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Which minerals are mined as major sources of rare-earth elements?

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A line graph showing electron probability distributions for gadolinium, with separate curves for 4f, 5s, 5p, 5d, and 6s orbitals. The x-axis shows distance from the nucleus in atomic units and the y-axis shows probability P2(r). — rare-earth element Electron probabilities, P²*(r)*, for the 4f, 5s, 5p, 5d, and 6s electrons of gadolinium.

Although approximately 160 minerals are known to contain rare-earth elements, only four are currently mined as major commercial sources. Together, these four minerals account for about 95 percent of the rare-earth elements currently in use.1

The four primary minerals are:

Bastnasite: A primary source of light lanthanides and lanthanum.1
Monazite: A phosphate mineral that also serves as a source of light lanthanides.12
Loparite: Another significant source of light lanthanides.1
Laterite clays: Unlike the others, these are a commercial source of heavy lanthanides and yttrium.1

While other minerals such as apatite, euxenite, gadolinite, and xenotime have been used as sources in the past, they are not among the primary minerals currently mined for this purpose. Some of these may be processed as by-products when extracted for other constituents.1