Rare earths
Argus delivers established, independent rare earths pricing and market intelligence across all rare earth elements, including authoritative coverage outside China.
Overview
Rare earth elements (REEs) are critical raw materials used across advanced manufacturing and clean energy technologies, including electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, electronics, defence systems, aerospace, and industrial manufacturing. Rare earths play a vital role in enabling high‑performance permanent magnets, electronics, and specialised materials essential to modern economies.
Argus supports the global rare earths industry with comprehensive spot market pricing and forecasts, supply and demand data and news for the most commoditized rare earth elements including those used to produce ceramics, catalysts, energy storage and permanent magnets. Through the Argus Rare Earths Analytics and Argus Non‑Ferrous Markets services, Argus delivers established pricing benchmarks and forecasts alongside authoritative insight into the international rare earths markets, including those outside China.
Argus’ rare earths pricing and analysis focus on the individual elements most critical to global supply chains and strategic industries. Coverage includes light rare earth elements such as neodymium, praseodymium, lanthanum, and cerium, alongside heavy rare earths including dysprosium, terbium, yttrium, and europium. Each Rare earth element market exhibits its own distinct supply dynamics, demand drivers, and end‑use applications, making element‑specific pricing and analysis essential to understanding liquidity, supply risk, legislation on trade and evolving market fundamentals.
As part of the Argus Rare Earths Analytics and Argus Non‑Ferrous Markets services, Argus publishes a robust suite of established rare earths price assessments and benchmarks covering key light and heavy rare earth elements, including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium, and praseodymium‑neodymium (NdPr). These assessments are supported by transparent, well-established methodologies, on‑the‑ground market engagement, and forward‑looking analysis. In addition to spot pricing for rare earth oxides and metal, Argus delivers one‑year and ten‑year market and price forecasts, alongside detailed supply, demand, and project analysis, supporting planning, procurement, investment, and risk management across international rare earths trading.
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Australia must back shared critical mineral hubs: panel
Australia must back shared critical mineral hubs: panel
Sydney, 24 September (Argus) — Australia must invest in critical minerals common user facilities to lower costs for early-stage developers, speed up qualification testing with overseas customers, and support industry growth, attendees at this week's AusIMM Critical Minerals Conference in Brisbane heard. Queensland's vanadium-focused A$115mn ($81mn) Queensland Resources Common User Facility (QRCUF) will be fully operational by November, and will speed up project development significantly over the next 18-24 months, the government-run project's lead, Paul Holden, said on 22 September. The facility's ore crusher, flotation circuit, concentrate roaster, atmospheric leacher, and thermal purifier were designed with vanadium processing in mind, but parts of the facility are also applicable for rare earths, cobalt, and graphite processing. The QRCUF helps small mineral developers bridge the gap between pilot-scale processing and commercial-scale production by providing a shared facility for demonstration-scale bulk samples. This will avoid duplicated government investment in multiple privately owned facilities and lower barriers to entry for value-added processing, Holden said. Australian graphite and anode material developer Graphinex started using the ore crusher and flotation circuit at the QRCUF this month to produce bulk samples of its graphite products for qualification with South Korean and Japanese customers. While Graphinex has its own 300 t/yr active anode material demonstration facility in Townsville, the ore crusher at the QRCUF is ten times the size of the company's own crusher, allowing bulk samples to be prepared within weeks instead of months, the company told Argus . Australian developer Vecco has also signed on to use the facility to demonstrate production capability for its high purity vanadium pentoxide and vanadium electrolyte products, as the company prepares to make a final investment decision (FID) on its planned 300 MWh/yr Townsville electrolyte plant. Planned facility in Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is currently undertaking a feasibility study for its own Critical Minerals Advanced Processing (CMAP) common user facility near Perth. The facility must narrow product streams in its early stages to ensure a high utilisation rate and avoid becoming a white elephant, chief executive of the Minerals Research Institute of WA (MRIWA) Nicole Roocke said. MRIWA has not yet decided on the scope of CMAP, but it will not duplicate the capabilities of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANTSO), the QRCUF, or commercial labs. MRIWA is planning a pod-based design, allowing users to bring some of their own equipment for processing. The facility could also be used by technology providers to demonstrate the efficacy of their processes at scale, Roocke said. Rare earths should not be prioritised in the early stages of either CMAP or QRCUF due to the complexity and cost of processing them, mining firm Australian Strategic Materials country manager Wayne Dicinoski said, citing the rising cost of sulphuric acid, a key reagent. Argus -assessed sulphuric acid fob China was last assessed at $290/t on 17 September, up by 314pc year on year ( see graph ). Recovery of valuable metals from WA's abundant mine tailings waste could be one path forward for the facility, critical minerals lead for engineering firm GHD Sam Taylor said. There are more than 1,000 tailings storage facilities in WA, with more than two thirds of sites at inactive projects, according to the WA government. By Daniel Gage-Brown Sulphuric acid prices 2025-26 USD/t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU scrap export restrictions could disrupt market: BIR
EU scrap export restrictions could disrupt market: BIR
London, 23 September (Argus) — The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) has warned of serious disruptions to global recycling markets if the European Commission's draft delegated act under the EU Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR) is adopted later this year. The act would establish a list of non-OECD countries authorised to import certain non-hazardous waste from the EU. The commission earlier this month withdrew its plan to impose a 15pc tariff on aluminium scrap exports in favour of a broad prohibition on exports of waste, including aluminium scrap to non-OECD countries. It then allowed non-OECD countries to formally request to receive specific waste streams, and proposed authorising these streams if the countries meet the WSR's requirements for environmentally sound management. The commission then published a draft list of non-OECD countries that are authorised to receive specified non-hazardous waste, excluding a few major Asian countries from ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal import authorisation, including India and Thailand. India imported around 582,000t of aluminium scrap from the EU last year, according to Global Trade Tracker data, while Thailand received around 181,000t. In total, the EU exported around 1.6mn t of aluminium scrap last year. Europe generates more aluminium scrap than its current recycling capacity can absorb, BIR said, and warned that prohibiting exports to major customer nations could weaken rather than bolster the European recycling industry. "BIR cautions that restricting exports would not automatically create the European demand or processing capacity needed to absorb the affected grades and volumes," it said. "Instead, it could depress recycled material prices, weaken collection incentives and undermine the investment needed to maintain future supplies." By Jethro Wookey Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Zimbabwe secures funds for key commodity gateway
Zimbabwe secures funds for key commodity gateway
London, 23 September (Argus) — The Zimbabwe transport and infrastructural development ministry and the Chirundu Border Consortium (CBC) have reached financial close on the upgrade of a key commodity transit route on the border with Zambia. The establishing of financing arrangements by the ministry and private-sector firms in the CBC to develop the Chirundu Border Post will pave the way for construction work on a key transit route for copper, cobalt, fertilizers and mining supplies moving between central and southern Africa, the partners said this week. The Chirundu crossing is a critical link on the North-South Corridor, connecting the Zambia-Democratic Republic of Congo Copperbelt with ports in South Africa and Mozambique. The route is widely used to export copper and cobalt concentrates and refined metal, as well as imports of mining equipment, reagents, fuel, sulphur and fertilizers. The upgrade intends to reduce congestion and transit delays at one of the region's busiest border crossings by replacing ageing infrastructure and introducing new processing and operational systems. Frequent traffic problems such as border queues and bottlenecks have increased logistics costs and delivery times for commodities moving through the corridor. The project will improve freight flows, strengthen regional trade connectivity and enhance the efficiency of cargo movements between southern African ports and inland markets, Zimbabwe's transport and infrastructural development ministry said. The ministry did not disclose the final value of the financing package. Zimbabwe's cabinet previously estimated the project would require investment of around $66.8mn and would operate under a 20-year concession arrangement with private investors. The project is currently led by Safaga International, which was also involved in the modernisation of the Beitbridge border post between Zimbabwe and South Africa, alongside investors including South Africa-based Strategic Partners Group. Standard Bank of South Africa and Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe are among the financial institutions backing the development. By Lauren Hadeed and Fenella Rhodes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
India’s Mn alloy exporters target US, MENA
India’s Mn alloy exporters target US, MENA
Mumbai, 22 September (Argus) — India's manganese alloy exporters are accelerating efforts to diversify into the US, the Middle East and north Africa (MENA), South America and southeast Asia as tightening European trade barriers and carbon-related regulations steadily reduce access to one of their largest traditional markets. The shift reflects a broader structural change in global manganese alloy trade, industry participants said at a recent conference, where regional supply chains, carbon compliance and supply security are increasingly influencing purchasing decisions, alongside price Europe has historically accounted for around 30-40pc of India's manganese alloy exports. But safeguard measures, import quotas and evolving carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) requirements are making the region a more complex and costly destination for exporters. The changing landscape is forcing producers to reassess market priorities. "We are no longer operating in a single global market," a market participant said. US emerges as key growth market Against this backdrop, the US is gaining prominence as one of the most attractive destinations for Indian manganese alloy suppliers. Market participants attributed growing opportunities to stronger US steel production and reduced competition from some traditional suppliers, particularly from South Africa and Australia. Indian exporters have also strengthened logistics capabilities in recent years, shifting from containerised shipments to regular bulk-vessel cargoes. What were once occasional shipments have increasingly become a routine trade flow, with 1-2 vessels moving to the US each month, according to exporters. The transition has improved supplier credibility among US buyers, where procurement strategies are increasingly focused on reliability and continuity of supply, rather than spot-market purchases alone. But industry executives cautioned against excessive dependence on the US market, and said trade policy uncertainty and protectionist measures remain an inherent risk. MENA gains strategic relevance The MENA region is emerging as another key pillar of India's export diversification strategy. Turkey and Egypt were identified as particularly promising destinations because of expanding steel industries and limited domestic manganese alloy production capacity. These countries offer a lower risk of import restrictions, compared with several developed markets, market participants said, while also benefiting from supply disruptions among traditional exporters. The loss of material from Ukraine following geopolitical disruptions has created opportunities for Indian suppliers to strengthen their presence in the region. Rather than serving as a replacement for Europe, industry participants increasingly view MENA as a strategic growth market that is capable of providing greater export stability. Beyond the US and MENA, producers are targeting South America and southeast Asia as part of a broader effort to reduce dependence on any single market. Countries including Colombia, Argentina and Ecuador were highlighted as potential growth destinations, because of expanding steel industries and limited indigenous alloy production. Exporters expect demand growth in southeast Asia, as higher energy costs erode the competitiveness of some local producers. Market participants pointed specifically to Malaysia and South Korea, where rising power-related costs are affecting alloy production economics. Industry representatives estimated that Indian manganese alloy exporters have potential access to nearly 80 international markets, reinforcing the need for diversification as global trade flows become increasingly fragmented. Buyers are increasingly favouring long-term supply agreements over spot purchases as geopolitical tensions, shipping disruptions and trade restrictions raise concerns about supply-chain reliability, traders and producers said. At the same time, customers are diversifying sourcing across multiple origins to reduce dependency on individual suppliers or countries. As a result, supplier selection is being influenced by a broader range of factors, including logistics capability, delivery performance, financial strength, emissions reporting and supply security. Buyers, particularly in mature steel markets such as Japan, are placing greater emphasis on consistency of chemistry, process control and delivery reliability than marginal price differences, trading houses said. While Europe's CBAM remains the most visible regulatory development, market participants said sustainability considerations are increasingly influencing procurement decisions well beyond Europe. Large steelmakers across Asia are seeking greater transparency around energy sources, emissions intensity and production practices associated with alloy supply. Although buyers are not yet paying significant premiums for lower-carbon material, exporters with stronger environmental credentials are increasingly gaining preference during supplier qualification and tender processes. As Europe becomes less accessible and global trade becomes more regionalised, Indian manganese alloy producers face a rapidly evolving competitive landscape. For exporters, future growth will depend not only on cost competitiveness, but also on building resilient logistics networks, securing long-term customer relationships, meeting emerging carbon requirements and broadening their geographic footprint across a wider range of markets. By Deepika Singh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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