Latest Update in the SMM Rare Earth Metals Market

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.

[SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review: Increased Downstream Stockpiling and Procurement Activities Drive Continuous Rise in Pr-Nd Prices] This week, Pr-Nd oxide prices continued to climb, as supply from separation plants remained tight, prompting suppliers to repeatedly raise their offers. Amid strong market optimism, downstream buyers also showed heightened activity, accelerating the pace of Pr-Nd oxide price increases throughout the week. As of today, the price of Pr-Nd oxide has been adjusted to 740,000-748,000 yuan/mt.

Recently, Trump's attempts to acquire Greenland have grown increasingly assertive. From his initial public statement on January 7, 2025, to a year-long posture of firmness, followed by last week’s tariff hike on Europe after the setback in purchasing the island, the situation escalated into a military standoff between the US and Denmark this week, reaching a peak in tension. Although we have no intention of delving into the political or military aspects of the incident and hope that politics remains merely politics, history shows that political maneuvering is often underpinned by the resources contained within the land. In today’s world, rare earth resources have become a key strategic asset that the US seeks to control. In today’s article, we examine the resource plunder behind the island purchase controversy.

The biggest hot news in the overseas market this week was the release of Lynas's Q4 financial report. The report data showed that the company produced 2,382 mt of rare earth oxides from October to December 2025, down 9% YoY. However, the company's Pr-Nd oxide production increased by 8.7% during the same period. The company also produced 26 mt of heavy rare earth, including dysprosium and terbium, from October to December, up from 9 mt in July to September, due to the opening of its heavy rare earth processing plant in Malaysia. The company stated that it expects to produce samarium from October to December 2026. In addition, the planned acquisition of Australia's Strategic Materials by the US-based Energy Fuels also became hot news this week.

[SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review: Market Sentiment Returns to Rationality, Rare Earth Prices Fluctuate Rangebound] This week, upstream oxide market quotations showed low activity, with some traders beginning to sell low-priced oxides. As a result, the actual transaction price of Pr-Nd oxide started to drop back slightly overall this week. However, due to the continued tight spot inventory of Pr-Nd oxide among separation enterprises, which are unwilling to sell at low prices, the actual room for Pr-Nd oxide prices to pull back is very limited. As of today, the price of Pr-Nd oxide has adjusted to 670,000-675,000 yuan/mt. Purchasing and stockpiling by downstream metal plants are nearing completion, and the market trading atmosphere remains sluggish.

In 2025, driven by the deepening advancement of the "dual carbon" goals and the emergence of new industries, China's motor industry continued to expand in scale. According to reliable statistics, the market size of China's motor industry exceeded 350 billion yuan for the full year, with rapid growth up YoY. Profound changes occurred in the industry's internal structure: the growth rate of high-end niche markets was significantly higher than that of the traditional motor sector. High efficiency, intelligence, and green transformation are no longer merely technological trends but have become essential thresholds for enterprise survival and competition.

On January 18, 2026, at 15:03, a significant explosion occurred at the rare earth steel plate plant of Bao Gang United Steel. As a key enterprise in China’s rare earth industry, the incident sparked global concerns about rare earth supply and raised expectations of a new round of price increases. However, a comprehensive analysis of the accident’s nature, industry chain structure, and market mechanisms indicates that the impact on rare earth supply is limited and unlikely to substantially affect price trends.

The US's attempt to annex Greenland and the G7 Washington meeting were the focus of attention this week, and local enterprises announced their expansion plans.

[SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review: Spot Supply Remains Tight, Rare Earth Prices Continue to Rise] This week, the price of Pr-Nd oxide continued to rise rapidly. Due to factors such as tight spot supply and replenishment by leading large enterprises, suppliers significantly increased their quotes for Pr-Nd oxide. Meanwhile, purchasing parties, driven by positive expectations for future rare earth prices, conducted a round of procurement and replenishment. However, as upstream quotes kept rising, downstream purchase willingness began to show marginal decline.

Chile’s state-owned development agency Corfo has awarded up to $5.8 million to two research projects focused on direct lithium extraction (DLE) and rare earth recovery to boost mining innovation and create new business lines.