Pr-Nd oxide prices increased this week while the prices of dysprosium and terbium products remained weak

In September 2026, Neo Performance Materials announced that its Narva permanent magnet plant in Estonia began commercial production, with the first batch of sintered NdFeB magnets delivered to an EV traction motor client. The plant was commissioned in September 2025, with Phase 1 capacity of 2,000 mt/year and Phase 2 of approximately 5,000 mt/year in the design stage. The long-term global target is 20,000 mt/year, with dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide secured through the Carester agreement. The significance of this event lies not in "adding another 2,000 mt plant," but in bringing the existing base, in-construction growth, and raw material bottlenecks of magnetic material capacity outside China to the table all at once.

【SMM Rare Earth Flash】 Neo Performance Materials has signed an agreement to provide final solvent extraction separation technology to Rainbow Rare Earths' Phalaborwa project in South Africa. The system will extract rare earths from phosphogypsum, targeting 1,800 t/y NdPr and ~80 t/y Dy/Tb. In return, Neo will receive rights to 40% of annual NdPr output and 65% of the enriched concentrate. The agreement is non-binding, with long-term cooperation terms under negotiation. Testing is underway at Neo's Estonia facility, followed by a pilot separation plant in Johannesburg. Rainbow plans a PFS in Q4 and a DFS in H1 next year.

This week, rare earth prices outside China remained generally stable, with lanthanum oxide edging up and terbium oxide dipping slightly. Developments in overseas project exploration, smelting, and policy were frequent: resource updates in Brazil, Canada, Greenland, and Saudi Arabia; capacity expansions in Japan, France, and by Lynas expected to come online in 2027–2028; Neo's magnet plant commercialization, with a U.S. company securing military orders; Argentina advancing rare earth legislation, and Arafura locking in a long-term wind power agreement. Short-term supply growth is limited, and large-scale release will take time.