Terbium is a heavy rare earth under Chinese export controls. What it is, what it colours, and why the US imports it all from China.
Last updated: October 2026
Terbium is a silvery heavy rare-earth metal from ion-adsorption clays and other rare-earth ores. It is one of the scarcest of the commercially produced rare earths. US imports of terbium compounds and metals came 100% from China (USGS, 2021-24), and Beijing applied export controls to terbium 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. US imports of terbium compounds and metals came 100% from China (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, import sources 2021-24).
Terbium is a silvery heavy rare-earth metal from ion-adsorption clays and other rare-earth ores. It is one of the scarcest of the commercially produced rare earths, and its separation follows the same concentrated heavy-REE chain as dysprosium.
Green phosphors for displays and lighting, NdFeB magnets (coercivity), solid oxide fuel cells, lasers and fluorescent lamps.
China, which controls the overwhelming majority of heavy-REE separation capacity. US imports of terbium compounds and metals came 100% from China (USGS, 2021-24).
US imports of terbium compounds and metals came 100% from China (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, 2021-24 import sources). China controls the overwhelming majority of heavy-REE separation capacity, and applied export controls to terbium in April 2025.
Extreme. China applied export controls to terbium in April 2025. The United States imported 100% of its terbium from China. Terbium oxide prices averaged about $812/kg in 2025 (USGS). With no alternative separation capacity at scale, a licensing slowdown is a supply cutoff in practice.
Terbium is one of the scarcest commercial rare earths. US imports of terbium came 100% from China. China applied export controls in April 2025, and with no alternative separation capacity at scale, a licensing slowdown is a supply cutoff in practice.
Terbium is a silvery heavy rare-earth metal from ion-adsorption clays and other rare-earth ores. It is one of the scarcest of the commercially produced rare earths, and its separation follows the same concentrated heavy-REE chain as dysprosium.
Green phosphors for displays and lighting, NdFeB magnets (coercivity), solid oxide fuel cells, lasers and fluorescent lamps.
China, which controls the overwhelming majority of heavy-REE separation capacity. US imports of terbium compounds and metals came 100% from China (USGS, 2021-24).
