According to Australian Government, the Fingerboards project by Gippsland Critical Minerals Ltd in East Gippsland, Australia is designed to become a major supplier of rare earth elements and zircon, with onsite processing and rail transport supporting downstream refining. The project targets annual output of around 200 tonnes of heavy rare earth oxides, 1,800 tonnes of light rare earth oxides, and 75,000 tonnes of zircon. It is expected to generate about 400 construction jobs and 262 permanent positions, with a total capital investment of $295 million.

According to Reuters, Swedish mining company LKAB is facing criticism after a report suggested its planned rare earths project near Kiruna could violate Sámi Indigenous rights. The deposit is estimated at around 1.2 billion tonnes of ore, containing about 2.2 million tonnes of rare earth elements, but the mine could interfere with traditional reindeer herding routes. The project is likely to face legal and social challenges as tensions rise between mineral development and Indigenous land use.

U.S. Strategic Metals (USSM) and Virtus Minerals signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The two parties reached a strategic cooperation in critical minerals between North America and Africa. Under the agreement, cobalt, copper and other products produced at Virtus’ Chemaf project will be supplied directly to the United States, with priority given to processing at USSM’s multi-metallic hydrometallurgical plant in Fredericktown, Missouri. The facility is capable of processing critical minerals including cobalt, nickel, copper, lithium and rare earth elements. The partnership will strengthen America’s independent supply chain and reduce reliance on other adversary-controlled sources.

The CLNB 2026 Solid-State Battery Conference was held in Suzhou in April, where experts reached a consensus that 2026-2030 will be a critical period for industrialisation. The conference focused on breakthroughs in technology pathways such as oxide and sulphide, elaborating on progress in mass production of lithium sulphide, innovations in high-specific-energy cathodes, and upgrades in equipment and processes.

[SMM Rare Earth News Flash] Zhong Ke San Huan, a leading enterprise in rare earth permanent magnets, successfully developed ultra-high performance sintered NdFeB permanent magnets. According to authoritative detection by the National Institute of Metrology of China, the magnet achieved a remanence (Br) of 15.32 kGs at room temperature, an intrinsic coercivity (HcJ) of 17.89 kOe, and a BH max of 56.8 MGOe, making it the rare earth permanent magnet with the highest coercivity among all publicly reported ultra-high remanence magnet systems worldwide. The R&D team achieved a major breakthrough in the comprehensive performance of the magnet without excessive reliance on heavy rare earth elements such as dysprosium and terbium.

Researchers at Northeastern University have introduced a new technique that can double the efficiency of rare earth element extraction. The study reveals a method for recovering rare earth elements from coal tailings, waste materials left after mining, using chemical treatment combined with a specially designed microwave reactor for precise temperature control. This approach achieves extraction rates two to three times higher than previous methods.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment in Vietnam has issued Consolidated Document No. 21/VBHN-BNNMT, detailing a number of provisions, including regulations on the management of rare earth elements. Specifically, in addition to complying with regulations on strategic and important minerals, the surveying, exploration, exploitation, processing, and use of rare earths must follow the national rare earth usage strategy. Activities related must ensure the principles of resource protection, environmental protection, and sustainable development; link extraction and processing with deep processing to increase added value and ensure technological self-reliance; not export rare earth minerals that have not met the required deep-processing standards; and only export deeply processed products.

On the 25th, it was confirmed that the South Korean government will exempt tariffs of 3–8% on critical minerals such as lithium, graphite, and rare earth elements when domestically owned companies directly produce and import them from overseas. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has pre-announced a new regulation outlining tariff exemptions for overseas resource development projects. Under the policy, a total of 14 critical minerals—including lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt, manganese, copper, zinc, and rare earth elements such as lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, terbium, dysprosium, yttrium, and scandium—will be eligible for duty exemption when brought into the country. The regulation is set to take effect on April 3.

This week, the rare earth market outside China showed a divergent pattern of “cerium up, the rest down.” Driven by price increases in China and rising ocean freight rates, cerium oxide FOB and CIF prices rose by $55/mt and $60/mt, respectively, while FOB offers for mainstream magnetic material raw materials such as praseodymium, neodymium, dysprosium, and terbium were generally lowered by $3-19.5/kg due to lower prices in China and tight supply caused by export controls. Although limited trading volumes supported premiums in markets outside China, expectations of an industrial slowdown in Europe triggered by the Middle East situation may suppress subsequent demand. On industry developments, Lynas’ Malaysia plant started samarium oxide production ahead of schedule, consolidating its position as the only commercial heavy rare earth separator outside China and advancing its 2030 strategy. In Australia, Terrain discovered high-grade magnetic rare earth ore intervals during drilling at its Western Australia project, highlighting significant resource potential.

Russia’s Solikamsk Magnesium Works recently launched industrialised production of magnesium alloys containing rare earth elements such as neodymium, cerium, and lanthanum. The products combine lightweight properties with high strength and are mainly targeted at sectors including aerospace and automotive manufacturing. The plant accounts for 100% of Russia’s rare earth compound production and 75% of its magnesium capacity, and this capacity expansion further consolidates its position in the strategic metals sector. Meanwhile, the “magnesium-based hydrogen slurry” technology developed by Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute has sparked controversy. Independent analysis indicated that the technology’s overall system efficiency is only about 10, its energy density is comparable to that of lithium batteries, its cost is far higher than expectations, and its recycling chain has yet to form a closed loop. It is only suitable for demonstration scenarios at the hundred-watt level and is unlikely to achieve commercial application. The two pieces of news reflect the different technological pathways and industrialisation prospects of magnesium-based materials in high-end manufacturing and energy storage.