Japan to Launch World's First Sustained Deep-Sea Rare Earth Mud Trial Mining off Minamitorishima in 2026

Energy Transition Minerals has discovered a new 1.8 km-long target in southern Greenland, with characteristics similar to the Kvanefjeld rare earth deposit but with uranium content below the prohibition threshold of 0.01% set by the Greenland government. Last year, the company identified 10 new targets within the Kvanefjeld license area, where rock chip sampling returned total rare earth oxide (TREO) grades of up to 3.97%, with high dysprosium and terbium contents. As climate change reduces permanent snow and ice cover, making previously inaccessible areas reachable, the company has also delineated a new-type volcanic rhyolite anomaly that differs from conventional fenite alteration targets. Energy Transition Minerals is currently seeking to renew the Kvanefjeld license.

US Rare Earths (USAR) has started operating its heavy rare earth hydrometallurgy demonstration plant in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, and plans to produce separated oxides for the first time in Q3 2026. USAR said the plant will produce separated heavy rare earth oxides, including dysprosium, terbium and yttrium. Quantity details were not disclosed. The company said the Wheat Ridge facility is fully automated and equipped with instruments for real-time process monitoring in all production operations. The plant processes three raw materials simultaneously, including ore from USAR's Round Top project in Texas, ore from the Serra Verde Pela Ema mine in Brazil, and magnet scrap.

Backed by mining magnate Gina Rinehart, rare earth and niobium company St George Mining, with a market capitalisation of A$435 million, has launched a new funding round to advance drilling and exploration at its core projects in Brazil. The placement issues new shares to institutional investors at A$0.10 per share, a 9.1% discount to the previous trading day’s closing price. Joint lead managers Canaccord Genuity and Jett Capital Advisers are soliciting bids from Asia-Pacific investors, with the offer closing at 7 p.m. Monday. The placement has a base raising target of A$50 million, with the underwriters reserving A$10 million in oversubscription capacity; the raising is not underwritten. Funds will be used for development and exploration at the company’s Araxa project in Minas Gerais, Brazil, which the company describes as the second-highest-grade rare earth deposit in the Western world.