Samarium powers magnets that survive jet-engine heat. What it is, who controls it, and why the Pentagon counts it.
Last updated: October 2026
Samarium is a silvery-white rare-earth metal used where magnets must keep working at extreme temperatures. It is recovered from bastnaesite and monazite ores, and from uranium byproduct streams. In the USGS 2025 critical-minerals assessment, samarium carried a probability-weighted GDP impact of nearly $4.5 billion: the highest among rare earths. China applied export controls to samarium in April 2025.
| # | Country | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 69% - 270,000 t REO (2025) |
| 2 | United States | 13% - 51,000 t |
| 3 | Australia | 7% - 29,000 t |
| 4 | Myanmar | 6% - 22,000 t (heavy-REE clays) |
| 5 | Thailand | 4,800 t |
| 6 | Madagascar | 2,700 t |
| 7 | India | 2,900 t |
| 8 | Russia | 2,600 t |
| 9 | Brazil | 2,000 t |
| 10 | Nigeria | 1,500 t |
Total rare-earth mine production, all elements combined, 2025 (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026). USGS does not publish per-element production shares.
Samarium is a silvery-white rare-earth metal used where magnets must keep working at extreme temperatures. It is recovered from bastnaesite and monazite ores, and from uranium byproduct streams.
Samarium-cobalt (SmCo) permanent magnets for defence and aerospace (jet engines, missiles, satellites), nuclear reactor control rods, lasers and catalysts.
China, with about 69% of world rare-earth mine production (270,000 t of about 390,000 t REO in 2025, USGS). Per-element samarium shares are not published.
For rare earths overall, China accounts for about 69% of mine production (USGS) and up to about 91% of refining and separation (IEA). In the USGS 2025 critical-minerals assessment, samarium carried a probability-weighted GDP impact of nearly $4.5 billion: the highest among rare earths.
Extreme. China applied export controls to samarium in April 2025. SmCo magnets are used in US defence systems with no drop-in substitute: they keep working at temperatures where NdFeB magnets fail. The United States is 100% import-reliant for rare-earth compounds and metals.
Samarium is the magnet metal of jet engines, missiles and satellites. China applied export controls in April 2025. The USGS put samarium's probability-weighted GDP impact at nearly $4.5 billion, the highest among rare earths, because SmCo magnets work where NdFeB magnets fail.
Samarium is a silvery-white rare-earth metal used where magnets must keep working at extreme temperatures. It is recovered from bastnaesite and monazite ores, and from uranium byproduct streams.
Samarium-cobalt (SmCo) permanent magnets for defence and aerospace (jet engines, missiles, satellites), nuclear reactor control rods, lasers and catalysts.
China, with about 69% of world rare-earth mine production (270,000 t of about 390,000 t REO in 2025, USGS). Per-element samarium shares are not published.
