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Victory Metals has achieved a breakthrough in processing tests at its Northern Stanmore heavy rare earth project in Western Australia, successfully recovering the niche critical metal hafnium. Gravity separation tests increased the hafnium grade by 26 times, from 4 ppm to 108 ppm, with a recovery rate of 66%, and eliminated 97% of waste rock prior to recovery, significantly reducing ore beneficiation costs and operating expenses. Hafnium has a high melting point of 2,233°C and is corrosion-resistant, making it suitable for national defense and nuclear industries. Current global annual consumption is less than 100 mt, while its price has doubled within a year to $11,000/kg, with supply concentrated in China and Russia.

Last week, the overseas rare earth market exhibited distinct characteristics, including accelerated exploration of futures financialization, diversified development of global resource projects, deepened supply chain strategies in major consumer countries, progress in alternative technology R&D, and continuous expansion of international cooperation networks. Next week, as China enters the Chinese New Year holiday, overseas markets will maintain this pace of advancement.

[SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review: Rare Earth Market Prices Rose Significantly, but Actual Transactions Did Not Follow Up] Pr-Nd oxide market quotations remained high, with suppliers holding optimistic expectations for the future market and showing little willingness to sell at low prices. However, downstream buyers have gradually entered the holiday period, leading to a near halt in actual procurement. As of today, the price of Pr-Nd oxide has been adjusted to 845,000-855,000 yuan/mt.

South Africa's mining industry still faces obstacles from regulatory and operational bottlenecks, requiring long-term sustained investment in exploration and development to fully unlock its potential. South Africa's mining industry and its direct suppliers provide nearly 900,000 jobs and sustain 3.6 million livelihoods. The mining industry has a strong multiplier effect, and developing the mining sector can promote economic growth and create employment opportunities. However, developing the mining industry requires investment, which also demands a globally competitive regulatory and operational environment, said Mthenjane Mzila, Director of the Minerals Council South Africa (MCSA).

Brazil seeks to avoid signing exclusive agreements on critical minerals with other countries, instead maintaining an open stance and pursuing partnerships with various nations. Recently, the U.S. government disclosed details of "Project Vault" (PV), an initiative led by the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) aimed at formulating a strategy to secure domestic supplies of critical minerals. The EXIM Board approved up to $10 billion in direct loans for PV, more than double the largest financing amount in the bank's history. PV is designed to shield U.S. domestic manufacturers from supply shocks, expand the production and processing of critical raw materials in the U.S., and fundamentally improve the state of the U.S. critical minerals industry.

[SMM Breaking News: Brazil Not Seeking Exclusive Critical Minerals Agreements] Brazil, in terms of critical minerals cooperation, does not seek to sign exclusive agreements with other countries but adopts an open stance, actively pursuing partnerships with various nations. Recently, the US government disclosed specific details of "Project Vault" (PV). This initiative, led by the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM), aims to formulate a strategy to secure the supply of critical minerals within the US. The EXIM board has approved up to $10 billion in direct loans for PV, an amount more than double the largest financing in the bank's history. Project Vault is dedicated to protecting domestic US manufacturers from supply shocks, promoting the expansion of production and processing scale for critical raw materials in the US, and fundamentally improving the overall condition of the US critical minerals industry.

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 Rare Earth Weekly Review: Pr-Nd Prices Remain High, Downstream Procurement Activities Decrease] This week, the market quotation for Pr-Nd oxide remained high. Suppliers held optimistic expectations for the future market and were unwilling to sell at low prices. However, downstream buyers gradually began holidays and halted procurement, leading to a noticeable decline in the actual trading activity of Pr-Nd oxide. As of today, the price of Pr-Nd oxide fluctuated and rose to 747,000-753,000 yuan/mt.