Markets Outside China Updates
Prices:
Rare earth oxides: Cerium oxide FOB closed at $2,010-2,094/mt, stable for now; cerium oxide CIF (Rotterdam) closed at $2,740-2,750/mt, stable for now; lanthanum oxide FOB closed at $1,008-1,068/mt, stable for now. Praseodymium oxide FOB closed at $126-130/kg, up $2/mt; neodymium oxide FOB closed at $157-189/kg, up $2/mt; neodymium oxide CIF (Rotterdam) closed at $235-255/kg, stable for now; dysprosium oxide FOB closed at $265-319/kg; terbium oxide FOB closed at $1,091-1,179/kg, stable for now.
Rare earth metals: Praseodymium metal FOB closed at $171-179/kg, raised $5/kg; neodymium metal FOB closed at $159-179/kg, raised $6/kg; terbium metal FOB closed at $1,369-1,449/kg; yttrium metal FOB closed at $33-38/kg; lanthanum metal FOB at $3-3.1/kg, generally stable.
Trading:
Driven by rising domestic prices, Pr-Nd prices in markets outside China showed a clear upward trend this week, with notable premiums on both oxides and metals. On the trading front, Pr-Nd exports declined significantly due to undersupply in China, while export controls on heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium remained in effect, keeping exports at low levels.
Markets Outside China News Highlights
US Rare Earth Production Updates
US rare earth producer USA Rare Earth completed its first commercial casting of yttrium metal through its wholly owned subsidiary Less Common Metals, with purity between 99-99.5%, produced at LCM's facility in Cheshire, UK. USAR's upstream mining and separation capacity is not expected to come online until 2028. The company acquired LCM in September 2025 for $125 million. LCM has a metal manufacturing capacity of 1,500 mt/year and plans to add 26,000 mt/year of melt-spun permanent magnet strip casting capacity in the UK, US, and France by 2030. In March this year, USAR acquired the Round Top heavy rare earth project in Texas, with plans to begin commercial production in 2028.
Japan Launches Rare Earth Magnet Recycling Initiative
Japanese air conditioning giant Daikin, together with Shin-Etsu Chemical, Hitachi, and Tokyo Eco Recycle, launched an initiative to recover and reuse rare earth magnets from commercial air conditioning compressors. The plan aims to develop automated equipment in 2026 and begin full-scale operations in 2027, with a target of collecting approximately 10,000 compressors per year and ultimately recovering several metric tons of rare earth magnets annually. Daikin will collect compressors, Tokyo Eco Recycle will extract rare earth magnets, and Shin-Etsu Chemical will use the recovered magnets as raw material to produce new rare earth magnets. The entire process will be managed through a centralized data system, utilizing AI image recognition and robotic technology to optimize the disassembly process. Japan's Ministry of the Environment allocated approximately 37.9 billion yen ($238 million) in its FY2026 budget to promote the recycling of metal resources including rare metals and rare earths.
Brazil's Carina Rare Earth Project Confirms Production Plan
Brazilian rare earth producer Aclara confirmed its plan for the Carina project in Brazil, targeting production of over 4,300 mt/year of rare earth oxides by 2028. The project is expected to produce an average of 4,378 mt/year of REO mixed rare earth concentrates, including Pr-Nd (1,191 mt/year), dysprosium (156 mt/year), and terbium (27 mt/year). Other heavy rare earth elements include samarium (173 mt/year), gadolinium (176 mt/year), lutetium (10 mt/year), and yttrium (1,160 mt/year). Mined material will be sent to Louisiana for separation and processing. Construction is planned to begin in Q3 2026, with production expected to start in H2 2028 and full production in 2029. The mine life is estimated at 18 years, with oxide production costs estimated at $29.2/kg. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation provided $5 million in financing for the project, and the Louisiana state government offered $46 million in tax incentives.
Canadian Company Achieves Heavy Rare Earth Separation Breakthrough
Canada-headquartered Neo Performance Materials produced its first batches of separated terbium and dysprosium elements at its Silmet facility in Estonia, successfully commissioning a heavy rare earth element solvent extraction pilot production line. The production line uses mixed heavy rare earth carbonates as raw material and is currently operating at maximum capacity. Neo is now focused on delivering consistent product purity before entering routine production capacity. The company is also advancing its European permanent magnet facility in Estonia, targeting commercial production in 2026. All processing for the new production line is completed in Europe.
US NioCorp Signs Critical Minerals Offtake Agreement
US critical minerals developer NioCorp agreed to supply its remaining production from the Elk Creek project in Nebraska to Traxys North America for a period of 10 years. Under the non-binding offtake agreement, Traxys will make a strategic investment of up to $30 million in NioCorp and become a shareholder. NioCorp plans to sell 50% of its ferroniobium production to thyssenkrupp at a 3.75% discount to the Argus assessed price, and sell the remaining 50% of ferroniobium, as well as 100% of its scandium, titanium, and rare earth production, to Traxys during the first 10 years. The company has completed 100% of its commercial production plan, addressing key due diligence items in the Export-Import Bank's review of its $800 million debt financing package. The Elk Creek project plans to produce ferroniobium (7,450 mt/year), scandium oxide (104 mt/year), and titanium products (12,063 mt/year), with resources of Pr-Nd oxide (125,800 mt), dysprosium oxide (9,100 mt), and terbium oxide (2,300 mt).
European Rare Earth Resources Significantly Expanded
ASX-listed European Resources Corporation significantly expanded the mineral resource estimate for its Korsnäs rare earth project in Finland. The new inferred resources totaled 15.4 million mt at a grade of 1% rare earth oxides, with a cut-off grade of 0.5%. In less than a year and a half, the resources more than doubled. The initial mineral resource estimate report in November 2024 showed resources of 7.1 million mt at an average grade of 1.09%.
Alaska Rare Earth Project Resource Addition
TSXV-listed Ucore Rare Metals Inc. announced the addition of 801,600 mt of inferred mineral resources at an average grade of 0.60% total rare earth oxides at its Bokan-Dotson Ridge rare earth project in Alaska. The new mineral resources were calculated based on a 2022 surface trenching sampling program and a newly constructed deposit model. The company confirmed that Bokan's rare earth composition is unusually skewed toward more valuable heavy rare earths, with proportions ranging between 35% and 40% of total rare earth oxides. Current mineral resources include measured rare earth oxides totaling 4,826 mt, indicated totaling 19,545 mt, and inferred totaling 5,568 mt.
Greenland Exploration License Area Expanded
Dalaroo Metals more than doubled its tenement area in southwestern Greenland by applying for two entirely new large-scale exploration licenses adjacent to its existing Blue Lagoon project. The new tenements will add over 242 square kilometers to Dalaroo's portfolio, bringing its total area in Greenland to nearly 260 square kilometers. The Blue Lagoon project is located in the renowned Gardar Alkaline Province.
Industry Reports and Civil Opposition
The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China released a report on April 14 stating that Beijing's export controls on rare earth elements are creating significant uncertainty, forcing European enterprises to reassess their global supply chain exposure to China. On the same day, 57 non-governmental organizations in Malaysia launched a joint petition opposing a rare earth supply agreement worth approximately $96 million between Australian rare earth enterprise Lynas and the US Department of Defense. These organizations expressed concerns that the deal would directly link rare earth processing operations within Malaysia to foreign military supply chains, and urged Prime Minister Anwar to intervene, demanding a thorough review of the agreement details and the establishment of a relevant legal review framework.
Australia and US Provide Critical Minerals Project Financing
Australia and the US provided up to approximately A$849 million ($600 million) in potential financing for Tronox Holdings' rare earth refinery project. Export Finance Australia and the US Export-Import Bank each issued letters of support or intent for up to A$424 million for the project. The refinery will leverage existing mining and processing capacity to produce mixed rare earth carbonates. These agencies also issued letters of support or intent for up to A$500 million each for Ardea Resources Ltd.'s Kalgoorlie nickel project in Western Australia.
US and French Rare Earth Enterprises Reach Cooperation
USA Rare Earth and France's Carester are collaborating to advance rare earth element projects in both the US and France. USA Rare Earth will hold a 12.5% stake in Carester and leverage its expertise to scale up separation processes in Colorado. European investment company InfraVia Capital will make an equivalent investment in Carester. Carester will use the investment to build a commercial-scale rare earth separation plant in southern France, planned to begin operations later this year. A USA Rare Earth subsidiary is constructing a facility in the same region to convert Carester's rare earth oxides into pure metals. The collaboration will also provide Carester with heavy rare earth ore from a mine in Texas.
