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US critical minerals processing enterprise Momentum Technologies is actively engaged in building out domestic supply chains for rare earth and battery materials, and is currently commissioning the world's first demonstration plant capable of large-scale processing of both these product categories. In September 2024, Momentum Technologies commenced operations at its demonstration plant near Dallas, Texas. Initially, the plant operated only the battery materials processing line; it has now been retrofitted to simultaneously process rare earth elements, with the rare earth processing circuit expected to be commissioned by mid-February 2026.

"The market has gone absolutely crazy." That's the shared sentiment among many executives at magnetic material and motor plants. As of February 9, 2026, the price of praseodymium-neodymium (Pr-Nd) metal has reached 975,000 - 985,000 yuan per ton, marking a single-day surge of 7%. This represents a 9.4% increase compared to last week​ and a staggering over 88% jump compared to the same period last year​

Luxembourg-based Frontier Rare Earths today announced it successfully obtained a $20 million investment from South Africa's Industrial Development Corporation (IDS) and signed an offtake agreement with France's Carester. The company has now initiated the final feasibility study for its South African magnet-use rare earth and battery-grade manganese project. Frontier Rare Earths is currently advancing the development of the Zandkopsdrift project in South Africa. The project is expected to achieve an annual capacity of approximately 3,038 mt of Pr-Nd oxide, 114 mt of dysprosium oxide, and 25 mt of terbium oxide over the first 25 years.

Serra Verde, a Brazilian rare earth element producer, announced today that the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) offered it a financing package worth $565 million, which also includes an option for the US government to acquire a minority stake in the company. Serra Verde’s Pela Ema ionic clay deposit in Brazil is scheduled to begin commercial production in 2024, with an expected annual output of 5,000 mt of total rare earth oxides, including dysprosium, erbium, neodymium, and praseodymium. Serra Verde plans to use the funds to refinance existing loan facilities and expand production capacity. The project aims to increase total rare earth oxide production to 6,500 mt per year by 2027.

[SMM Flash: US Provides $565 Million in Financing for Brazilian Rare Earth Project] Serra Verde (a Brazilian rare earth element producer) announced today that the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has provided it with a financing package worth $565 million, which also includes an option for the US government to acquire a minority stake in the company. Serra Verde's Pela Ema ionic clay deposit in Brazil is scheduled to commence commercial production in 2024, with an expected annual output of 5,000 mt of total rare earth oxides, including elements such as dysprosium, erbium, neodymium, and praseodymium. Serra Verde plans to use the funds to refinance existing loan facilities and expand production capacity. The project aims to increase the annual production of total rare earth oxides to 6,500 mt by 2027.

This week, the overseas rare earth market revolved around three main themes: technological breakthroughs, capacity expansion, and geopolitical strategy. Enterprises in the US and Canada made substantial progress in rare earth recycling technology, while South Korea adopted a two-way strategy in supply chain cooperation. At the same time, the US launched a large-scale strategic stockpiling plan, highlighting the urgency of global efforts to achieve autonomy in rare earth supply chains. Additionally, resource-rich countries such as Russia and India accelerated their exploration layouts, while Japan and the EU enhanced the resilience of the industry chain through corporate restructuring and international cooperation.

The head of the Economic Crime Prosecution Department and a member of the procuratorial committee of the Supreme People's Procuratorate stated that procuratorial organs have always performed their duties in accordance with the law, severely punished smuggling crimes, fully safeguarded border security, and actively served the overall situation of higher-level opening up. Currently, smuggling crimes have exhibited new characteristics such as large-scale and organized operations, causing significant losses to national tax revenue.

[SMM Flash: US's Supra to Launch Gallium and Scandium Recovery Project] US technology company Supra Elemental Recovery has successfully raised $2 million and officially launched its proprietary reusable "sponge-like" filter cartridge technology. This technology is capable of recovering gallium and scandium from industrial by-products, mine tailings, and electronic waste. Supra stated that the raised funds will be used to advance the further development of the recovery technology, fully preparing for a commercial pilot project in 2026. Additionally, Supra is currently testing technologies to recover high-purity critical minerals from other materials, including cobalt, lithium, and some rare earth elements. Currently, due to export controls implemented by China, Western countries face constraints in terms of supply for gallium, scandium, and other rare earth elements.

The deep-sea drilling vessel "Chikyu" successfully extracted rare earth-containing mud at a depth of 6,000 meters in the waters near Minamitorishima. The project leader indicated that this initiative aims to promote diversification of rare earth sources and reduce external dependence, with commercial mining expected to commence in February 2027. However, Japanese media pointed out that deep-sea mining faces technical and economic challenges: the 6,000-meter deep-sea environment is equivalent to 550 atmospheres of pressure, posing high risks of equipment failure; mining costs are more than 10 times those of land-based rare earths, the commercialization cycle may exceed 10 years, and ecological risks are irreversible.

To protect manufacturers from supply disruptions, US President Trump is preparing to launch a critical minerals strategic reserve plan with a total investment of $12 billion. The White House confirmed on Monday the launch of "Project Vault," with $1.67 billion coming from private investment and $10 billion from loans provided by the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM). These funds will be used to purchase and stockpile minerals required by the automotive industry, high-tech enterprises, and other industrial users. This model draws on the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve approach but focuses on stockpiling materials needed for products ranging from mobile phones to jet engines, such as gallium and cobalt.

For NEVs, the core impact of Project Vault does not lie in how much it drives up mineral prices in the short term, but in the following: improved certainty of subsidy compliance, reduced supply disruption risks at key nodes, and the formation of a more stable structural price spread between the compliant and non-compliant supply chains.

[SMM Flash: Cyclic Materials to Build Rare Earth Recycling Plant in South Carolina] Canadian rare earth and metal recycling enterprise Cyclic Materials announced plans to invest over $82 million to construct a rare earth recycling plant in South Carolina. This facility is the company's second announced synergistic plant in the US, with an initial capacity to process 2,000 mt of magnetic material, and the company plans to increase its annual processing capacity to 6,000 mt. The company also stated that the new plant is initially expected to produce 600 mt of mixed rare earth oxides annually, with future capacity potentially expandable to 1,800 mt to meet growing market demand.

Chile has released its National Critical Minerals Strategy, clearly positioning itself as a stable supplier of minerals. Currently, driven by artificial intelligence, the development of new technologies, and the energy transition, global demand for these critical minerals continues to grow. The announcement of this strategy holds particular significance in the weeks before President Boric leaves office, highlighting Chile’s intention to transition from over-reliance on the copper industry toward adapting to a decarbonized economy and achieving resource diversification. Chile has identified 14 critical minerals, specifically covering copper, lithium, molybdenum, rhenium, cobalt, rare earths, antimony, selenium, tellurium, gold, silver, iron ore, boron, and iodine. Based on Chile’s current position in the global market, these 14 minerals are categorized into three groups: The first category includes copper, lithium, molybdenum, and rhenium. Their respective shares in global supply are 23%, 20.4%, 14.6%, and 46.8%, and other major economies have also designated these minerals as critical. The second category consists of minerals that are currently not produced or only produced in small quantities, including cobalt, rare earths, antimony, selenium, and tellurium. The third category comprises minerals already produced domestically in Chile with the potential to expand their role in the global value chain, such as gold, silver, iron ore, boron, and iodine.

This week, overseas prices continued to rise due to multiple factors, and shipments tightened further. Key developments emerged in raw ore mining across the US, Asia, and Latin America. The US government strengthened domestic rare earth capacity through large-scale funding, a Malaysia-France cooperation project achieved substantial progress, Brazil formulated a national rare earth strategy to unlock resource potential, and India considered adjustments to mining policies to enhance extraction efficiency. These measures collectively reflect countries' heightened focus on rare earth supply chain security, though technological, cost, and capacity bottlenecks remain widespread challenges.