Australian producer Lynas Rare Earths is working to produce rare earth metals at a plant in Vietnam that will be built by South Korean company LS Eco Energy, with priority initially given to the production of samarium. Lynas said that under a preliminary agreement, it will supply rare earth oxides to LS Eco Energy’s rare earth metal plant expected to be established in Vietnam for further processing.

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.

[SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review: Rare Earth Prices Pulled Back Significantly, Downstream Inquiries and Procurement Decreased] Affected by fluctuations in futures prices, confidence in the Pr-Nd oxide market dropped sharply. Traders proactively sold off cargoes at low prices, causing transaction prices in the Pr-Nd oxide market to fall rapidly. As of today, Pr-Nd oxide prices had already pulled back to 690,000-700,000 yuan/mt.

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.

[SMM Magnesium Express] Russia's Solikamsk Magnesium Plant has commenced industrial production of magnesium alloys containing rare earth metals including neodymium, cerium and lanthanum. The lightweight, high-strength alloys target aerospace, automotive, energy and oil & gas applications, reducing structural weight and improving equipment efficiency. Operating since 1936, the plant now produces 75% of Russia's magnesium.

[SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review: Rare Earth Prices Fell First, Then Rose; Pr-Nd, Dysprosium, and Terbium Saw Wide Swings] Due to the combined impact of market news and falling futures prices, suppliers in the Pr-Nd oxide market lacked confidence in the future market and proactively cut prices for shipments. However, upstream separation plants believed that the tight supply pattern of Pr-Nd oxide had not changed. Therefore, Pr-Nd oxide prices pulled back to 760,000-780,000 yuan/mt before rebounding to 790,000-800,000 yuan/mt.

[SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review: Rare Earth Prices Pulled Back, Strong Wait-and-See Sentiment Downstream] Affected by news-related factors, the Pr-Nd oxide market saw heightened wait-and-see sentiment among downstream metal plants, and some traders proactively cut prices to boost shipments. As of today, Pr-Nd oxide prices had pulled back to 845,000-850,000 yuan/mt.

The US Defense Logistics Agency signed a contract with rare earth producer REalloys to support the development of next-generation thermal reduction technology for samarium and gadolinium metals. The core of the effort is to build a plant with an annual capacity of 300 mt to reduce mixed samarium–europium–gadolinium concentrates into high-purity metals. At present, the US has no commercial production of either metal and is heavily reliant on overseas supply. REalloys said its process can cut costs by 50% and has been patented. The move aims to establish domestic capacity and strengthen national defense supply chain security.

Hainan Chensheng Rare Earth Metals Co., Ltd. was established, with Li Yamin as its legal representative and a registered capital of 20 million yuan. Its business scope includes the smelting of rare and rare earth metals; manufacturing of non-ferrous metal alloys; manufacturing of metal materials; processing of non-ferrous metal rolling; R&D of new material technologies, among others. According to Qichacha's equity structure analysis, the company is indirectly wholly owned by Shenghe Resources (600392).

U.S. commodity trader Traxys North America stated that the company has partnered with U.S. rare earth metal producer Phoenix Tailings to provide raw materials, offtake agreements, and strategic assistance. Traxys will offer Phoenix global raw material procurement and downstream metal sales, expanding supply and strengthening the commercial distribution of samarium, yttrium, dysprosium, terbium, and other rare earth elements produced by Phoenix.