RARE EARTH INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

Echoes of lithium boom as rare earth stocks soar

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 15-Oct-25

Shares in rare earths producers have rallied due to factors such as rising demand for the critical minerals and concerns over supply amid renewed trade tensions between the US and China. Lynas Rare Earths has risen by 227 per cent so far in 2025, while Australian Strategic Materials is up 272 per cent. US-based MP Materials has in turn rise by 480 per cent in the year-to-date. However, Macquarie analysts now consider shares in both Lynas and Iluka Resources to be fully priced, contending that these stocks have outpaced gains in underlying rare earths prices. The firm has an ‘outperform’ rating on Meteoric Resources, whose shares rose 17.1 per cent to $0.24 on Tuesday.

CORPORATES
LYNAS RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX LYC, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC MATERIALS LIMITED – ASX ASM, MP MATERIALS CORPORATION, MACQUARIE EQUITIES LIMITED, ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU, METEORIC RESOURCES NL – ASX MEI

Northern Minerals bets on non-China premium

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Original article by Peter Ker, Mark Wembridge
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 17-Sep-25

Northern Minerals has released the definitive feasibility study for its Browns Range rare earths project in Western Australia. It estimates that the project will cost about $592 million and have a mine life of 11 years. Browns Range will produce rare earths such as dysprosium, terbium, neodymium and praseodymium. The latter two are currently fetching about $US70 per kilogram, but Northern Minerals says it hopes to receive about $US107/kg for the rare earths it produces at Browns Range; it adds that prices could potentially rise to around $US138/kg if the world moves to aggressively decouple from Chinese supply chains.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN MINERALS LIMITED – ASX NTU

Rinehart a winner in rare earths move

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 14 : 6-Aug-25

Shares in Lynas Rare Earths and Iluka Resources rose strongly on Tuesday, in response to the federal government’s plans to create a floor price for rare earths. Resources Minister Madeleine King has indicated hat the government is also open to taking equity stakes in rare earths companies, as part of its proposal to establish a critical minerals strategic reserve. Arafura Rare Earths’ CEO Darryl Cuzzubbo says an Australian floor price would disrupt China’s dominance of the rare earths sector; he adds that any strategic reserve for rare earths should be linked to a non-China controlled price index. Mining magnate Gina Rinehart has an eight per cent in Arafura and a similar stake in Lynas.

CORPORATES
LYNAS RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX LYC, ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU, ARAFURA RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX ARU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES

‘Minerals for mates’: PM digs in

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Apr-25

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the federal government’s proposed strategic reserve of critical minerals and rare earths will make Australia "stronger and safer" in a time of global uncertainty. Albanese will announce details of the proposed national stockpile today; it will aim to ensure that such minerals are available to both local manufacturers and key allies, such as Japan, South Korea and the US. The government is expected to use the strategic reserve as a bargaining chip to negotiate an exemption from the Trump administration’s tariffs regime. The strategic reserve is also aimed at reducing China’s market dominance in the global supply of rare earths and critical minerals.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

PM’s $1.65b refinery in offshore JV

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 17 : 23-Apr-25

RareX and Iluka Resources have teamed up to make a joint bid for the right to develop the Mrima Hill rare earths project in Kenya. The two companies propose to ship ore from Mrima Hill to Western Australia, and process it at Iluka’s Eneabba rare earths refinery which is under construction. RareX’s MD James Durrant says the company has spent several years building trust and relationships in Kenya amid growing interest in the Mrima Hill deposit among countries such as the US and China. Iluka has received more than $1.6bn in taxpayer support for the Eneabba refinery.

CORPORATES
RAREX LIMITED – ASX REE, ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU

Australia can play key role in global supply of rare earths

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 24 : 17-Apr-25

Federal Resources Minister Madeline King recently called for Australia to establish a strategic reserve of critical minerals. However, King did not name terbium and dysprosium, which are crucial for the defence sector and which will now be subject to export controls by China. King also did not mention that although Australia has terbium and dysprosium deposits, the nation does not currently produce these minerals. Meanwhile, Haoma Mining’s rare earth ore bodies at Bamboo Creek in the Pilbara carry some of the highest grades of terbium and dysprosium in the world. Gold will first be extracted via the Elazac process, which greatly assists the economics. The high content of terbium and dysprosium in the remaining material can potentially be treated several ways. The Bamboo Creek ore also contains lutetium and yttrium, which are important in lutetium-based prostate cancer treatments.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES, HAOMA MINING NL

China’s rare earths move highlights need for stockpile

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 15-Apr-25

Resources Minister Madeleine King says the federal government will reveal more details regarding its proposed strategic reserve of critical minerals prior to the election on 3 May. King adds that China’s decision to impose export controls on rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium has underlined the federal government’s decision to establish a strategic reserve. King says the export restrictions are concerning but not surprising, given that China has imposed similar bans in the past. The latest export restrictions were in response to the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariffs regime, but are not limited to the US.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES

Labor’s $1bn for Rinehart-backed rare earths

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 15-Jan-25

The federal government’s National Reconstruction Fund is set to become a cornerstone investor in Arafura Rare Earths. The fund is set to acquire $200 million worth of unsecured convertible notes in the rare earths miner, which can be converted into shares at a fixed price and after a specified period of time. The government has previously provided some $840m worth of loans and grants to Arafura, whose biggest shareholder is Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting. Arafura’s assets include the Nolans rare earths project in the Northern Territory.

CORPORATES
ARAFURA RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX ARU, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION FUND, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD

Red flags: Canberra warning to China on rare earths project

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 3-Dec-24

Rare earths producer Northern Minerals is continuing to attract scrutiny from the federal government regarding its links to Chinese investors. A spokesman for the Treasury has advised that it assesessing compliance with an order requiring five China-linked entities to divest shares in the company. The spokesman said the government will take further action if required to protect the national interest. Singapore-registered Yuxiao Fund is one of the entities that was required to divest shares; however, Northern Minerals has not been able to contact one of the Hong Kong-registered ­companies that acquired the shares.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN MINERALS LIMITED – ASX NTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, YUXIAO FUND

Northern Minerals looks beyond China saga with $48m raising

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Original article by Adrian Rauso
The West Australian – Page: Online : 17-Sep-24

Northern Minerals has raised $43m from new and existing investors via a share placement, and it will seek to raise an additional $5m via a share purchase plan. Northern Minerals has indicated that it has sufficient cash to complete the definitive feasibility study for its Browns Range heavy rare earths project in Western Australia. The company aims to make a final investment decision on the project in the first half of 2025. China dominates the heavy rare earths sector, and Northern Minerals recently attracted scrutiny after the federal government ordered several investors with links to China to reduce their stakes in the company.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN MINERALS LIMITED – ASX NTU