First batch of rare earth quotas in 2019 dip 18% YoY: MIIT

[SMM Rare Earth Daily Review: Pr-Nd Quotations Raised in the Rare Earth Market, Trading at a Stalemate with Strong Wait-and-See Sentiment] Overall, the rare earth market has entered a phase of differentiated adjustments, with price trends and market trading activity diverging in tandem. Pr-Nd quotations were raised, but downstream inquiries and purchases remained cautious, with limited actual transaction volume, leaving the buy-sell stalemate unbroken. Within medium-heavy rare earths, trading also showed divergence, as dysprosium and terbium metals saw slight price concessions to facilitate shipments amid resistance to high-priced deals, with an overall strong wait-and-see atmosphere in the market. In the short term, the price trend of Pr-Nd products still needs to be observed in light of market trading conditions, but with upstream willingness to hold prices firm strengthening, prices may drift higher.

【SMM Rare Earth Flash】 Mount Ridley Mines (ASX: MRD) has upgraded the Inferred Mineral Resource at its Grass Patch Project in Western Australia to 958 million tonnes at 50.1 ppm (0.0050%) scandium, containing 47,000 tonnes of scandium metal — the world's largest publicly reported JORC-compliant scandium resource. The resource is hosted in regolith also bearing heavy rare earths and gallium.The company's proprietary Selectro™ hydrometallurgical process achieved recoveries of 80% for scandium, 83% for heavy rare earths, and 56% for gallium, enabling simultaneous recovery of three critical minerals from a single leach circuit. With only 20% of the tenure explored and 82 km of secondary targets identified, the upgrade reinforces Grass Patch's position as a strategically significant critical minerals project globally.