Ionic Rare Earths and South Korea's DNA Link Ink MOU for Rare Earth Magnet Recycling and Oxide Supply Collaboration

[SMM Rare Earth News] According to customs data, China's rare earth permanent magnet exports in August 2026 were 5,010 mt, down 6% MoM and down 18% YoY. Cumulative rare earth permanent magnet exports from January to August 2026 were 41,890 mt, up 23% compared to the same period last year.

This week, rare earth prices outside China remained generally stable, with terbium oxide and terbium metal both down $12/kg. On the policy front, Argentina and Brazil advanced legislation on national rare earth strategies, strengthening sovereign resource review and local processing requirements. On the industrial front, Neo’s Estonia magnet plant achieved its first commercial shipment of EV traction motor magnets; Saudi Arabia discovered 114 million mt of rare earth-uranium resources; Ucore received additional funding from the US Department of Defense to advance samarium and gadolinium separation. Overall, the ex-China supply chain is accelerating its transition from “resource competition” to a realization phase of “policy rights confirmation + separation scale-up + magnet delivery.”