rare earth concentrate since late 2023, and its new Mountain Pass heavy rare earth separation facility is commissioning in mid-2026. That facility’s initial nameplate capacity of 200 metric tons per year prioritises dysprosium and terbium; gadolinium separation is not an initial production target, though MP has said the facility will expand to additional heavy rare earths over time.
| Company | Country | Gadolinium Status | Key Asset |
|---|---|---|---|
| China Northern Rare Earth Group | China | Producing (GdFe alloy) | Bayan Obo, Baotou |
| China Rare Earth Group | China | Producing (quota-controlled) | Jiangxi/Guangdong ion-adsorption clay |
| Shenghe Resources | China | Producing | Sichuan, Jiangxi |
| IREL (India) Limited | India | Producing (>99% oxide) | Rare Earths Division, Aluva |
| Solvay | France | Producing, expanding | La Rochelle |
| Treibacher Industrie AG | Austria | Producing (GMP-grade) | Althofen |
| Shin-Etsu Chemical | Japan | Producing | Fukui Prefecture |
| Neo Performance Materials | Canada / Estonia | Not yet (Tb/Dy only) | Silmet, Sillamäe |
| Lynas Rare Earths | Australia / Malaysia | In development (2026 target) | Kuantan, Mt Weld |
| MP Materials | United States | Feedstock stockpiled only | Mountain Pass |
The Outlook for Gadolinium Producers
The gap between announced heavy rare earth capacity and actual commercial gadolinium output remains wide outside China. Three of the ten gadolinium producers on this list, Neo Performance Materials, Lynas Rare Earths and MP Materials, are still working through dysprosium and terbium first, with gadolinium queued behind them in each company’s flowsheet. IREL, Solvay and Treibacher demonstrate that non-Chinese gadolinium production is achievable at meaningful purity today, just not yet at Chinese state-producer scale.
Demand support looks structurally firmer than for some other rare earths given gadolinium’s role in MRI contrast agents, where there is no clinically equivalent substitute, alongside nuclear shielding and magnetocaloric research applications. For current pricing, see the gadolinium price page, and for background on the element’s applications and supply chain, see what is gadolinium. For related rankings, see the top 10 dysprosium producers, top 10 terbium producers and top 10 neodymium producers, and for the broader picture, the top 10 rare earth producing countries.
Data on production volumes and pricing referenced above is sourced from USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 and Shanghai Metals Market. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Company production status is subject to change without notice.
Who are the largest gadolinium producers?
China’s state-consolidated rare earth groups, led by China Northern Rare Earth Group and China Rare Earth Group, account for the large majority of global gadolinium supply. Outside China, IREL (India), Solvay and Treibacher Industrie AG are established current producers of gadolinium oxide, while several Western and Japanese heavy rare earth facilities are still developing toward commercial gadolinium output.
Is there a dedicated gadolinium mine anywhere in the world?
No. Gadolinium has no standalone mine anywhere globally. It is recovered exclusively as a byproduct of processing bastnasite and ion-adsorption clay ores mined primarily for light and heavy rare earths such as neodymium, dysprosium and terbium.
Which companies are building new gadolinium separation capacity outside China?
Lynas Rare Earths, MP Materials and Neo Performance Materials are each expanding heavy rare earth separation facilities in Malaysia, the United States and Estonia respectively. Gadolinium is included in each company’s planned product flowsheet, but as of mid-2026 each has prioritised dysprosium and terbium separation first, with gadolinium queued behind.
Why is gadolinium subject to Chinese export controls?
Gadolinium was one of seven medium and heavy rare earths added to China’s export licensing regime in April 2025, alongside samarium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium. The controls apply to alloys, compounds, metals and oxides and require export licenses for shipment.
What is gadolinium used for that keeps demand structurally stable?
Gadolinium’s largest demand driver is MRI contrast agents, where gadolinium-based chelate compounds have no clinically equivalent substitute. It also has applications in nuclear reactor shielding, phosphors, and emerging magnetocaloric refrigeration research, giving it a more diversified end-use base than some other heavy rare earths.
