Prices
No single exchange-settled price exists for ytterbium. Trade settles over-the-counter against benchmarks published by independent price-reporting agencies. We do not republish those numbers — consult the publishers directly:
Shanghai Metals Market ↗
Daily Chinese rare-earth oxide and metal benchmark quotations.
Fastmarkets — Rare Earths ↗
MB FOB China benchmark prices and market intelligence.
Asian Metal ↗
Daily REE oxide quotations from Chinese suppliers (subscription).
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 ↗
Annual U.S. Geological Survey reference — production, reserves, prices, and trade statistics for ytterbium.
About Ytterbium
Editorial overviewWhat is ytterbium?
Ytterbium (Yb, atomic number 70) is a soft silvery rare-earth metal in the lanthanide series. It is part of the rare-earth basket that USGS tracks with other lanthanides and yttrium, rather than as a separately reported mined metal.USGS MCS 2026 Rare Earths
How ytterbium is priced
Ytterbium has no exchange-listed contract. The reference market is the Chinese domestic spot market, where prices are published daily by Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) and the China Rare Earth Industry Association. International benchmark assessments are published by Fastmarkets and Argus Media on a daily/weekly basis. Both are regulated benchmark administrators under UK/EU BMR. The LME does not currently list a Ytterbium-specific contract; cash-settled rare-earth contracts on LME are limited to NdPr oxide.
Where ytterbium comes from
USGS MCS 2026 does not publish separate mine-production figures for ytterbium; it reports the rare-earth basket instead. In that basket, China led 2025 mine production with 270,000 metric tons of REO, or 69.2% of world total, followed by the United States with 51,000 tons (13.1%), Australia with 29,000 tons (7.4%), Vietnam with 12,150 tons (3.1%), and Brazil with 2,000 tons (0.5%).USGS MCS 2026 Rare Earths Full breakdown in the production and reserves sections.
Who produces ytterbium
For rare-earth supply relevant to ytterbium, major producers include MP Materials in the United States, which mines and processes high-grade ore at Mountain Pass, California, and Lynas Rare Earths in Australia, which references its Mt Weld deposit as a key source.MP Materials, Lynas Rare Earths China is the dominant state producer in the USGS rare-earths basket, and USGS also identifies the United States, Australia, Vietnam, and Brazil among the leading producing countries.USGS MCS 2026 Rare Earths Full list of producers below.
What ytterbium is used for
USGS says the leading domestic end use of rare earths is catalysts, while the leading global use is magnets.USGS MCS 2026 Rare Earths Lynas specifically lists ytterbium applications as fibre optic technology and solar panels.Lynas Rare Earths
Key facts about ytterbium supply
- USGS MCS 2026: world rare-earth mine production was 390,000 metric tons in 2025, and world reserves were more than 75,000,000 metric tons, implying more than 190 years of cover at 2025 production.USGS MCS 2026 Rare Earths
- USGS MCS 2026: China produced 270,000 metric tons in 2025, equal to 69.2% of world rare-earth mine production.USGS MCS 2026 Rare Earths
- USGS MCS 2026: the United States produced 51,000 metric tons in 2025, or 13.1% of world total, making it the second-largest producer in the basket.USGS MCS 2026 Rare Earths
- USGS MCS 2026: net import reliance for rare-earth compounds and metals was 67% of apparent U.S. consumption in 2025e, down from more than 90% in 2023.USGS MCS 2026 Rare Earths
- USGS MCS 2026: only limited quantities of rare earths were recovered from batteries, permanent magnets, and fluorescent lamps.USGS MCS 2026 Rare Earths
Sources: USGS MCS 2026 Rare Earths, Lynas Rare Earths, MP Materials
Mine Production by Country
Source: USGS MCS 2026Per-country production data not published by USGS
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 reports rare-earth production and reserves on a combined rare-earth-oxide (REO) basis only — per-country data are not broken out by individual element. Ytterbium production and reserves figures are not separately published by USGS. For the consolidated REE-group table covering all rare earths, see the Rare Earth Elements (REE) page.
Source: USGS MCS 2026
Major Producers (0)
No producer data available for this metal.
Latest News
All metals news →No recent news for this metal. Visit the Hub news section for all metals news.
Frequently Asked Questions
Auto-generated from primary-source dataWhat is the primary source for ytterbium production and reserves data?
Country-level ytterbium production and reserves figures on TSM Hub are sourced directly from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, the U.S. Geological Survey's authoritative annual reference. Company-level production figures come from each producer's official annual report, production report, or regulated exchange filing.