Rare earth oxides: Pr-Nd oxide FOB was quoted at $115-127/kg, Pr-Nd oxide CIF Rotterdam was quoted at $108-122/kg, lanthanum oxide FOB was quoted at $1,059-1,119/mt, up $36/mt, cerium oxide FOB was quoted at $2,005-2,007/mt, cerium oxide CIF Rotterdam was quoted at $2,722-2,792/mt, praseodymium oxide FOB was quoted at $126-130/kg, holding steady for now, neodymium oxide FOB was quoted at $141-143/kg, terbium oxide FOB was quoted at $1,186-1,274/kg, down $8/kg.
Rare earth metals: Pr-Nd alloy FOB was quoted at $136-142/kg, Pr-Nd alloy CIF Rotterdam was quoted at $140-144/kg, lanthanum metal FOB was quoted at $3/kg, praseodymium metal FOB was quoted at $158-166/kg, neodymium metal FOB was quoted at $148-160/kg, holding steady for now, terbium metal FOB was quoted at $1,490-1,574/kg, down $6/kg.
Trading: Prices outside China held steady this week. With domestic prices remaining stable and international demand constrained by licensing, growth was limited and prices showed no notable fluctuations.
Overseas rare earth news this week
Project resources and exploration updates
Axel REE updated the resource estimate after completing drilling at the Woolrich ion-adsorption rare earth deposit within the Caladao project in Brazil. Total ore resources stood at 265 million mt, with a TREO grade of 0.1101% and a gallium oxide grade of 0.00347%, including indicated ore resources of 110 million mt at 0.1073% TREO and 0.00351% gallium oxide. The deposit remains open along strike and at depth. Volta Metals released the latest drilling results for holes SL26-28, SL26-34, and SL26-36 at the Sturgeon Falls project in Ontario, Canada. Hole SL26-28 intersected 214.5 meters grading 0.80% TREO and 0.00638% gallium oxide from 103.5 to 318.0 meters, including a 1.5-meter interval from 291.0 to 292.5 meters grading 7.37% TREO and 0.02527% gallium oxide, with elevated magnet rare earth elements praseodymium, neodymium, dysprosium, and terbium. Dalaroo Metals completed structural geological mapping at the Blue Lagoon rare earth project in southern Greenland, collecting 354 structural measurements and identifying quartz veins and pegmatite trends, controlling faults, and extensive alkaline alteration similar to the structural setting of the adjacent Ilua pegmatite deposit held by Amaroq Minerals. The company believes this structural network provided pathways for ore-bearing fluids entering the Blue Lagoon basin. Saudi Arabia's energy minister announced at the 70th IAEA General Conference the discovery of approximately 110 million mt of rare earth minerals and uranium-bearing ore at the Jabal Sayid mining area in Medina. CSIS, citing Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources and Ma'aden data, said the mining area ranks fourth globally, with about 52,000 mt of heavy rare earths, 355,000 mt of light rare earths, and about 35,000 mt of uranium. The Saudi Press Agency reported that by November 2025, the value of rare earth elements discovered in Saudi Arabia had reached $100 billion, up 90% from 2018, with estimated ore resources of 6.44 million mt in two later-stage exploration areas.
Smelting, separation, recycling, and processing plant progress
Toyota Tsusho is conducting a feasibility study on the Lofdal deposit in Namibia and plans to make a commercialization decision within the fiscal year ending March 2027. The project has a designed capacity of 2,000 mt/year of total rare earth oxides, 117 mt/year of dysprosium, and 17.5 mt/year of terbium. The Caremag project in southwestern France, invested in by Iwatani Corporation, will process 2,000 mt/year of end-of-life rare earth magnets and 5,000 mt/year of rare earth ore, with about half of its heavy rare earth products supplied to the Japanese market. Lynas is advancing the expansion of its heavy rare earth separation capacity. Lofdal, Caremag, and the Lynas expansion are all expected to reach commercial-scale operations in 2027-2028. Neo Performance Materials' European permanent magnet plant has begun commercial production and delivered sintered rare earth magnets to Tier 1 EV traction motor clients, with more traction motor and accessory magnet projects expected to launch later this year. Neo agreed to provide technical support for the solvent extraction separation system at Rainbow Rare Earths' Phalaborwa project in South Africa. The system extracts rare earths from phosphogypsum and is expected to produce 1,800 mt/year of Pr-Nd and about 80 mt/year of dysprosium and terbium, with Pr-Nd oxide purity exceeding 99%. Neo will receive 40% of annual Pr-Nd oxide output and 65% of concentrates, along with fair transaction consideration based on rare earth price indices. The agreement is non-binding. Rainbow Rare Earths' solution has been tested at Neo's facility in Estonia, with a pilot plant to be built in Johannesburg subsequently. A pre-feasibility study is due in Q4 and a definitive feasibility study in H1 next year. Rainbow is also advancing the Uberaba project in Brazil with Mosaic. In the Appalachian region of West Virginia, US, rare earths are being extracted from acid mine drainage at abandoned coal mines. West Virginia University is conducting trials at the Mount Storm abandoned coal mine, where wastewater after rare earth extraction and decontamination turns turquoise and can be safely discharged.
US and allied supply chains and defense applications
American Rare Earths signed a memorandum of understanding with Novex to convert rare earth oxides separated from the Halleck Creek project in Wyoming into permanent magnet metals. Novex will support improving recovery rates, purity, and qualification rates for neodymium-praseodymium, terbium, dysprosium, samarium, and yttrium, and will jointly design metal production facilities and study an all-US raw material and processing supply chain. Vulcan Elements passed a competitive US Army screening to supply high-performance NdFeB magnets for the SkyFoundry drone program, which aims to produce 1 million small, authentically American drones per year at the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania. The tender requires fully localized, vertically integrated manufacturing processes. The Colosseum gold-rare earth project in California's Mojave Desert has been ordered to halt operations, as a court reviews whether its 1980s operating plan still permits operations. The area was incorporated into Mojave National Park in 1994, and the National Parks Conservation Association has sued the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service seeking a mining ban.
Policy, legislation, and capital
The Mining Committee of Argentina's Chamber of Deputies agreed to advance a bill that would classify rare earths as Category 3 minerals under the mining law and declare them strategic assets of national importance, covering terbium, dysprosium, scandium, and yttrium. Whether they will be included in the Large Investment Project Incentive Regime (RIGI) remains under debate, and the committee's outcome is not a final decision. Leading Edge Materials completed the second tranche closing of a private placement for the Norra Karr heavy rare earth project in Sweden, raising C$4.3 million toward a C$6 million target. Funds will be used for a pre-feasibility study, environmental permitting, restart studies for the Woxna graphite mine, and 12 months of working capital. Norra Karr is a eudialyte-type deposit with inferred resources of 110 million mt at 0.5% TREO, with HREO accounting for 52%. A 2021 PEA projected a 26-year mine life with annual production of 5,340 mt of mixed rare earth oxides, including 248 mt of dysprosium oxide and 36 mt of terbium oxide.
Offtake and end-use demand
Arafura Rare Earths extended a binding offtake agreement with a global wind turbine OEM to supply 500 mt/year of neodymium-praseodymium oxide equivalent for five years, extendable to eight years, with pricing referenced to global price indices. The company no longer discloses the identity of the offtake partner. Its Nolans project has reached a final investment decision and is expected to begin production from early to mid-2029, with planned annual output of 4,440 mt of neodymium-praseodymium oxide and 470 mt of mixed medium-heavy rare earth oxides containing dysprosium and terbium. IEA data shows that NdFeB magnets used in direct-drive wind turbines can reduce mechanical failures. Argus expects global annual new wind power installations to grow from 9.25 GW in 2025 to 33.65 GW in 2030, and EV sales to reach about 38.8 million units in 2030, up about 61% from current levels. NdFeB magnet demand in the wind power sector is growing faster than in EVs.
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