Developments in Markets Outside China
Prices:
Rare Earth Oxides: Cerium oxide FOB closed at $1,960-2,044/mt, up $55/mt; cerium oxide CIF (Port of Rotterdam) closed at $2,635-2,645/mt, up $60/mt; lanthanum oxide FOB closed at $960-1,020/mt, remaining stable. Praseodymium oxide FOB closed at $162-130/kg, down $3/kg; neodymium oxide FOB closed at $155-187/kg, down $3/kg; neodymium oxide CIF (Port of Rotterdam) closed at $230-250/kg, down $5/kg. Dysprosium oxide FOB closed at $262-316/kg, down $13/kg, and terbium oxide FOB closed at $1,097-1,187/kg, down $15/kg.
Rare Earth Metals: Praseodymium metal FOB closed at $171-179/kg, down $4/kg; neodymium metal FOB closed at $155-175/kg, down $4/kg; terbium metal FOB closed at $1,384-1,464/kg, down $19.5; yttrium metal FOB closed at $33-38/kg; lanthanum metal FOB was priced at $3-3.1/kg, with the overall market remaining stable.
Trading:
This week, rare earth prices in markets outside China generally trended downward except for cerium oxide. Cerium oxide prices rose slightly, supported by continued gains in prices in China, with CIF prices posting a more pronounced increase due to rising ocean freight rates. Although prices of Pr-Nd, dysprosium, and terbium were affected by weaker prices in China, trading volumes entering markets outside China remained relatively tight at this stage due to various factors such as export controls and approval procedures, resulting in a clear premium in markets outside China. However, some industry participants said that, affected by the war in the Middle East, European industry may enter a sluggish trend, and rare earth demand may decline to some extent in the future, though the specific outcome remained to be seen.
Overseas News Brief
Lynas Malaysia Plant Achieved Samarium Oxide Production Ahead of Schedule
Lynas Rare Earths announced that its heavy rare earth separation facility in Kuantan, Malaysia, had successfully produced its first batch of on-spec samarium oxide, marking a milestone achieved ahead of the original April 2026 schedule. The startup made Lynas the only producer outside China capable of commercially separating heavy rare earth oxides, and its heavy rare earth product line has now expanded to three products, including the previously produced dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide. The plant’s heavy rare earth separation expansion project was announced on October 29, 2025, and launched as part of a phased construction plan. The initial process will cover the separation of samarium, gadolinium, dysprosium, terbium, yttrium, and lutetium, and the related capacity is expected to be gradually released over the next two years. The company stated that, based on commercial agreements and return on investment assessments, it will further invest in the production of other heavy rare earth products, including europium, holmium, ytterbium, and erbium. Lynas CEO Amanda Lacaze noted that the early commercial production of samarium oxide validated the team's technical capabilities and will support client demand in high performance magnets, optics, catalysts, and medical applications, marking a key step in the company's "2030 Growth" strategy.
Japan, the US, and Europe Advance Rare Earth Supply Chain Diversification and Pricing Mechanisms
Data from the Japanese government and academia showed that the estimated cost of developing rare earth resources near Minamitorishima was about 11 million yen per mt, 20 times the import price from China, while also facing technical and environmental concerns over marine ecological damage and the scale of seabed mud extraction. To reduce dependence on Chinese rare earths, Japan is accelerating international cooperation and plans to prioritize discussion of establishing a rare earth trade zone centered on Japan, the US, and Europe during leaders' talks with the US. At the Critical Minerals Ministerial hosted by the US Department of State in February this year, the US proposed establishing a lowest price system for rare earth elements aimed at curbing the market impact of low-priced Chinese products, and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to discuss advancing the plan with US President Trump during her visit to the US. Although supply chain diversification is regarded as an urgent task, Japanese officials acknowledged that if global enterprises continue purchasing low-priced Chinese rare earths, the effectiveness of the lowest price mechanism will be limited. At present, 70 of Japan's annual rare earth demand of about 20,000 mt relies on imports from China, and Nomura Securities estimated that government stockpiles could sustain supply for only 6 to 12 months. At a recent meeting, US Assistant Secretary of Defense Mike Cadenazzi emphasized that China poses a strategic challenge in manufacturing capacity and control over critical minerals, and noted that the environmental complexity of rare earth processing is one of the main obstacles to rebuilding Western supply chains.
Radioactive Risks at Lynas Malaysia Plant Draw Attention
Following the decision to approve a 10-year extension of the operating license for Lynas's Malaysia plant, local scientists expressed concern about the spread of radioactive materials. Experts from Universiti Teknologi MARA, Ismacahyadi Bagus Mohamed Jais and Noorfaizah Hamzah, pointed out that high rainfall in Malaysia's tropical climate could allow rainwater to infiltrate scrap storage areas; if scrap is not properly managed, radioactive elements such as uranium may dissolve and migrate with groundwater, thereby contaminating nearby soil, rivers, wetlands, and coastal ecosystems, and potentially entering the food chain. The experts warned that environmental conditions will directly determine the migration pathways of pollutants within ecosystems, and that the long-term impact of scrap disposal on the local environment requires close monitoring.
Australia's Terrain Reports High-Grade Rare Earth Drilling Results
Terrain's rare earth project, located in the Albany Fraser Belt, 50 km northwest of Esperance in Western Australia, made new drilling progress. The company has initiated a follow-up air-core drilling program aimed at verifying whether the rare earth anomaly discovered a year ago points to a larger-scale deposit. The drilling target is a 66-square-kilometer weathered zone identified through airborne electromagnetics, with the system inferred to extend more than 12 kilometers in length and 5.5 kilometers in width. The latest drilling data revealed high-grade ore intervals in a shallow clay basin: an 8-meter interval at a depth of 23 meters returned a total rare earth oxide (TREO) grade of 4,037 ppm; this included two 1-meter high-grade peaks, with TREO grades of 9,842 ppm and 9,022 ppm recorded at depths of 25 meters and 27 meters, respectively. Of particular significance, these high-grade ore intervals showed substantial magnetic rare earth element content, with the first peak containing 2,362 ppm neodymium, 647 ppm praseodymium, and 291 ppm dysprosium, and the second peak containing 1,645 ppm neodymium, 437 ppm praseodymium, and 215 ppm dysprosium. The company is expected to conduct multi-point exploration in the area and collect three-meter composite samples to further assess the scale of the resource and the consistency of its grade.
