This week, the overseas rare earth market was broadly influenced by supply tightening in China, with Pr-Nd and heavy rare earth prices generally rising. On the industry front, Europe and the US accelerated supply chain independence: the Norwegian government took over the development of the Fen deposit, the US acquired Brazil's Serra Verde, and Estonia's Silmet plant commenced production of heavy rare earth separation. In addition, UK magnet recycling and Brazil-Germany cooperation both made substantive progress, as the global ex-China supply chain buildout continued to accelerate.

[SMM Overseas Rare Earths Update] Driven by rising prices in China and future expectations, mainstream rare earth prices outside China edged up this week. Praseodymium oxide FOB closed at $126-130/kg, neodymium oxide FOB closed at $157-189/kg, up $2/kg WoW, praseodymium metal FOB closed at $171-179/kg, up $5/kg WoW, and neodymium metal FOB closed at $159-179/kg, up $6/kg WoW.

This week coincided with the Chinese New Year holiday, with most rare earth producers temporarily suspending external shipments and maintaining pre-holiday price levels. On the trading side, overseas inquiries increased in frequency, while domestic enterprises selectively took orders. Some companies, facing a shortage of spot resources, halted external shipments. In news, the opening of India's artificial intelligence summit became the hottest topic this week, with multiple countries announcing plans to strengthen rare earth mining to secure local supply chains.

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.

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.

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.

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 Flash: India Coal Industry Seeks Rare Earth Projects Overseas] The coking coal business unit of India Coal Industry stated that it is exploring opportunities for rare earth mining cooperation with Australia, Russia, Argentina, Chile, and several African countries to expand its critical mineral resource portfolio. Senior executives of the unit revealed that the company plans to promote rare earth exploration and development through domestic and overseas collaboration and is currently negotiating domestic cooperation projects with state-owned enterprises such as India Rare Earth Corporation, India Coal Export Corporation, and Hindustan Copper Corporation. The related investments will utilize funds raised from its initial public offering. These cooperative projects will be invested using the proceeds from Bharat Coking Coal Limited's initial public offering (IPO). Bharat Coking Coal Limited's IPO raised $119 million, concluded on January 13 with a subscription multiple of nearly 147 times. The IPO involved only the issuance of existing shares, with no new shares issued, and is expected to list on January 19.

This week, the overseas rare earth market exhibited structural divergence driven by both the tug-of-war between sellers and buyers and geopolitical factors. Prices of light rare earth varieties remained stable, while medium-heavy rare earths continued their upward trend, supported by China's export controls and resource scarcity. Events such as the G7's proposed price floor for rare earths and the implementation of Vietnam's export ban further reinforced expectations of supply chain restructuring. Capital markets showed significantly increased attention toward domestic resource development and alternative technologies.

This Week's Overseas Rare Earth Developments: Europe and the United States Continued to Strengthen the Autonomy of the Rare Earth Supply Chain, Multiple Parties Explored Cooperation Between Enterprises and Governments, Vietnam Initiated Rare Earth Controls, and Launched Government-Led Development of the Rare Earth Industry Chain.