Rare Earths & Critical Minerals

China placed MP Materials and USA Rare Earth on its export control list, barring Chinese firms from supplying dual-use goods and technologies to the US rare earth producers. The move targets 10 US entities including defense-linked firms and restricts 46 US companies from Chinese government procurement. It signals Beijing's willingness to weaponize critical minerals leverage amid ongoing US-China tensions over supply chains for magnets and defense materials. Read →

MP Materials, Energy Fuels and Phoenix Tailings, backed by billions in US government support, are selling neodymium-praseodymium oxide and metals primarily to Japanese and South Korean buyers. Domestic US magnet manufacturing capacity lags, so producers ship abroad while China tightens export curbs. The shift highlights the challenge of building a full domestic rare earth-to-magnet chain despite Pentagon funding and offtake deals. Read →

USA Rare Earth is advancing its Stillwater, Oklahoma facility to produce rare earth magnets for EVs, missiles and data centers as geopolitical tensions with China intensify. The company aims to scale output in the only current US rare earth mine-to-magnet push outside China. The development underscores friend-shoring efforts to secure permanent magnet supply chains. Read →

Teck signed a framework agreement with Canada's Growth Fund and Critical Minerals Accelerator for up to C$400 million equity-like investment plus up to C$850 million total at its Trail smelter. The deal targets doubling germanium and antimony capacity and adding gallium production. It includes Canadian offtake rights to strengthen non-Chinese supply of these defense and tech-critical minerals. Read →

Oil India Limited explores graphite and vanadium reserves in Arunachal Pradesh, home to over one-third of India's graphite. The push targets battery-grade graphite supply for EVs amid China's 80% global natural graphite and 90% refining dominance. Local youth seek jobs from projects in the China-disputed region. Read →

At Canada's largest trade mission to Tokyo, firms signed over C$1 billion in mining investment and offtake deals focused on gallium, graphite, and rare earths. Ministers discussed joint stockpiling. The moves follow G7 targets to cut single-supplier dependence on rare earths and magnets below 60% by 2030. Read →

Firms increasingly cite Beijing's export controls on rare earths, imposed after PM Takaichi's Taiwan comments, as production and earnings risks. Tokyo pursues G7/U.S. alternatives and recycling to cut dependence. Controls target heavy REEs vital for magnets in EVs, defense and electronics. Read →

Japan expands recycling of neodymium, dysprosium and other REEs from EVs, motors and electronics to secure supplies and reduce China reliance. Heavy rare earth export bans highlight processing bottlenecks outside China. Moves include government-backed collection, disassembly and extraction infrastructure. Read →

Dozens of Japanese companies, including Citizen Watch and Omron, warned of supply risks from Beijing's halt on dysprosium, terbium and yttrium oxide shipments to Japan since late 2025. Mizuho estimates the impact could exceed the 2010 crisis as rare earths feed AI, EVs and magnets. Tokyo is accelerating US deals, G7 stockpiles and recycling to offset the squeeze. Read →

Lynas Rare Earths signed a long-term exclusive supply agreement through 2038 with South Korea's JS Link to feed its new Kuantan, Malaysia magnet factory and existing Korean plant. Lynas will invest $50 million in JS Link equity. The deal expands non-Chinese magnet capacity amid tightening Chinese controls. Read →

Lynas becomes exclusive rare-earth supplier to JS Link's South Korean and planned Malaysian magnet facilities until January 2038. The Pahang plant remains the sole non-Chinese commercial producer of materials for EVs and missiles as China tightens export grip. Read →

Malaysian lawmakers will hold a parliamentary committee hearing July 16 on Lynas Rare Earths' $96 million rare earth supply agreement with the US Department of Defense. The deal covers output from Lynas' Malaysian processing plant, the world's largest outside China. Activists protested the pact in Kuala Lumpur, highlighting political scrutiny over friend-shoring critical minerals to the US. Read →

China suspended its expanded rare earth export controls until November 10, 2026, following earlier announcements on heavy REEs, magnets, and refining chemicals. Beijing still added MP Materials and USA Rare Earth to its export-control list in June, showing selective enforcement even during the pause. The move underscores ongoing leverage over non-Chinese supply chains for neodymium-praseodymium and dysprosium used in permanent magnets. Read →

60 Minutes profiled MP Materials' efforts to build a US mine-to-magnet supply chain at Mountain Pass, California, and its Texas facilities, backed by a $400 million Pentagon equity stake and price-floor guarantees. The segment highlighted recycling partnerships, including with Apple, and the push for domestic NdPr and magnet production to reduce reliance on China. It aired amid renewed focus on critical minerals security. Read →

MP Materials sued USA Rare Earth in May over alleged theft of grain boundary diffusion technology for magnets by a former employee, seeking $5 million. China added both firms plus eight others to its export control list last week in retaliation for US restrictions on Chinese companies. The dispute underscores IP and supply risks for US mine-to-magnet efforts backed by Pentagon funding. Read →

G7 leaders at the Évian summit agreed to cut dependence on any single non-G7/partner supplier of rare earths and permanent magnets below 60% by 2030, with a 50% ambition sooner. The target follows 195 announced projects worth $74 billion in G7/partner critical minerals value chains and responds to prior Chinese export controls on heavy rare earths and magnets. Ministers must set targets for other critical minerals by year-end while boosting recycling. Read →

China placed MP Materials and USA Rare Earth on its export control list, restricting dual-use goods and technology exports to the firms central to US mine-to-magnet strategy. The move escalates US-China critical minerals confrontation and directly hits efforts to build non-Chinese capacity. Both companies are key to Pentagon-backed domestic supply chains. Read →

Chinese authorities formally arrested two Fuji Electric employees in Dalian after detaining them in May for allegedly violating rare earth export control laws by attempting to ship controlled products overseas. The move escalates enforcement from licensing to criminal penalties amid Beijing's tightening regime on dual-use rare earth technologies and materials. It heightens compliance risks and supply uncertainty for Japanese and other foreign firms reliant on Chinese-sourced rare earth magnets and components. Read →

China placed MP Materials and USA Rare Earth on its export control list, barring Chinese firms from supplying the US companies with dual-use goods and technologies. The action targets Pentagon-backed US rare earth miners developing domestic mine-to-magnet chains in retaliation for US restrictions on Chinese entities. It directly disrupts potential Chinese feedstock or technology flows to America's sole producing rare earth mine and emerging Texas projects. Read →

Democratic Republic of Congo will withdraw unused first-half cobalt export quotas by June 30 and reassign them to a state-controlled strategic quota. Only shipments declared by July 5 qualify, with forfeited volumes supporting national processing projects. The move by the top producer tightens supply of the battery metal amid prior quota curbs that lifted prices 160% since early 2025. Read →

Cobalt miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo must surrender unused first-half export quotas to the government regulator. The dominant supplier has maintained strict shipment limits since early 2025, with quotas replacing an earlier ban. The policy risks adding further tightness to the battery metal market. Read →

US stockpiles of critical minerals for high-end samarium-cobalt magnets are beginning to dwindle following China's prior export lockdowns on samarium, gadolinium, terbium and dysprosium. The drawdown highlights vulnerabilities in defense supply chains reliant on these rare earths. Last summer's Chinese restrictions directly constrained magnet production inputs. Read →

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers introduced legislation for a $2.5 billion Strategic Resilience Reserve to purchase and stockpile critical minerals and rare earth elements. The reserve aims to stabilize prices, encourage domestic and allied production, and reduce reliance on Chinese supplies. It directly targets vulnerabilities exposed by Beijing's export controls on materials essential for defense, EVs, and electronics. Read →

China added MP Materials and USA Rare Earth plus eight other US entities to its export control list, barring Chinese dual-use exports to them in retaliation for US actions against Chinese firms. MP Materials operates the only scaled US rare earth mine and is Pentagon-backed; both firms are central to US mine-to-magnet efforts. The move escalates the critical minerals standoff, limiting access to Chinese processing inputs despite the firms' limited prior reliance. Read →

The DOE selected two projects in Louisiana and Oklahoma for $134 million to demonstrate commercial recovery and refining of rare earth elements from mine tailings, electronic waste, and industrial waste. The funding targets unconventional feedstocks to build domestic supply chains and cut foreign dependence. It advances US efforts to scale non-Chinese processing capacity for defense and energy applications. Read →

China’s Ministry of Commerce blacklisted four Japanese defense research institutes and added 20 entities including Mitsubishi units to its export control list for dual-use items including rare earths and permanent magnets. Another 20 firms such as drone maker Terra Drone and nuclear processors went on a watch list requiring stricter licensing. The moves double the total sanctioned entities to 80 and continue a January campaign pressuring Tokyo over Taiwan policy. Read →

Beijing added 20 defense institutes and companies to its dual-use export control list and 20 more including Mitsui E&S to the watch list, doubling the total to 80. The escalation follows January bans on rare earths and magnets to Japan and has already driven terbium, dysprosium and yttrium exports to near zero, squeezing Japanese manufacturers of EVs, tools and electronics. Read →

The Army awarded conditional Enhanced Use Leases to REalloys for dysprosium and terbium at Tooele Army Depot, Titan Mining subsidiary Empire State Mines for graphite at Alabama/Arkansas sites, Ioneer for boron at Tooele, and EnergyX for lithium at Red River Army Depot. The no-taxpayer-cost deals aim to build domestic capacity for defense magnets, batteries and armor starting 2027-2028. Read →

China added 10 US entities including rare earth firms MP Materials and USA Rare Earth to its export control list effective June 22, prohibiting dual-use item exports. The targeted measure responds to recent US actions on Chinese military-linked companies. It heightens pressure on non-Chinese rare earth and magnet supply chains for defense and EVs. Read →

Navin Agarwal is personally investing ₹1,250 crore in NAN MagneTech to build a 1,200 tpa NdFeB magnet plant in Andhra Pradesh, targeting expansion to 10,000 tpa. The venture seeks India's PLI incentives and has secured Australian REE supply contracts plus expert advisors including NdFeB inventor Masato Sagawa. It advances friend-shoring of permanent magnet capacity away from China dominance. Read →

China’s Ministry of Commerce added MP Materials, USA Rare Earth and eight other US firms to its dual-use export control list, barring shipments of Chinese-origin items usable for civilian or military purposes. The move, effective immediately with extraterritorial reach, retaliates against recent US Pentagon blacklisting of Chinese companies. It tightens leverage over rare earth supply chains critical for magnets, defense and EVs despite recent US-China trade truce talks. Read →

Domestic Chinese PrNd oxide prices rallied in recent weeks to around $125/kg, the highest level since 2022, lifting ex-China benchmarks. The surge reflects ongoing supply tightness from prior export controls and strong demand for permanent magnets. It underscores China’s continued dominance in refining and pricing power for key rare earths used in EVs and wind turbines. Read →

Neodymium traded at 992,500 CNY per tonne on June 24, up 2.85% from the prior session and 5.59% over the past month. The benchmark tracks the Chinese domestic market for the key rare earth used in NdFeB permanent magnets. Gains align with broader PrNd complex strength amid export policy signals. Read →

China detained two Japanese nationals in Dalian on May 18 and 25 for alleged smuggling of restricted goods, including rare earth-related items. One case involves attempts to export products containing rare earths under export controls. The moves heighten Japan-China tensions as Beijing tightens enforcement of rare earth restrictions. Read →

Ucore produced 99.5%+ NdPr oxide at its Kingston RapidSX demo plant from mixed feedstock and shipped qualification samples to major North American and European magnet makers. The shipments advance potential offtake deals for its planned Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex. NdPr oxide is key feedstock for permanent magnets. Read →

China’s Commerce Ministry banned shipments of certain rare-earth metals and dual-use items to MP Materials and USA Rare Earth, key players in the Trump administration’s mine-to-magnet strategy backed by hundreds of millions in US government funding. The curbs hit 10 US firms total, including defense contractors, in response to US actions against Chinese companies. No dysprosium or terbium shipments to the US have occurred since April or October 2025 respectively, tightening pressure on permanent-magnet production for EVs, defense, and tech. Read →

China placed MP Materials, operator of the sole major US rare-earth mine at Mountain Pass, and USA Rare Earth on its export control list Monday to safeguard national security. The action also targets eight other US defense-linked firms and responds to Pentagon blacklisting of Chinese entities. USA Rare Earth recently secured $1.6 billion in US funding and is acquiring Brazil’s Serra Verde for dysprosium access; both companies accelerated domestic capacity after April 2025 Chinese rare-earth curbs. Read →

China's Commerce Ministry added 10 US entities, including rare earth producers MP Materials and USA Rare Earth, to its export control list, banning dual-use item exports to them. The move retaliates against Washington's recent addition of Chinese firms like Alibaba and BYD to its military-linked list. It directly targets companies central to US efforts to build non-Chinese rare earth and magnet supply chains for defense and EVs. Read →

China added MP Materials and USA Rare Earth to its export control list to safeguard national security, in response to the Pentagon's expanded list of Chinese military-linked companies. The curbs prohibit Chinese exporters from selling dual-use items, including rare earths and magnets, to the firms. Both US producers say they have already largely cut China-sourced supplies, making the impact mostly symbolic but highlighting rising tensions over critical minerals independence. Read →

China's Commerce Ministry placed MP Materials and USA Rare Earth on its export control list alongside eight other US entities tied to the military. The action bans dual-use exports and responds to US restrictions on Chinese firms. It underscores Beijing's leverage in rare earths amid US friend-shoring pushes for permanent-magnet supply chains. Read →

MP Materials, the sole scaled U.S. rare earth producer at Mountain Pass, California, operates under a DoD partnership with a 10-year $110/kg NdPr price floor and 100% magnet offtake. Its stock has dropped 42% from the 52-week high even as the firm advances the Texas 10X magnet campus targeting 10,000 metric tons annually from 2028. The decline highlights short-term market pressure on U.S. efforts to build non-Chinese permanent-magnet supply chains for EVs and defense. Read →

Canada highlighted the Ucore-Sumitomo Corporation of Americas framework at the 2026 G7 Leaders’ Summit in Évian, France, as a key critical minerals partnership for rare earth supply to magnet makers in Japan and North America. The June 15 deal targets feedstock sourcing and offtake for Ucore’s Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex, focusing on middle and heavy rare earths. Recognition advances allied diversification of permanent-magnet supply chains away from China. Read →

G7 leaders at the Evian summit agreed to coordinate diversification, stockpiling, and a new IEA-linked platform for early warnings on supply risks. The group aims to cap any single non-G7 supplier's share of rare earths and permanent magnet imports below 60% by 2030, with a longer-term goal of 50%. Pilots begin with lithium and nickel tracking, expanding to rare earths, while exploring price-gap tools and joint procurement to build resilient chains outside China. Read →

Leaders pledged coordinated stockpiling and an IEA-supported platform for data sharing and disruption alerts. They set a target to reduce dependence on any single external supplier for rare earths and permanent magnets to under 60% by 2030. The U.S. Project Vault stockpile initiative and tracing programs starting with lithium/nickel underscore the push for friend-shoring amid ongoing Chinese export controls. Read →

G7 nations committed to ensuring no single country supplies more than 60% of their rare earth imports by 2030, targeting China's 70% production share and 95% magnet dominance. The pledge responds to reinstated Chinese export controls on defense-critical materials set for November. U.S. firms like MP Materials and USA Rare Earth are positioned to scale non-Chinese processing and magnet output, though heavy rare earth gaps remain a hurdle. Read →

The U.S. Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital announced a $500 million conditional loan commitment to Phoenix Tailings to scale domestic rare earth separation and metallization. Combined with private capital, it aims for roughly $1 billion to expand production at existing sites and build the new 'Freedom Facility' in New Hampshire, targeting light and heavy rare earth metals for magnets and defense supply chains. Operations are slated to begin in 2028, directly addressing midstream bottlenecks in the U.S. mine-to-magnet chain. Read →

Phoenix Tailings received the conditional $500 million loan from the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital for domestic rare earth midstream processing. The funding supports construction of the Freedom Facility to produce light and heavy rare earth metals from concentrates, recyclates, and other feedstocks, bridging extraction to permanent magnet production. It strengthens U.S. supply chain security amid heavy reliance on Chinese processing for EVs, jets, and defense applications. Read →

Prime Minister Mark Carney offered Italy priority access to Canada’s critical mineral reserves during G7 talks in France. The move expands bilateral cooperation on supply chains, defense, and energy to counter reliance on China-dominated sources. It highlights friend-shoring efforts for minerals including those tied to rare earth and battery supply chains. Read →

Japan's Proterial will invest ₹2,250 crore ($270M) to build a 1.2 ktpa sintered NdFeB permanent magnet facility in Andhra Pradesh's Achutapuram. The plant targets EV, wind, defense and electronics supply chains to cut India's China dependence. It follows India's new incentive program for domestic rare earth magnets and state approval last week. Read →

Ucore and Sumitomo signed a June 10 framework to source feedstock for Ucore's Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex and develop offtake for middle/heavy rare earths like NdPr, dysprosium and terbium aimed at Japanese magnet makers. SCOA will distribute separated products in Japan while supporting North American and allied processing. The deal advances ex-China supply chains via RapidSX technology. Read →

Japan will dispatch officials from METI, trading firms and JOGMEC to Greenland this summer to evaluate rare earth deposits and discuss projects with local authorities. The move targets diversification away from China, which dominates global rare earth processing and supply. Greenland's reserves position it as a potential non-Chinese source for elements critical to magnets and defense. Read →

Ramaco's Brook Mine in Wyoming, hosting neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium in coal-adjacent deposits, is progressing as the first new US rare earth mine in 70 years. The project leverages coal operations to fund REE extraction, targeting domestic supply security. It addresses heavy dependence on Chinese processing for permanent magnet materials. Read →

Beijing's 2025 rare-earth export controls continue restricting US access, prompting three-quarters of affected firms to seek non-Chinese suppliers. Western firms invest in Brazil's reserves and other sites while Chinese scrap traders buy US tungsten. The controls sustain pressure on permanent-magnet and defense supply chains. Read →