US Supports Africa's Monte Muambe Rare Earth Project

This week coincided with the Chinese New Year holiday, with most rare earth producers temporarily suspending external shipments and maintaining pre-holiday price levels. On the trading side, overseas inquiries increased in frequency, while domestic enterprises selectively took orders. Some companies, facing a shortage of spot resources, halted external shipments. In news, the opening of India's artificial intelligence summit became the hottest topic this week, with multiple countries announcing plans to strengthen rare earth mining to secure local supply chains.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the world’s largest derivatives exchange, is considering the launch of the world’s first rare earth futures contract, Reuters reported on 12th (local time). According to the report, CME is preparing a futures contract linked to neodymium–praseodymium (NdPr), a key rare earth alloy used in high-performance permanent magnets for electric vehicles and wind turbines.

US Assistant Secretary of State Caleb Orr stated that the US is actively negotiating with Brazil to develop critical mineral processing capabilities, with a focus on heavy rare earths. Orr said Brazil is an "important" partner in building a resilient Western supply chain. The US has invested in Brazil's Serra Verde and Aclara rare earth projects through the DFC to produce mixed rare earth carbonate containing dysprosium and terbium for use in permanent magnetic materials. Brazil holds the world's second-largest rare earth reserves but lacks processing capacity. Brazilian President Lula emphasized that foreign companies must invest in downstream facilities to achieve an end-to-end value chain.