Highlights

• Canada holds over 15.2 million tonnes of rare earth oxides across diverse deposits rich in both heavy and light REEs, positioning it as a potential global supplier.
• China controls 85-90% of global REE processing and separation capacity, meaning Canadian mines alone cannot break Beijing's grip on the value chain.
• Without domestic refining infrastructure, Canadian concentrate will likely still ship to Chinese processors, undermining Western supply chain independence goals.

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New FACETS review sketches Canada as a future REE powerhouse, with one big caveat: processing remains overwhelmingly Chinese. Jaroslav Dostal (opens in a new tab) of Saint Mary’s University, writing in the journal FACETS with extensive backing from Canadian and international geoscience work, has produced one of the most comprehensive overviews to date of Canada’s rare earth element (REE) deposits.

His review maps out major projects from the Northwest Territories to Quebec and British Columbia, estimates over 15.2 million tonnes of rare earth oxides (TREO) in the ground, and concludes that Canada “is anticipated” to become a global REE producer and leader. The catch—left largely between the lines—is that China still dominates global processing and separation, meaning any Canadian mine on its own does not break Beijing’s grip on the value chain.

Rocks, Not Dreams: What the Study Actually Did

Dostal’s paper is a geological and resource review, not an economic feasibility study. He aggregates government data (notably Natural Resources Canada 2024), NI 43-101 technical reports, and decades of academic work to:

• Explain what REEs are (light vs heavy elements, magnet metals like Nd–Pr, high-value heavies like Dy–Tb).
• Describe key deposit types (alkaline/peralkaline igneous complexes and carbonatites) and their mineralogy (bastnaesite, monazite, xenotime, eudialyte, etc.).
• Catalogue Canada’s advanced and emerging projects, split into:
• Alkaline silicate complexes – Nechalacho, Strange Lake, Kipawa, Crater Lake, Foxtrot, Red Wine Mountains
• Carbonatites – Ashram/Eldor, Wicheeda, Saint-Honoré, Montviel, Prairie Lake, Clay-Howells

Many of these are at the Feasibility or Preliminary Economic Assessment stage, with TREO grades typically in the 0.5–2.5% range and important by-products such as niobium, zirconium, tantalum, scandium, and fluorite.

Canada’s Geological Edge – Heavy Rare Earths in the Mix

One of the most important findings for non-specialists:

• Alkaline silicate deposits (Nechalacho, Strange Lake, Kipawa, Foxtrot) tend to be richer in heavy REEs and yttrium – the very elements for which China’s ion-adsorption clays have long been the dominant source.
• Carbonatite deposits (Ashram, Wicheeda, Montviel, Saint-Honoré) are strong in light REEs like neodymium and praseodymium, critical for EV and wind-turbine magnets.

In other words, Canada doesn’t just have “some rare earths” – it has a portfolio across both light and heavy segments, plus co-products that can improve project economics.

The Missing Middle: China’s Processing Monopoly

Dostal rightly emphasizes resource size and geological potential, but the paper largely stops at the mine gate. For investors, the real bottleneck lies in processing and separation:

• Global REE mining in 2021 was already heavily concentrated: China ~61%, followed by the U.S., Myanmar, and Australia.
• Processing and separation capacity—where mixed concentrates become high-purity oxides and metals—is even more concentrated in China, widely estimated at ~85–90% of global capacity.

The review implicitly assumes that building mines will naturally “make Canada a global leader.” In reality, without domestic or allied refining capacity, Canadian concentrate risks being shipped—once again—to Chinese processors.

This is not a flaw in the geology, but it is a critical limitation of the study’s forward-looking conclusion.

Environmental and Social Headwinds – The Quiet Controversy

To his credit, Dostal flags thorium and uranium as persistent challenges, as well as the complexity of REE separation and the need for careful waste management. However, broader ESG issues are treated briefly:

• Radioactive tailings, Indigenous rights, permitting timelines, and local opposition can delay or derail projects.
• Complex mineralogy (eudialyte, multi-phase ores) can make processing technically tricky and capital-intensive, even before you reach full separation.

The controversial question the paper cannot answer—but investors must—is: how many of these projects will actually reach production in a world where China still undercuts costs and already owns the processing chain?

Why This Matters for the West’s China Strategy

The strategic takeaway is clear:

• Canada has world-class rocks and a credible pipeline of REE projects across light and heavy elements.
• On paper, it could be a cornerstone of an ex-China supply chain.
• In practice, until Canada and its allies build and fund serious midstream processing, Beijing remains the indispensable refiner.

Dostal’s work should be read as a geological foundation and a call to action, not as proof that the China problem is solved.

Citation: Dostal, J. (2025). Deposits of rare earth elements in Canada. (opens in a new tab) FACETS, 10.

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