Top 10 Yttrium Producers in 2026: Key Supply Risks

• This ranking of yttrium producers separates companies selling yttrium oxide, metal or high-purity compounds today (Tier A) from projects with yttrium in a committed flowsheet that have not yet reached commercial supply (Tier B).
• China Rare Earth Group ranks first on its control of southern ionic clay heavy rare earth mining and separation. It does not publish yttrium-specific output.
• USGS estimates 2025 world mine production at 10,000 to 15,000 t of yttrium oxide (Y2O3) equivalent, with China producing most and Myanmar (Burma) a significant share.
• China’s April 2025 export licensing still covers yttrium. Chinese customs data show zero yttrium oxide exports to the US in May and June 2026.
• Commercial supply outside China rests on two Japanese refiners working from imported feed and on USA Rare Earth’s metal-making subsidiary in the UK.
• Lynas is the only new non-China separator with a published yttrium start date, early calendar 2028.

Yttrium is the rare earth with the widest gap between China and everyone else. The USGS estimates 2025 world mine production at 10,000 to 15,000 t of Y2O3 equivalent, reports that China produced most of it, and states that the US had no fully commercial facility able to separate or refine yttrium. That shapes this list of yttrium producers: five companies supply commercial yttrium products today, and the three outside China all process feed they do not mine. None of the ten yttrium producers ranked here discloses yttrium tonnage.

Supply is also gated by licence. China added yttrium to its rare earth export controls in April 2025, and yttrium was not covered by the late-2025 truce suspension. Chinese customs data show yttrium oxide exports to the US of 60 t in March 2026, 10 t in April and zero in May and June, according to Materials Dispatch. Reuters reported a further 29 t approved for July. Japan’s yttrium imports fell 74% to 204 t in the first half of 2026, Nikkei reported via TrendForce.

How We Ranked the Top 10 Yttrium Producers

Yttrium producers are ranked first on current separated yttrium output or refining capability, then on the credibility of committed non-China capacity. Because no company publishes yttrium tonnage, ranking within each tier rests on the scale of the separation base, confirmed yttrium product lines, and published schedules and financing. Where a figure is an estimate, it is labelled as one.

Production context comes from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 yttrium chapter, which also notes that China did not publish its 2025 mining and separation quotas. The list is split into two tiers. Tier A covers current producers and refiners with yttrium oxide, metal or high-purity compounds in commercial supply today. Tier B covers emerging producers with yttrium named in a committed flowsheet (funded, under construction or at the financing stage), or with contracted yttrium-bearing feed into one, but not yet in commercial supply.

Traders, resellers and B2B listing firms are excluded. Search rankings for yttrium oxide suppliers in China are dominated by platform listings of small registered trading companies, some with core businesses outside rare earths, which buy product rather than separate it. A producer ranking has to show where separation and refining actually take place.

Three companies often grouped with yttrium producers did not qualify. Neo Performance Materials’ Silmet heavy rare earth line in Estonia produces dysprosium and terbium, not yttrium. Iluka’s Eneabba refinery publishes a product suite of NdPr, dysprosium and terbium without naming yttrium, and Energy Fuels’ White Mesa expansion has no yttrium circuit.

Tier A: Current Yttrium Producers and Refiners

1. China Rare Earth Group: China (state-owned)

China Rare Earth Group (CREG), headquartered in Ganzhou, Jiangxi, was formed in 2021 from a reorganisation of state rare earth companies and is China’s largest supplier of heavy rare earths, according to Reuters. China Southern Rare Earth sits inside the group, and Guangdong Rare Earth transferred to China Rare Earth Group in January 2024, so neither is ranked separately.

Its advantage is feed. As China’s largest heavy rare earth supplier, CREG draws on the yttrium-bearing ion-adsorption clay deposits of southern China, the geology that supplies most of the world’s heavy rare earths.

Consolidation has widened that base. Xiamen Tungsten moved its Fujian mining and separation assets into joint ventures in which CREG holds 51%, and deconsolidated its Longyan and Jinlong separation businesses in 2024, so its separation capacity is counted here rather than as a separate entry.

CREG does not publish yttrium output, and with no public quota data any yttrium tonnage attributed to it is an estimate. For buyers outside China, the constraint is export licensing rather than production capacity.

2. Shenghe Resources: China (SSE: 600392)

Chengdu-based Shenghe runs separation bases in Sichuan and Jiangxi and metal processing sites in several regions, including Vietnam. In a May 2026 reply on an investor platform, Shenghe Resources confirmed that high-purity yttrium oxide is one of its products and that its Leshan subsidiary had completed process design validation for a 6N (99.9999%) ultra-high-purity yttrium oxide demonstration line aimed at chip applications.

At its May 2026 AGM, management said the Leshan project was expected to be ready for trial production from June 2026. The company does not disclose yttrium tonnage, and its 2026-2028 plan targets total rare earth oxide capacity above 30,000 t/yr across all elements.

The main risk to this entry is ownership. Reuters reported on 18 September 2026 that CREG is in talks to take a controlling stake in Shenghe. In a Shanghai exchange filing, Shenghe said its controlling shareholder, the Institute of Multipurpose Utilisation of Mineral Resources, had stated in writing that it has no plans to transfer control. If a deal goes ahead, the second-ranked yttrium producer would fold into the first.

3. Mitsui Kinzoku Rare Material Division: Japan (TSE: 5706)

The Mitsui Kinzoku Rare Material Division, formerly Nippon Yttrium Co. and based in Omuta, Fukuoka, was the first company in Japan to mass-produce refined yttrium oxide. It is the only yttrium producer outside China on this list with a refining business built specifically around yttrium.

The division refines feedstock from China. Nikkei reported in August 2026, via TrendForce, that insufficient yttrium supply has left the company with little capacity for exports, as Japan’s yttrium imports fell 74% in the first half. Output figures are not disclosed.

The shortfall is part of a wider squeeze on Japan’s rare earth supply, and Japan’s two domestic yttrium producers are both exposed to it.

4. Shin-Etsu Chemical: Japan (TSE: 4063)

Shin-Etsu Chemical operates what it describes as the only large-scale rare earth separation and refining plant in Japan, based in Fukui Prefecture, where it also makes magnets. It supplies high-purity rare earth products refined from Japanese and overseas raw materials.

In June 2026, Nikkei reported that Shin-Etsu will build a new domestic refinery to raise its capacity to supply dysprosium, terbium and yttrium, the last for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Nikkei put the investment above JPY 35bn, about half from government subsidy; Shin-Etsu has not confirmed scale, cost or timeline. Current yttrium output is not disclosed and, as with Mitsui Kinzoku, depends on imported feed. The plan would make Shin-Etsu one of the few yttrium producers adding separation capacity outside China.

5. USA Rare Earth (Less Common Metals): United Kingdom (NASDAQ: USAR)

USA Rare Earth announced the first commercial pour of 2N to 2N5 yttrium metal (99% to 99.5% purity) on 15 April 2026 at its wholly owned subsidiary Less Common Metals (LCM) in Cheshire, UK.

LCM converts oxide to metal. It does not mine or separate yttrium, so its place among yttrium producers is as a metal maker serving aerospace thermal barrier coatings and other alloy users. Volumes and the oxide feed source have not been disclosed.

Upstream, USA Rare Earth plans to bring the Round Top deposit in Texas into production in 2028. In July 2026 it agreed to buy a stake of about 13.6% in Carester, ranked seventh below.

Tier B: Emerging Yttrium Producers

6. Lynas Rare Earths: Australia and Malaysia (ASX: LYC)

Lynas Rare Earths is the only commercial producer of separated heavy rare earth oxides outside China, with dysprosium from May 2025, terbium from June 2025 and samarium from March 2026 at Lynas Malaysia. Yttrium is in the initial flowsheet of the expanded heavy rare earths facility announced in October 2025, alongside samarium, gadolinium, dysprosium, terbium and lutetium.

In its June 2026 quarterly report, Lynas raised the estimated cost of the expansion from about A$180m to about A$294m, citing equipment for customer purity specifications and the cost of sourcing equipment outside China. On the July 2026 results call, management guided to first yttrium early in calendar 2028 and said feedstock, not processing capacity, is the main constraint on more dysprosium and yttrium. Operating separation and its own Mt Weld feed put Lynas first among emerging yttrium producers.

7. Carester (Caremag): France (private)

Carester is building the Caremag magnet recycling and heavy rare earth separation plant at Lacq, France, a joint venture with JOGMEC and Iwatani backed by about EUR 216m of French and Japanese financing, according to Lindian Resources. At full ramp-up it is designed for about 800 t/yr of NdPr oxide, 500 t/yr of dysprosium oxide and 100 t/yr of terbium oxide.

Yttrium is not in Caremag’s headline capacity, but Lindian’s September 2026 offtake with Carester ties pricing to yttrium produced at the Caremag facility, which places yttrium in the flowsheet. Start-up has been cited as late 2026 by USA Rare Earth and 2027 by Lindian. Yttrium volumes are not published. Carester ranks above Solvay among emerging yttrium producers because its yttrium-bearing flowsheet is funded and under construction.

8. Solvay: France (Euronext Brussels: SOLB)

Solvay has separated rare earths at La Rochelle since 1948 and describes the site as one of the few worldwide able to process all rare earth elements at industrial scale. It opened an NdPr oxide line in April 2025, and industrial-scale dysprosium and terbium separation is targeted for September 2026.

Solvay has not confirmed current commercial yttrium output, so it is ranked on capability. Its non-binding June 2026 letter of intent with Viridis Mining and Minerals covers Brazilian feed containing yttrium, with supply targeted by 2028 and subject to definitive agreements.

9. Aclara Resources: United States, Chile and Brazil (TSX: ARA)

Aclara Resources plans the first US heavy rare earth separation plant at the Port of Vinton, Louisiana, known as Project Dynamo. It is designed to separate mixed carbonate from Aclara’s ionic clay projects in Chile and Brazil into NdPr, dysprosium, terbium, samarium, gadolinium and yttrium oxides.

Louisiana announced the US$277m investment in October 2025 and gave final tax exemption approval in June 2026. Aclara aims to break ground in Q4 2026, and US EXIM has issued a letter of interest to consider up to US$750m of financing. The plant is not yet funded or under construction, which ranks it below the European yttrium producers above.

10. Northern Minerals: Australia (ASX: NTU)

Browns Range in the East Kimberley, Western Australia, hosts xenotime-dominant ore. Xenotime is a yttrium phosphate, so yttrium comes with every tonne of the dysprosium and terbium concentrate the project would produce.

Northern Minerals has a binding, conditional agreement to supply about 65% of planned concentrate to Iluka Resources’ Eneabba refinery, which is funded and targeting commissioning in 2027. Iluka has not said whether Eneabba will separate the yttrium in that concentrate.

Northern Minerals targets a final investment decision by 30 September 2026, subject to funding, and first concentrate in late 2028 or early 2029. It holds non-binding letters from US EXIM and Export Finance Australia covering up to US$230m of debt. In May 2026, Australia’s Treasurer ordered six foreign shareholders to divest about 17.6% of its shares.

Yttrium Producers Compared

The table summarises the ten yttrium producers by tier, product form and status. No company on the list discloses yttrium tonnage.

Why Yttrium Supply Outside China Is Thin

Yttrium is not geologically scarce. USGS notes large yttrium resources in monazite and xenotime placers worldwide, and Myanmar’s rare earth output is a significant share of mined supply. The bottleneck for new yttrium producers is solvent extraction capacity able to separate yttrium from the other heavy rare earths, followed by the purity qualification that end users demand.

Those users are exacting. Yttrium’s main uses include yttria-stabilised zirconia for turbine thermal barrier coatings, plasma-resistant coatings in chipmaking equipment, phosphors, lasers and advanced ceramics, and a new producer has to qualify material for each application before it can sell.

The result is a split market. SMM assessed Chinese domestic 5N yttrium oxide at US$7.6 to 7.9/kg on 14 August 2026, as cited by Materials Dispatch, against Rotterdam warehouse quotes of US$420 to 470/kg for May to July 2026. Current levels are tracked on the yttrium price page.

The Outlook for Yttrium Producers

Three near-term dates matter for yttrium producers: the 24 September US-China summit, the 10 November 2026 expiry of China’s broader October 2025 suspension (yttrium controls were never suspended), and Northern Minerals’ 30 September investment decision. A completed CREG-Shenghe deal would merge the top two entries and, according to Reuters, bring one of the last leading Chinese rare earth companies with some private ownership under state control.

Outside China, Lynas has the only published yttrium-specific start date, early 2028. Caremag, the other funded plant with yttrium in its flowsheet, is due to start in late 2026 or 2027 but has not said when yttrium output begins. Until new lines qualify material, non-China yttrium producers remain dependent on Chinese licences for feed, the same constraint covered in our terbium producers ranking.

For background on the element itself, see what yttrium is and where it occurs.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Company status reflects public disclosures and reporting available as of September 2026.