Rare‑earths supply shake‑up
Australia’s Lynas and South Korea’s LS Eco Energy have launched a joint venture to build a magnet‑metals facility in Vietnam to convert Lynas’s oxides into higher‑value magnets — a direct bid to loosen China’s grip on the supply chain. Energy Fuels also says it has produced terbium oxide at its Utah plant for the first time in decades, while market forecasts see the global rare‑earth market ballooning and U.S. policy fights (including DoD‑loan subpoenas) are already politicizing investment decisions. (indexbox.io) (simplywall.st) (usnn.news) (openpr.com) (rareearthexchanges.com)
Lynas’s 26 March framework agreement with LS Eco Energy commits both firms to cross‑subscribe to convertible instruments worth about A$30 million each and to stage metal‑making circuits with samarium metal production as the first priority. (company-announcements.afr.com)) LS Eco Energy says it will exchange convertible bonds worth 30 billion won with Lynas (30bn won each, ~60bn won total) as part of the alliance and plans to build the Vietnam metallisation unit through its LS Cable & System group. (en.sedaily.com)) Bloomberg described the arrangement as an exploration of a Vietnam metals plant that will “complement” Lynas’s existing metal‑making arrangements while the parties work toward definitive long‑term processing agreements. (bloomberg.com)) Energy Fuels reported producing its first kilogram of 99.9%‑pure terbium oxide at the White Mesa Mill on March 25, 2026 using U.S. monazite feed from Florida and Georgia, and says the pilot circuit is expected to run at roughly one kilogram per week ahead of commercial expansion plans. (investors.energyfuels.com)) Market research firms show a wide range for near‑term growth: ResearchAndMarkets projects the rare‑earth elements market at about USD 6.86 billion in 2026 growing to USD 10.44 billion by 2030 (≈11.1% CAGR), while Grand View Research estimates a 2024 base of USD 3.95 billion rising to USD 6.28 billion by 2030 (≈8.6% CAGR). (researchandmarkets.com)) Congressional scrutiny is already intersecting finance: House Democrats forced a vote to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. over his firm’s investment in Vulcan Elements after the Pentagon issued a $620 million loan to Vulcan, but Republicans on the Natural Resources subcommittee blocked the subpoena motion; the DoD’s Office of Strategic Capital previously disclosed conditional loan commitments totaling about $700 million to Vulcan and ReElement. (democrats-naturalresources.house.gov))
