Metals & Critical Minerals – 2024 Year in Review
31 Dec.2023 – 31 Dec.2024
49 METALS & MINERALSPrecious Metals, Battery Metals, Uranium, Platinum Group Metals
Base Metals, Rare Earths, Minor Metals
* Critical Minerals
Metal Price Leaders, 2024
| 2024 | Units | ||
| Minor Metal | Antimony (Sb) | +179.6% | $ USD/MT |
| Minor Metal | Gallium (Ga) | +43.0% | $ USD/kg. |
| Precious Metal | Gold (Au) | +27.2% | $ USD/oz. |
On December 3rd, 2024, China announced export bans for Antimony (Sb), Gallium (Ga) and Germanium (Ge). Prior to this, these metals had been the subjects of export restrictions from China. Against this backdrop, The People’s Bank of China was a significant buyer of Gold throughout 2024. PR China is, therefore, principally involved in price dynamics for all three of the global metal price performance leaders in 2024.
Antimony (Sb), Gallium (Ga) and Germanium (Ge) are used in applications for, respectively, photo voltaic, semiconductor and fibre optic technology component manufacturing. US-China trade tensions are expected to continue to manifest in elevated price volatility across the metals complex during 2025.
Metal Price Laggards, 2024
| 2024 | Units | ||
| Battery Metal | Lithium Metal (Li) | -42.5% | $ USD/lb. |
| Rare Earth | Dysprosium (Dy) | -38.0% | $ USD /lb. |
The sell-off in Battery Metals and Lithium Metal (Li) in particular carried on throughout 2024. Dysprosium (Dy), principally used in Neodymium (Nd) based magnets which are resistant to demagnetization at high temperatures, also retraced with a cooling in Chinese market sentiment for specialty magnets and high-performance motors.
| PRECIOUS METALS | ∆ % | 31.Dec.2024 | 31.Dec.2023 | |
| Gold (Au) | 27.2% | $ USD/oz. | $2,625 | $2,063 |
| Silver (Ag) | 21.5% | $ USD/oz. | $28.89 | $23.78 |
| BATTERY METALS | ||||
| CATHODE | ||||
| Lithium Metal (Li) | -42.5% | $ USD/lb. | $4.94 | $8.59 |
| Lithium Carbonate (Li₂CO₃) | -22.6% | $ USD/lb. | $4.92 | $6.36 |
| Lithium Hydroxide (LiOH.H₂O) | -19.3% | $ USD/lb. | $4.57 | $5.66 |
| Cobalt Metal (Co) | -15.4% | $ USD/lb. | $11.19 | $13.23 |
| Cobalt Sulfate (CoSO₄) | -15.9% | $ USD/lb. | $1.75 | $2.08 |
| Cobalt Chloride (CoCl₂) | -15.4% | $ USD/lb. | $2.15 | $2.54 |
| Nickel Oxide (NiO) | -9.8% | $ USD/lb. | $6.66 | $7.38 |
| Nickel Sulfate (NiSO₄) | 1.2% | $ USD/lb. | $1.73 | $1.71 |
| Nickel Chloride (NiCl₂) | -4.5% | $ USD/lb. | $2.35 | $2.46 |
| Vanadium Pentoxide (V₂O₅) | -19.8% | $ USD/lb. | $4.81 | $6.00 |
| ENERGY METALS | ||||
| Uranium (U₃O8) | -11.4% | $ USD/lb. | $72.90 | $82.30 |
| PLATINUM GROUP METALS | ||||
| Platinum (Pt) | -3.8% | $ USD/oz. | $906.76 | $943.00 |
| Palladium (Pd) | -22.0% | $ USD/oz. | $913.82 | $1,171 |
| Rhodium (Rh) | 10.3% | $ USD/oz. | $4,550 | $4,125 |
| Iridium (Ir) | -16.0% | $ USD/oz. | $4,200 | $5,000 |
| Ruthenium (Ru) | 9.4% | $ USD/oz. | $465.00 | $425.00 |
| Rhenium (Re) | 25.7% | $ USD/oz. | $69.77 | $55.51 |
| BASE METALS | ||||
| Tin (Sn) | 12.7% | $ USD/lb. | $13.10 | $11.62 |
| Nickel (Ni) | -9.7% | $ USD/lb. | $6.85 | $7.59 |
| Copper (Cu) | 2.9% | $ USD/lb. | $3.92 | $3.81 |
| Aluminum (Al) | 17.2% | $ USD/lb. | $1.16 | $0.99 |
| Zinc (Zn) | 18.4% | $ USD/lb. | $1.35 | $1.14 |
| Lead (Pb) | -6.5% | $ USD/lb. | $0.87 | $0.93 |
| HEAVY RARE EARTHS | ||||
| Gadolinium Oxide (Gd₂O₃) | -26.6% | $ USD/lb. | $9.78 | $13.32 |
| Terbium (Tb) | -23.8% | $ USD/lb. | $457.70 | $600.40 |
| Terbium Oxide (Tb₄O₇) | -24.3% | $ USD/lb. | $367.50 | $485.57 |
| Dysprosium (Dy) | -38.0% | $ USD/lb. | $133.20 | $214.90 |
| Dysprosium Oxide (Dy₂O₃) | -35.4% | $ USD/lb. | $105.60 | $163.39 |
| Erbium Oxide (Er₂O₃) | 4.6% | $ USD/lb. | $18.70 | $17.88 |
| Yttrium Oxide (Y₂O₃) | -5.9% | $ USD/lb. | $2.72 | $2.89 |
| Scandium (Sc) | -4.5% | $ USD/lb. | $1,330 | $1,393 |
| Scandium Oxide (Sc₂O₃) | -5.4% | $ USD/lb. | $277.8 | $293.7 |
| Battery Grade Mischmetal | -9.4% | $ USD/lb. | $9.63 | $10.63 |
| LIGHT RARE EARTHS | ||||
| Lanthanum Oxide (La₂O₃) | 0.0% | $ USD/lb. | $0.26 | $0.26 |
| Cerium (Ce) | -4.6% | $ USD/lb. | $1.64 | $1.72 |
| Cerium Oxide (CeO₂) | 34.2% | $ USD/lb. | $0.51 | $0.38 |
| Praseodymium (Pr) | -9.7% | $ USD/lb. | $35.83 | $39.70 |
| Praseodymium Oxide (Pr₂O₃) | -9.5% | $ USD/lb. | $27.17 | $30.02 |
| Neodymium (Nd) | -10.5% | $ USD/lb. | $32.61 | $36.42 |
| Neodymium Oxide (Nd₂O₃) | -11.5% | $ USD/lb. | $26.44 | $29.86 |
| MINOR METALS * | ||||
| Antimony (Sb) | 179.6% | $ USD/MT | $33,550 | $12,000 |
| Cadmium (Cd) | 1.9% | $ USD/MT | $5,099 | $5,005 |
| Gallium (Ga) | 43.0% | $ USD/kg. | $295.80 | $206.90 |
| Germanium (Ge) | -1.1% | $ USD/kg. | $1,360 | $1,375 |
| Hafnium (Hf) | -6.1% | $ USD/kg. | $4,373 | $4,657 |
| Indium (In) | 13.4% | $ USD/kg. | $368.2 | $324.8 |
| Manganese (Mn) | -1.9% | $ USD/MT | $58.15 | $59.30 |
| Molybdenum (Mo) | 3.7% | $ USD/kg. | $67.85 | $65.40 |
| Silicon (Si) | -19.6% | $ USD/MT | $1,808 | $2,249 |
| Tellurium (Te) | -2.1% | $ USD/kg. | $80.72 | $82.46 |
| Zirconium (Zr) | 0.0% | $ USD/kg. | $27.12 | $27.12 |
* Minor Metals are quoted in Metric Units
* Prices quoted in both Imperial and Metric Units available on: MineralPrices.com
Critical Minerals, 2024
On January 10th, 2023, the 118th United States Congress formed a ‘House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party’. On June 18th, 2024, this House Select Committee established the ‘Critical Minerals Policy Working Group’. This Working Group was setup to focus on the United States’ deep reliance on critical mineral imports, particularly from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and to make recommendations for corrective and protective actions in support of supply chain resilience for critical minerals.
On June 10th, 2024, the Government of Canada updated The Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy adding high-purity iron, phosphorus and silicon metal to the list of critical minerals and bringing the updated list to a total of 34 constituents.
On September 15th, 2024, the government of New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment published a draft Minerals Strategy for New Zealand. The list includes a total of 35 constituents including Rare Earths and Platinum Group Metals.
On November 28th, 2024, the UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre published an expanded list of Critical Minerals which had last been updated in 2021. The list increased from 18 to 34 constituents including Rare Earths and Platinum Group Metals.
On December 3rd, 2024, China announced export bans for Antimony(Sb), Gallium (Ga) and Germanium (Ge).
On December 11th, 2024, NATO’s 32-member defense grouping released a list of NATO’s 12 Defense-Critical Raw Materials essential for the Allied defense industry.”
Critical Minerals (News & Prices)
 |
USA, 2 lists | USGS (29 Critical Minerals + PGMs + REEs)/ DoE (12 Critical Minerals + REEs) |
 |
NATO | 12 Defense Critical Raw Materials |
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Europe | 30 Critical Minerals + PGMs + REEs |
 |
Japan | 31 Critical Minerals + PGMs + REEs |
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UK | 28 Critical Minerals + PGMs + REEs |
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Canada | 32 Critical Minerals + PGMs + REEs |
 |
Australia, 2 lists | 26 Critical Minerals + PGMs + REEs/ 6 Strategic Minerals |
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South Korea | 32 Critical Minerals + PGMs + REEs |
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New Zealand | 33 Critical Minerals + PGMs + REEs |
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PRC China | Advantageous Minerals/ Shortage Minerals/ IREA |
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India | 29 Critical Minerals + PGMs + REEs |
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Russian Federation | Strategic & Deficient / Strategic not Deficient / Deficient & not Strategic |
Reported by: Christopher J. Berlet BSc, CFA Supported By: Khadijah Samnani, Analyst
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Live real-time prices, recent news and a complete list of Precious Metals, Battery Metals, Platinum Group Metals, Base Metals, Rare Earths, Minor Metals and Critical Minerals for all jurisdictions can be reviewed at: https://mineralprices.com
Critical Mineral Lists Include: USA (2 lists), NATO, European Union, Japan, UK, Canada, Australia (2 lists), South Korea, New Zealand and PRC China (Advantageous Minerals, Shortage Minerals, IREA List), Inia and Russian Federation (Strategic and Deficient, Strategic not Deficient, Deficient not Strategic). https://mineralprices.com/critical-minerals/