Lanthanum

Overview

Lanthanum is element 57, the first of the lanthanide series, and a light rare-earth element (LREE).¹ Its name comes from the Greek for "to lie hidden": it was discovered in 1839 as an unexpected impurity in cerium.²

The metal on its own has few commercial uses. Its compounds and alloys are widely used in oil-refining catalysts, nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries and high-quality optical glass.² Most US consumption of light rare earths is in the form of lanthanum and cerium compounds.¹

The United States lists lanthanum individually as a critical mineral, and the EU lists it within the "light rare earth elements" group.³⁴ Unlike neodymium, praseodymium or cerium, lanthanum is not part of the EU's strategic "rare earth elements for magnets" entry.⁴

Where it comes from

Lanthanum occurs with the other rare earths, mainly in monazite and bastnaesite. The Royal Society of Chemistry puts its typical share at about 25% of the rare-earth content of monazite and 38% of bastnaesite.² Actual proportions vary between deposits: USGS figures range from about 22% to 36% at the major bastnaesite and monazite deposits, and up to 38% at the Xunwu ion-adsorption clay deposit in China.¹ At Mountain Pass in California, lanthanum is the second-largest component after cerium.¹

• Cerium49%
• Lanthanum34%
• Neodymium12%
• Praseodymium4%
• Samarium<1%
• Other rare earths<1%

Share of total rare-earth oxide content, as tabulated in the USGS 2020 Minerals Yearbook from company data. "Other rare earths" is europium, gadolinium and yttrium. Source: 2020 Minerals Yearbook: Rare Earths

USGS does not publish lanthanum-specific production data. It reports rare earths as a group in rare-earth-oxide (REO) terms. World mine production was an estimated 390,000 t REO in 2025, of which China produced about 270,000 t, or 69%. The United States produced about 51,000 t, and Australia about 29,000 t.⁵ China also dominated the production of separated rare-earth compounds and metals.¹

• China270,000 t · 69%
• United States51,000 t · 13%
• Australia29,000 t · 7%
• Burma22,000 t · 6%
• Thailand4,800 t · 1%
• Other countries12,510 t · 3%

USGS reports rare earths only as a group, in rare-earth-oxide (REO) terms; these are not lanthanum-only figures. World total is the USGS rounded figure; the country estimates sum to 389,310 t. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rare Earths

What it is used for

USGS describes how the main rare-earth markets use lanthanum:¹

• Catalysts. Lanthanum and cerium are the main rare earths used in catalysts, with smaller amounts of neodymium. Catalysts were the leading US end use of rare earths in 2025.⁵ Lanthanum is used as a catalyst in petroleum refining.²
• Batteries. Rare-earth battery alloys are mainly lanthanum, with smaller amounts of cerium and other rare earths.¹ A lanthanum-nickel alloy stores hydrogen and is used in NiMH batteries for hybrid cars.²
• Glass. Lanthanum is the largest rare earth used in glass by quantity, ahead of cerium and erbium.¹ Lanthanum oxide improves the optical properties and alkali resistance of glass for camera and telescope lenses.²
• Polishing and alloys. Polishing compounds are mainly cerium but contain some lanthanum.¹ About 20% of mischmetal, the alloy used in lighter flints, is lanthanum.²
• Magnets. Lanthanum has a limited use in certain ferrite magnets.¹

Grades and forms

Lanthanum is sold as separated oxide, carbonate and chloride, as metal, and in alloys such as mischmetal and hydrogen-storage alloys. USGS tracks lanthanum oxide of at least 99.5% purity and mischmetal with about 65% cerium and 35% lanthanum.⁵

Trade and policy

The United States relied on imports for about 67% of its rare-earth compounds and metals in 2025. Between 2021 and 2024, 71% of these imports came from China. Imports from Estonia, Japan and Malaysia were processed from concentrates and intermediates produced in Australia, China and elsewhere.⁵ For fiscal year 2025, the US National Defense Stockpile's potential acquisitions included 1,100 t of lanthanum.⁵

Lanthanum itself is not among the elements under China's export licensing, but the wider rare-earth measures shape its supply chain:

This section is factual background, not legal or trade-compliance advice.

Recycling and substitution

Only limited quantities of rare earths are recovered from end-of-life products, mainly from batteries, permanent magnets and fluorescent lamps.⁵ Substitutes exist for many rare-earth uses but are generally less effective.⁵

Sources

1. 2020 Minerals Yearbook: Rare Earths. U.S. Geological Survey, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰

2. Lanthanum: element information, properties and uses. Royal Society of Chemistry, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

3. Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals. Federal Register, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

4. EU critical raw materials. European Commission Joint Research Centre (RMIS), accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩²

5. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rare Earths. U.S. Geological Survey, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

6. China Publishes the Catalog of Technologies Prohibited or Restricted from Export. ChemRadar (CIRS Group), accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

7. Announcement No. 18 of 2025 on implementing export control on medium and heavy rare earth related items. Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

8. China Imposes Extraterritorial Export Control Measures Over Rare Earth Items. Jones Day, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

9. China Temporarily Suspends Export Controls on Key Raw Materials, Including Rare Earths, Lithium Batteries, and Diamonds. CIRS Group, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

10. China's Rare Earth Processing Dominance and What the Trump-Xi Summit Didn't Change. Bloomsbury Intelligence and Security Institute, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩